[at-l] stealth camping

[rickboudrie@hotmail.com (rick boudrie)]

Yea, that's how Ray Jardine uses the word.  And if a bear does come in the 
middle of the night, he would have you  grab your food bag that is placed a 
couple feet in front of your tent and move on.  He recomends you keep a 
flash light at the ready for just that reason.  I think that works fine on 
most of the AT, BTW.

Seems to me that a whole lot of what we call "protecting the environment" 
realy is no more than preserving the aesthetic beauty of our trails for the 
next guy that passes through.  Nothing wrong with that.  But its not like we 
are protecting ecosystems, right?  Well some peolple are, but not a LNT 
hiker on the AT.  He is just being courteous to the guy who comes by next.  
I doubt the forest really gives a damn.

If you buy into my theory that so much of what we do is simply to keep 
things attractive for the next guy, I think stealth could take on a 
different meaning.  Me I prefer to remain invisible to others as much as 
possible these days.  Better for me and better for the next guy.  I can't 
imagine why so many hikers like to stealth camp in yellow tents.

I'd like to see all camping, and shelters a good distance away from the 
Trail for just that reason.  With the willingness to hike just a short 
distance with a couple full platypus bottles you can find a ton of spots 
that won't see another person for years.

Note for Shane (if you got this far)-- Can you confirm that Ivory Billed 
woodpecker sighting dow in the bayou?  I hear the go a real army out looking 
for it now.










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