CO rant

Not to sound snarky (I mean what I'm about to say)... but it's really as simple as opening the atlas to the region you want to explore, pick a road/trail that looks intriguing, and go drive/pedal/walk it. Seriously, all the apps and GPS stuff is precisely what's making the sidecountry the shitshow it is now (along with social media's spraying power). And on a positive note, if you explore things this way you actually get some of the "exploration" feeling, rather than just following someone else's route/trip report/turn-by-turn description.

EDIT to say: I really do mean this. I've been exploring the country coast to coast for years, and I own zero guidebooks and don't use GPS. I own a faintly ridiculous number of Benchmark and DeLorme atlases, though.

 

no worries. let me rephrase. my main concern is coming across someone's private property. it's happened a couple times and makes me hesitant before jumping in the truck and driving somewhere random. some other post on here kind of touched on that. a property owner would have to consistently ask people to leave their drive way. i guess the start was a dirt road with not many signs around? idk. it wouldnt be the end of the world, just embarrassing. i'd also like to follow the rules on allowable places to camp. i know national forests are generally fine, but i thought rules were camp 100 feet from a road or trail. how do i get 100 feet from the road in my truck without creating a new trail, or staying the trail?

 

Fair questions!

1) Private property - I've never had issues with this - for what reason, I don't know. Front Range, Western Slope, Idaho, California, Oregon, North Carolina - I've always had no problem telling when I'm on public land. Or, possibly, I'm an idiot and don't know if I'm on private land at times (doubtful). I spend most of my time in national forests, so maybe that's the reason. Private inholdings are often pretty obvious. Would be a lot different outside of a national forest though.

2) I have never heard of a 100-foot rule. Again, I could be ignorant here. But most dispersed camping spots I've found are literally on the side of the road, or along/at the end of a well-established spur road. I try to camp towards the ends of semi-difficult roads - enough to cut down on traffic significantly.

3) The most important thing for dispersed campers, in my opinion: Please walk WELL AWAY from the camp location to take your morning constitutional. The number of campsites where it's obvious that many people are lazy and can't walk more than 40 feet from the campsite is insane. And don't get me started on people that can't dig a simple hole. I will take a hike for hundreds of yards before finding a nice secluded spot to dig a hole, and not near a trail either.

 

It's not that difficult in the west to figure out public vs private property even from a large scale gazetter atlas, much less quads and Trails Illustrated more detailed maps. Yeah, sometimes you'll come across a private inholding within USFS or BLM land but the road itself is very likely USFS or BLM designated or county road and just driving it is fine as long as you don't leave it.

That's not always true of course but the MVUMs are good about classifying the road status and boundaries. Generally the property owner will gate, fence or sign. Especially since Colorado, like most of the mountain west, is open range meaning if the property owner doesn't want cattle grazing it's his or her responsibility to keep them out. But even gates aren't necessarily indicating private land. They may be put there by the USFS or BLM or as a condition of a rancher on his grazing lease.

The 100 foot thing, not sure where you hear that. On dispersed camping land you have to be no farther than 300 feet from the road and generally you want to be as close as practical precisely to keep new spurs roads from appearing everywhere. It's not your own private land where you can drive so far from the road that you never see or hear any traffic whatsoever. It's road-side camping where you get far enough off to be fully off the road and can find something flat.

 

Came for a Coil-Over rant, got a Colorado rant

guess this is the Colorado forum

 

100 foot rule I know of is from Water. MVUM would be your friend, it tells exactly the area camping rules, etc are.

The MVUMs display National Forest System (NFS) routes (roads and trails) designated as open to motorized travel. The MVUMs also display allowed uses by vehicle class (ex. highway-legal vehicles, vehicles 50 inches in width or less and motorcycles); seasonal allowances, off travel distance allowances, and provides information on other travel rules and regulations.
My note- It shows designated Dispersed camping areas and requirements (no more than X' from road etc.)

 

Yeah, that certainly could be the original source for the misunderstanding.

 

MVUM and some topo maps are a good starting point. Look for somewhere on a topo map and then compare the area to the MVUM. Road/trail conditions can't really be surmised from the MVUM. Pick a spot, bring the maps and head out! I haven't used the ioverlander and wasn't a huge fan of gaia for skiing but I'd be willing to check them out. On the other hand apps lend themselves to sharing information which in turn lead to areas getting blown out.

 

looking at maps finding two track and exploring with out have the internet tell you everything it what's its all about have an adventure take a risk and have faith in yourself. you can always turn around and should be ready at any time on any adventure and know your limits and risks and skills

 

learn and use a paper map first technology is only a back up. map has no batteries and been used for years and provide sense of adventure and exploring. I used to know a lady who could tell the time by just a compass

 

Although it can happen, I wouldn't worry too much about accidentally stumbling on someones private property in wilderness areas. In my experience they are generally overly done with signage, gates, dogs, etc, they don't want you on their property even less than you don't want to end up on theirs.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone. I can't find an exact source, but I'm pretty sure I was getting the 100 feet thing from backpacking years ago. Maybe it was 100 feet from water and not the trail.

I'm gonna have to find some MVUM. I have a bunch of nat geos, but will start collecting more.

 

Stay safe out there.

Fast forward to 3:15

https://youtu.be/2R5cLghSWGQ

https://www.telluridenews.com/news/article_798385de-0d9a-11eb-9b66-ef8b24d50673.html

 

how many white claws and or twisted teas were involved?

 

That made my skin crawl. Gives me a whole new outlook on switchbacks with no trees in between.

 

Rolled thru six switchbacks, amazing didn't take anyone else out. Though obviously nearly got the camera vehicle. Would have shit my pants seeing that cross in front of me.

 

They were (well, ARE still, thankfully) both Durangoans!

 

I am still baffled if he did the things he said he did (Park, Turned off, Emergency Brake on), how did it "roll"? In the short amount of time its in frame, I did not notice any turn movement, so did it actually "slide" off trail?

 

From what I've read thus far, it was a manual transmission which was purportedly in a gear and "popped" out. What I was taught to do when parking on a hill is to turn the wheels away from the bad area (so in this case, towards the top of the mountain), set the parking brake and allow the weight of the vehicle to rest on the brake, and use the appropriate gear (reverse if facing downhill, and first if facing uphill). These are the details which haven't surfaced to give folks a better idea of what could have been done differently so that others may learn.

 

Rangers Find One Abandoned, Smouldering Campfire Every Day in White River Nat'l Forest
5min 8sec audio in link: https://www.kdnk.org/post/rangers-f...ng-campfire-every-day-white-river-natl-forest