As more people are getting out and enjoying the outdoors, I want to share with you the details of how to choose a campsite that’s beautiful and comfortable while minimizing your environmental footprint. By following Leave No Trace best practices, the wild places that you and I love can be preserved for future campers.<\/p>\n
In this blog post, I share the how to choose a campsite while backpacking so you can go into your next trip with confidence on where (and where not) to sleep at night.<\/p>\n
1. Research before you go<\/h2>\n
Anytime you are going backcountry camping, you are responsible for learning the regulations as an important step in planning a backpacking trip<\/a>. There really is no excuse for not knowing the regulations.<\/p>\n On some popular trails, like the Four Pass Loop Trail<\/a> in Aspen, you are only allowed to camp in designated campsites that you have a specific permit for. In other areas, like Kings Canyon National Park, you are only required to camp a minimum of 25 feet from the water, but you must stay in designated, previously used sites.<\/p>\n Here are some things to look out for as you are researching the trail. <\/p>\n When looking for a campsite, you want an area that is flat and durable such as rock, sand, dry grass, or compacted dirt. Here are some other considerations to keep in mind before you pitch your tent.<\/p>\n While it’s always best to camp where you have access to a water source for drinking and cooking, you don’t want to set up your tent right on the water’s edge, whether that’s a river, lake, stream, pond, etc.<\/p>\n On time while backpacking in Idaho’s Sawooth Mountains<\/a>, I came across an illegal campsite that was directly on the trail and also inches from the water. This violates several principles of Leave No Trace and the regulations listed on the wilderness permit that each group is required to sign and carry that states that you must camp at least 100 feet from the water. <\/p>\n You can of course hang out on the water’s edge, but setting up your tent like this person did blocks access to the lake for wildlife and other campers who might need to filter water. It’s pretty selfish if you ask me. <\/p>\n Here are some tips for choosing a campsite that’s near, but not too close, to a water source.<\/p>\n One time when I was backpacking in the Wind Rivers<\/a>, we found an amazing campsite after a 10 mile day, only to be kept awake until midnight from rowdy neighbors across the lake. It was so annoying!<\/p>\n When I’m camping, I always remind myself of the golden rule – me having a good time shouldn’t affect anyone else’s ability to have a good time. Here are some ways I ensure that I’m being a good campsite neighbor<\/a> and respecting my fellow campers while backpacking.<\/p>\n I’ve made the mistake of setting up my tent too close to some dead trees before. The wind picked up in the middle of the night, and I was so paranoid that a dead branch was going to fall on me that I barely got a wink of sleep. <\/p>\n When you are selecting a backcountry campsite, you want to look around and see if there are any hazards to avoid:<\/p>\n If you are up in the mountains in chillier temperatures, you may want the warmth of the sun on your tent first thing in the morning. Or perhaps you’re in the desert where it’s hot, and you want to be in the shade as long as possible.<\/p>\n When figuring out the exact placement of your tent, you’ll want to consider where the sun rises and sets. Then set your tent up near trees or big boulders that will block the sun from hitting your tent at the hottest times of day. <\/p>\n While these days I’m way too paranoid about wildfires to have a campfire while backpacking, if you want to have a campfire, your first step is to make sure they are even allowed. In many wilderness areas or during seasonal fire bans, campfires are illegal, even if they are in an existing fire ring.<\/p>\n If you find out that campfires are allowed and you’re set on having one, here are a few things to look for when choosing a campsite. <\/p>\n Backcountry camping means you have to walk on a hiking trail to a campsite in the wilderness. Since you cannot drive to backcountry campsites, you have to carry all of your gear in a backpacking pack. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The biggest factor to keep in mind is to ensure you’re in a legal and pre-established campsite. Then, I look for campsites that are flat, dry, safe, and comfortable, ideally one that’s slightly elevated to avoid pooling water if it rains. I like to be near a water source if possible, but I make sure to camp at least 200 feet away. Finally, I make sure that I’m off of the trail and respecting the space of any neighbors who have already set up camp by camping as far away as I can from them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n To keep wildlife away from your campsite, make sure you store your food and scented items properly. Depending on where I’m backpacking, I use either a bear canister<\/a> or hang my scented items and food in a bag from a tree. I keep the canister or bag at least 100 feet from my campsite. Another good practice is to cook and eat away from your tent to keep food odors from attracting wildlife to your tent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Before you head off to the trail, you should have a backup plan of where you’ll camp if your first choice doesn’t work out. Print out a map so you can use it to help you find alternative campsites and stay flexible. If you’re stuck, you could try asking the people at the campsite you wanted if they know of other good spots nearby. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What would you add to my tips on how to choose a campsite? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post How to Choose a Backcountry Campsite (that follows Leave No Trace)<\/a> appeared first on Bearfoot Theory<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After a long day of carrying a heavy backpack on the trail, I know what it’s like to just want to set up your tent, make dinner, and fall asleep. When you finally reach the point where you’re going to set up camp for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions\/249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"Campsite](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Havasu-Falls-40-Gear-1024x683-1.jpg\")
2. Choose a flat, bare, stable surface<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Tent](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Sequoia-Day-4_68-Big-Five-Lakes-campsite-tent-gear.jpg\")
3. Don’t camp too close to water sources<\/h2>\n
![\"Check](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Baron-Lakes_Backpacking-Sawtooths-Idaho-24-1024x683-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Leave-No-Trace-campsite-tent.jpg\")
4. Be Respectful of Others<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Three](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Oympic-National-Park-backpacking.jpg\")
5. Be aware of hazards<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Three](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Oympic-National-Park-backpacking-2-1024x683-1.jpg\")
6. Think about the sun<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Paria-Canyon-Backpacking-1024x684-1.jpg\")
7. Minimize the Impact of Your Campfire & Campsite<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Don't](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Campfire-Trash.jpg\")
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
What are some of the key factors to consider when choosing a campsite while backpacking?<\/strong> <\/p>\nMore Backpacking Tips<\/h2>\n
\n
Save this post to Pinterest<\/h6>\n
![\"Kristen](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Pinterest_Choose-a-Campsite_3-683x1024-1.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Kristen](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Pinterest_Choose-a-Campsite_2-683x1024-1.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"We'll](\"https:\/\/researcherswhigs.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Leave-No-Trace-683x1024-1.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n