solotripper wrote on Apr 5^th, 2019 at 4:22pm:

I won't say that I ran with a bunch of ole country boys when I was growing up, but I did know this one fella that, as a high school student, had want for a chaw of tobacco ... and as I remember, it was pretty rough stuff, like "Cotton Bowl Twist."  Put a slug of this in poor dead grandma's mouth and likely as not, she would stand up in her coffin.

On this one occasion, my friend had just put a chaw back next to his eyed teeth in preparation for the next class.  Unfortunately, the teacher got wind of this and gave him the option ... "you can either spit the whole load in yonder trash can right now or you can keep it in your mouth, but you can't spit!"  He swallowed tobacco juice for the rest of the class, without so much as a by your leave!  Yep.  A pretty tough boy (and he didn't even turn green).

Such was life in rural East Texas when I was growin' up.  And I swear that many of them boys were still fightin' the Civil War (according the their rhetoric).

dd

That's a fixer upper.  Color me weird but before I use a fireplace I'll always get my hole digger (trowel) and a paddle blade and clean those suckers out.  Then my OCD really kicks in and I'll rearrange the rocks to my specs. I stumbled on this mess at Sunday Lake.  This is also the site where I found human feces under fireplace rocks literally 15-20 feet from the fireplace.  Riff Raff!   

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

TomT wrote on Apr 7^th, 2019 at 12:07pm:


I'm with you guys on the poop issue BUT I have mixed feelings about the fire-pit rebuilds/builds.

My problem is WHERE do you draw the line of campsite maintenance? The poop/toilet paper is a sanitation issue but in that same pic you have log benches which were made over time.

Some purists would say THOSE are unacceptable, for that matter fire-pits are too.
I'm NOT one of them but I tend to leave a site how I found it except for the garbage/TP/poop issue.

When I ran into the head park ranger and his trainee they were checking portage trails AND campsites because to many people were building elaborate log furniture and fire-pits too. I don't know what criteria they use for being OVER DONE?

I also have seen more people using NAILS in trees which were galvanized and fairly new.

Went I was wind-bound on Lac La Croix that site had a full sized picnic table with metal frame and near the multiple fire-pits the trees all had FRESH nails to hang items from.

That was a Native People fishing camp. So their view of "wilderness etiquette" isn't the same as the governments.

TomT wrote on Apr 7^th, 2019 at 9:39pm:


I think what the Q ranger was trying to say is that some sites are always going to be used more than others because of how/where they are located.

Adding to many improvements means those sites will get even more use, especially by larger groups where you tend to have issues.

I had a big problem with the BWJ when they started putting out those campsite ratings. It's one thing to say you found a nice site in a general area, another to rate it like you would a resort hotel. 

I doubt I would stay at a site like the Granite one unless there was nothing else around. Being solo I don't need much to be happy. A good landing is getting more important now than a good fire-pit or other amenities.

I'd rather leave sites like that to tandem/group unless I have no other decent option.

TomT wrote on Apr 7^th, 2019 at 10:43pm:


My feelings exactly but its his magazine so he gets the say.