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On 26 Feb 2004 06:54:10 -0800, (Mike McCrea)
wrote:

After experiencing a number of alternatives I still prefer the
crapshoot of a first-come, first-serve paddle in and find a site
situation.

We're willing to schedule our trips to avoid putting in on Fridays or
Saturdays, so that we aren't in such heavy competition for sites, and
on long trips we'll often try to schedule our paddle out days for a
Friday or Saturday, in part so that a site opens up when it is most
needed, in part because such timing will put us back on the road,
re-supplying and en route to someplace else for a Sunday or Monday
launch.

This really is a fine plan.

One alternative I didn't care much for (although I recoginze the
management need for it in popular areas) is the oxymoronic
"backcountry reservations", especially when these reservations are
site-specific (ie, site #37 on Thursday night) as opposed to simply,
say, specific to a particular lake or area.

So often the reservation taker is far removed from the park they have
no inkling of what the park is like, never mind what kind of lake or
campsites it has.

We had site-specific reservations in a couple of Ontario Provincial
parks a few years ago, and even though I had made the reservations a
few months before our trip I knew some of the sites were gonna be the
pits; when you call to make "backcountry reservations" months before a
trip and find that only one site remains in certain areas you can be
pretty certain there's a reason it's the only one left. Even more
maddening than reservations to camp at a damp, muddy, bug-ridden site
from hell is the realization that there are far better sites that
remain unoccupied because the folks who reserved them didn't show up
that day.

Oh, that reminds me of the time we pulled out of our trip after one
night of a five day canoe trip due to illness. I had to explain twice
to the person at the park office that the campsites were going to be
freed up because we weren't staying and other campers could use them.

BTW, Mike, the map arrived today, thanks again!

George
(Who ate hot dogs and bean for dinner just because I need to go
camping)

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