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Gathering wood in j-tree campgrounds

eMurdock · · Tucson, Arizona · Joined May 2004 · Points: 425

Mike,
I will try to give you the benefit of the doubt on this but you:
1) didn't photograph the same tree in your original post
2) didn't mention that the tree was cut down by NPS due to disease
3) didn't mention when the tree was cut down

You have a good point about trashing vegetation but I think it is unfair and dubious to use deceptive evidence and withhold information to make your point. Have you been climbing at JT for 10 years? 20 years? Perhaps you have, but if you were really perceptive, you would have seen an impact trend that is in fact flattening during the past 5 or so years. Just my perception of what is going on at JT.

steve gooden · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 10
camp site 45.people need to pull there head out of there asses
mike has made a good point.dont read in to it more than it is.we all get the point.here is a picture of stupid people gathering shrubs.DONT GATHER THE FUCKIN BUSHES,TREES OR JOSHUA TREES.IVE SEEN IT.Good job mike bringing this topic to all of our attention.
Mike Wrench · · Nampa ID · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 5

eMurdock

It doesn't matter if I didn't post the photo of the same tree or post when nps cut it done and why! It just shows what a tree looks like before people start to cut it for wood and what it can look like after. If I post a stop sign do I need to tell you what it means. Maybe while you work in JT (NPS?) you saw most of the impact, but the impact has been going on longer than five or so years. It is simple! Bring your own fuckin wood!!

eMurdock · · Tucson, Arizona · Joined May 2004 · Points: 425

Huh? I am not sure I understand. A stop sign does not need an explanation but your photos of two different trees, with an erroneous description and an incorrect explanation that people chopped one of the trees down, is good? Why do people need to see what a tree looks like, don't they already know what a tree is(using your stop sign analogy)? Why not post a tree that was actually chopped down for firewood. I also said that the impact in the campgrounds has flattened over the past decade or so -- meaning it is actually, on the whole less, not more. Good ideas but I think being deceptive does matter. Still, I agree, people mangle the veg.

Benjamin Chapman · · Small Town, USA · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 18,818

Mike,
While I agreed that people camping in Joshua Tree need to be "socially responsible" and not mangle and/or gather trees and vegetation eMurdock makes several valid points regarding your MISLEADING & DECEPTIVE photos. While you make a great point regarding the impacts some campers are making on the Park by gathering/destroying vegetation you severly weaken or invalidate your case by falsifying the evidence. Maybe you should volunteer your time to educate these cretins as I doubt the impact curve has flattened out yet.

Chris D · · the couch · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 2,230

There's trees in Joshua Tree?

j/k

I like that this thread turned into a discussion of campsite-overthrow at Hidden Valley.

The park puts up a "Campgrounds Full" sign at the north entrance every in-season Friday at noon and takes it down around ten AM on Sunday regardless (maybe later during spring break).

Although I would never try to set up in someone else's site without asking, me and all my friends agree that the best times we've had at Josh were nights where the campgrounds were full and we managed to beg a shared campsite with someone who only had one vehicle in their parking area.

There's no better way to get together with out-of-towners or meet people to climb with, even if it's just a first-climb-of-the-day cruise after breakfast. Lots of fun.

Chad Namolik · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 2,905

Does anybody know if the "dead and down" rule applies at Jtree? I know it's o.k. at Yose, that is if you can find some. At Seki, there's tons of dead and downed.

I was hanging around a fire at Ryan CG a few years ago and this dude kept walking out into the desert and finding these huge dead and downed pieces of Joshua Trees. He went out 5 or 7 different times, brought em back and WHAM, instant bonfire action for 5 minutes or so. I didn't really care much cause it was a cold night and we were sipping on semi-cool brews. Plus the dude was down right hilarious and he was making me laugh all night.

Another Josh CG story is a time at Ryan, about 10 gym climbers showed up from LA. Had a bunch of nice brand new gear. They drove nice cars. Brought a keg into the park. Lucky me, my new neighbors, I drank for free off the keg all weekend. They were extremely loud all weekend, the whole CG hated em. Rangers came by several times because of complaints. I didn't mind em as much cause of the free beer and I sleep pretty heavy and easy with my earplugs.

After all weekend of drinking and one hike to Ryan Mtn, they finally decide to do some climbing and give Headstone a try before they leave. They are at their site, gearing up and sipping the keg dry. I agreed to take some photos of them since one of the girls was super hot with a really nice butt. I fill up my thermos with beer and we all head on over. I do the scramble and set up my tripod. They don't come up. They stay on the ground, looking at the climb, talking things over for 20 minutes. They chicken out, go back to their site, pack up and leave.

Chris D · · the couch · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 2,230
cMn wrote:Does anybody know if the "dead and down" rule applies at Jtree? ... They stay on the ground, looking at the climb, talking things over for 20 minutes. They chicken out, go back to their site, pack up and leave.
Nice story! You're not allowed to gather anything for your fire at Joshua Tree. The dead and down plant material is as important to the desert's wildlife as the living vegetation.

I was hoping to hear about how the gym climbers managed the SW Corner of Headstone.

I mean, it's just clipping bolts, right?

:)
Adam Stackhouse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 13,970
Fat Dad wrote:David, Unfortunately, that's pretty common. A number of times I've pulled back into my site after a day of climbing only to find that someone else has pulled in, pitches their tent, etc. They give you the 'hey man, is it OK if we crash here', even though they already have. You kind of feel like an a-hole if you don't say yes, but I think it's pretty rude. When you get the late night, singing dirtbag, it's clearly worse but unfortunately, at that point they've become squatters. Unless you're willing to get into a confrontation, you're kind of stuck.
Asking beforehand is one thing; even pitching it in a sleeping bag then getting up and promptly leaving is tolerable. But outright setting up tents and the like is unacceptable. Of the 500 plus nights I've camped at JTree, this may have happened to me a half dozen times. Each and every time I have told them to pack their shit up and get out. One guy snapped back at me one time and I got up grapped a frying pan and started towards him yelling I was going to kick his ass if he didn't start moving NOW. A friend grabbed my arm and the squatter promptly started moving.
bernard wolfe · · birmingham, al · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 265
Fat Dad wrote:David, Unfortunately, that's pretty common. A number of times I've pulled back into my site after a day of climbing only to find that someone else has pulled in, pitches their tent, etc. They give you the 'hey man, is it OK if we crash here', even though they already have. You kind of feel like an a-hole if you don't say yes, but I think it's pretty rude. When you get the late night, singing dirtbag, it's clearly worse but unfortunately, at that point they've become squatters. Unless you're willing to get into a confrontation, you're kind of stuck.
Browning 12 gauge auto.....a few rounds off in the air to get your point across.....and to counteract the annoying noise. Send a few rounds overhead every now and then.....and then ask, 'hey, y'all mind if i do a little shooting?'.

I think they are revising fed rules regarding firearms for self defense in various nat'l parks. Don't know if J Tree has been revised
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Southern California
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