Creek Pasture Camping Fees

Anyone know if they have started charging camping fees for Creek Pasture in Indian Creek?

Not yet. But they'd love too.

Sure wouldn't want them to have money to pump out all those unpopular and unused CXT drop toilet's.

I'd much prefer people pony up according to their means in the Friends of IC donation box at the campground rather than institute a formal pay system. Does FOIC raise enough money through those boxes to empty the shitters? And if they did would that prevent the BLM from charging for camping?

Crotch Robbins wrote:I'd much prefer people pony up according to their means in the Friends of IC donation box at the campground rather than institute a formal pay system. Does FOIC raise enough money through those boxes to empty the shitters? And if they did would that prevent the BLM from charging for camping?

I agree in principal, but it seems that in Creek Pasture, "means" are hard to come by. I'd love to think FOIC takes in enough money to pay for that, but I doubt it. Not enough people even think about who takes care of the land out there, but less care about donating their own time, money, etc.

There were supposed to be two public comment periods before they implemented the fees. The first one was supposed to be in the summer, not heard anything and there is nothing on their website. We should all keep an eye on the BLM-Monticello website and make sure we all voice our opinions against fees.

Something tells me that weekend warrior types wouldn't mind fees though, since they only camp 1-2 nights per season and roll in around midnight on Fridays. They probably wouldn't mind shelling out $20 a weekend and not worry about driving around looking for a campsite.

Clackmon,

You've once again failed to comprehend. It's OK, nobody here thinks you're very smart.

Bloom's book really messed up that place. I hated him for a long time for it. Anymore though, I have to think that if he hadn't written his books, someone else would have.

There was a time that I remember that there were a handful of cars in the Supercrack parking lot during spring break. You might see 2-3 other parties at Scarface. Way Rambo was the middle of nowhere.

I remember cracks that formed a right angle to the wall. A very different experience than the buttcrack so many routes today are.

I love the place and am happy to have been a part of it when I was. I'm mostly done with it now. If I go more than once or twice a year now, I start to feel the connection that I used to have and looking around, it just makes me sad.

It's busier than Shelf nowdays.

(et cetera)

More often, fees bring more self-entitled douchebaggery as in "I paid - I don't have to clean up after myself" attitude...

There's already plenty of self entitlement going around at the creek. I think they should start charging for top roping groups.

Yes it's getting more crowded but so is every other major destination. As noted, if Bloom didn't write the guide someone else would have. Bottom line is that the climbing population is growing and there is nothing we can do about it. If it chaps your ass then feel free to bitch about it on MP, but at least do yourself a favor and go climb somewhere obscure every once in a while...hell even put up some new lines. The adventures taken from such trips help balance out the times when you just gotta deal with crowds.

By the way I was at Pistol Whipped on Tuesday and we were the only climbers there...one car was at Way Rambo, one car was at Critic's Choice.

If there weren't a set of bolted anchors 120' up every crack there then the problems wouldn't exist. Now, I'm not sure how many first ascents went to the top before people started to realise that the best climbing is usually only in the first 100-200 feet, but whoever had the idea of creating hundreds of single pitch, non-committing, splitter crack climbs must have known that the future of the place would include ram packed parking lots and camping sites. They obviously didn't intend (or didn't think) to keep the place a secret, or an obscure area of any kind.

I've spent a lot of time at Indian Creek and I love it for what it is: A training ground for crack climbing. It must be the only place in the world of its kind.

But if the original developers had decided to make people commit to the top, and put in a few rap rotues instead of a ton of TR anchors, then the place would still be just as empty as it was when nicelegs fell in love with it.

Ryan Williams wrote:If there weren't a set of bolted anchors 120' up every crack there then the problems wouldn't exist. Now, I'm not sure how many first ascents went to the top before people started to realise that the best climbing is usually only in the first 100-200 feet, but whoever had the idea of creating hundreds of single pitch, non-committing, splitter crack climbs must have known that the future of the place would include ram packed parking lots and camping sites. They obviously didn't intend (or didn't think to) keep the place a secret, or an obscure area of any kind. I've spent a lot of time at Indian Creek and I love it for what it is: A training ground for crack climbing. It must be the only place in the world of its kind. But if the original developers had decided to make people commit to the top, and put in a few rap rotues instead of a ton of TR anchors, then the place would still be just as empty as it was when nicelegs fell in love with it.

I think multiple pitches is the key to reducing crowding in the future. There are stacks of second pitches just waiting to be climbed, and as the area gets more crowded the solution to more climbers in the same area is multiple pitches. There is a great looking 3 pitch route on Pistol Whipped that occupied a party for most of the day last time I was there.

There were no camping fees, but rangers made us move out of the group sites. Many of the regular sites were occupied parties of two. Everyone should expect to get friendly and share campsites with how crowded the creek has become. We got friendly and moved into an occupied site. Frustratingly there was a site occupied by a van with a key box on it and no one returned to the van that day or night.