Gunks AAC campground update?

Any word? Last update was quite a while ago.

spring 2015 americanalpineclub.org/p/gu…

thanks. Sorry, I usually check before I ask

looks like you can start making reservations. May 15th is the first day available so I'm guessing that's opening day.

$24 though. christ.

lodging.americanalpineclub.…

Rob D. wrote:looks like you can start making reservations. May 15th is the first day available so I'm guessing that's opening day. $24 though. christ. lodging.americanalpineclub.…

Bummer the free camping will be gone :(

MojoMonkey wrote: Bummer the free camping will be gone :(

I know it's been said on this website many times, but have they actually announced closing slime? I've pled my case on here before, but for me, free camping at slime is one of the things that makes climbing at the gunks possible. I pretty regularly take the bus to new paltz, hitch a ride to the trapps, and then after a few days hitch a ride back to new paltz to get a bus home. The AAC is quite a bit further away and costs as much as a bus ticket to the city! It's a reasonable price, but compared to free it's a pretty big blow financially.

Rob D. wrote:$24 though. christ.

Seems pretty typical. Similar Yosemite Valley camp sites are $26; Grand Teton sites were $22 last year. And the private campgrounds near the Gunks are over $30.

All I can say is: my gosh!

Let's total costs for someone who lives 2 hr. 20 min. away.

$39 for non-member campsite + $17 for non-member climbing pass + $30/$40 gas for round trip + $10 for tolls + $5/$10 coffee and bagel at the mountain bistro + $10/$15 for a beer and a couple of tacos on the way out + $15 for the new biner and stopper at Rock and Snow and to top it all off $150 for the speeding ticket on the way home!

Freedom of the Hills?

FREE is typical at Camp Slime and the Multiple Abuse area.

Will you be able to camp for free at the AAC campground for the 6 month period they currently list that they will be closed?

50 campsites or 51? Count for yourself.
nysparks.com/inside-our-age…

No wonder this took more than a decade to finalize.

So no details on slime? I'm headed there this weekend I guess I'll ask around. Over the winter they put up signs at the MUA about camping 150ft off the trail, so maybe they're allowing "backcountry" camping there?

Assuming I camp two nights a weekend, that's the cost of my Mohonk membership in 2 weeks. If I do that for 5 months now my "membership" is over $1000/year. I'll probably be sleeping in my car.

kendallt wrote:So no details on slime? I'm headed there this weekend I guess I'll ask around. Over the winter they put up signs at the MUA about camping 150ft off the trail, so maybe they're allowing "backcountry" camping there? Assuming I camp two nights a weekend, that's the cost of my Mohonk membership in 2 weeks. If I do that for 5 months now my "membership" is over $1000/year. I'll probably be sleeping in my car.

I share this sentiment, except that I don't have a car so I'll be backcountry camping if mua allows it, or at slime if they stay open (my hope)

So a few issues. One car per campsite. Which means, it's difficult to share with random climbers. I say this because you now have to shuttle random people to their car. Not a big deal, but definitely not something I want to do every morning and night.

Ok, fair enough. So if I don't climb with my wife, it's $12 a night. I can live with that on nights I don't want to deal with Camp Slime or MUA.

However, if they close MUA and/or Camp Slime, it's now at least $24 a weekend + gas and tolls and food. Compared to skiing this is freakin cheap. But we are dirtbag climbers.

The other issue, and maybe a bigger one. I suspect this campground will be booked solid.

So I pray Camp Slime and MUA remain open. This is an area that is 90 miles from most of the Capital Region and 90 miles from most of Metro NY...having no cheap camping options and only 50 sites seems like a horrible situation.

Trying their reservation process, it looks like the fee is per site (maximum of 4 people allowed at a tent site). Not sure if all have to be members to get the AAC rate, or just the person booking. Anyone have experience from another AAC campground?

The cancellation policy seems crazy. 30+ days for full refund of your deposit, and 50% between 7-30 days... Looks like deposit is the full amount. I guess that may work for someone flying in. I'm in the 3 hour drive range and check the forecast and decide less than a week out. Maybe it would be booked by then anyway.

MojoMonkey wrote:I guess that may work for someone flying in. I'm in the 3 hour drive range and check the forecast and decide less than a week out. Maybe it would be booked by then anyway.

Making reservations for camping in the northeast is surely a gamble, especially if you want the deposit back.

I've happily not camped in a few years anywhere in that area. Don't miss it a bit. I'm sure the AAC and Gunks Inc (Mohonk, New Jersey whatever coalition, local NYS preserve mgt peeps) like contributing to the decision to increase my carbon footprint instead of car pooling and/or staying overnight. And I'm not alone, many I've spoken with spend the two trips on gas happily from the Albany area versus trying to stay overnight in the New Paltz area. Comes out to be about the same out of pocket cost (minus vehicle maintenance). Plus I get to sleep in a soft, warm bed and feel fresh for crushing those 5.7s the next day. :p

J. Serpico wrote:Ok, fair enough. So if I don't climb with my wife, it's $12 a night. I can live with that on nights I don't want to deal with Camp Slime or MUA.

What's $12?

Jake Jones wrote: Whew! Ok, that makes a bit more sense. Again, I don't know the area that well, but I would think that opportunity is really ripe for anyone with a few acres up there. Thanks for the clarification Kevin.

I deleted that post (please remove the reference to it).... I don't see what Serpico was referring to, there isn't a $12 option as far as I can tell. I assumed they were referring to the walk in sites at $12 but they're all the same, some just have a spot for a car.

There appears to be not much parking in proportion to the number of climbers that could be staying on any given night. They say there's overflow parking "at an additional charge" [wtf?] and free parking in the preserve parking lot (how 'short' is the walk, as they claim?). I feel bad for my NYC climbing friends. As I see it, once MUA is closed this is probably going to suck just as much, but now it's going to cost. As a paid service, this campground needs to be at least twice the size and accommodate twice as many vehicles. Otherwise what are we actually paying for here? Greater inconvenience?

J. Serpico wrote:...only 50 sites seems like a horrible situation.

Kevin Heckler wrote:...this campground needs to be at least twice the size and accommodate twice as many vehicles.

Don't y'all think the gunks are crowded enough?

Jake Jones wrote:Whew! Ok, that makes a bit more sense.

It looks to always be $24/member or $38 non-member. I think he was just saying that if he went with someone else they would split the $24 fee, versus paying the whole fee himself if traveling with his wife.

And I don't think the lack of a few campsites will be the key to reducing crowding at the Gunks. When they cut the MUA in half it didn't cut down on campers - it just meant folks trying to be legal in a spot were unable to find parking when they got back after climbing or dinner from the cars of folks camping in non-approved sites or sleeping in their car.

Squeezing the "riff raff" dirtbags outta the picture, I plan on doing my part by being even more stinky and obnoxious than ever to the always growing Pata"gucci" crowd.

Luckily, the Gunks are still a day trip destination for me.

Considering that a cartoon-character-themed campsite further away from the Trapps charges $81/night for a tent site on summer weekends, this doesn't seem like highway robbery.