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Gunks AAC campground update?

Frank Stein · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 205

Hmmm...I haven't been to the Gunks since '98, but just how are people supposed to share with one tent pad and one car limit per site?

Pnelson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2015 · Points: 635
Greg Pouliot wrote:...The aac camp ground at NRG is perfect. 7$ per night for non members, grab a tent platform and do your thing. There are no "sites" per se, just platforms all around the woods. The area I stayed there had a little pull off with enough room for 3 cars, and had 8-10 platforms with enough room for a tent within spitting distance of the parking area. They also had a communal fire pit and were working on plumbing and a covered spot for foul weather gatherings. The aac camp ground as the gunks is being marketed and set up for what it will be, a money maker. Camping will always cost money when at a campground, but there's a way they could have set this place up that wouldn't feel so inclusive.
I assume you meant the Gunks CG feels "exclusive," and not "inclusive?"

Anyway, thanks for the props you're giving the NRG campground, I like it too. However, it is not as simple as "the New is chill, the Gunks just wants to make money." The Gunks campground has much more overhead, obviously, from utilities to two full-time staff, not to mention that most stuff just costs more in NY than in WV.

And while there is nothing definite, it is likely that the NRG's fees will get changed once we have the showerhouse and pavilion built.
Rob D · · Queens, NY · Joined May 2011 · Points: 30

bivy high e. no high overheard there.

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
Rob D. wrote:bivy high e. no high overheard there.
If you want to get technical....
From the Mohonk Preserve web site:
"Preserve lands are open 365 days a year, sunrise to one hour after sunset."
Happiegrrrl · · Gunks · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 60
Nick Goldsmith wrote:Last time i was in the gunks was about 15 years ago and crashed in my VW buss at the parking lot by the visitor center at the hairpin? used bathrooms @ visitor center and no attempt to be stealth. Hung out with the folding chairs, cooked etc. Totally casual and no stress. is there a wallmart nearby these days?
This last year, people took car bivy to a new extreme in the Trapps, and people had full kitchen set-ups taking up a second parking space, at 9am(On any good weather weekend day, that parking area is beginning to fill up between 8 and 8:30). I sometimes would tell people they were not "bivying," when they had a table, chairs and double burner stove set up, taking a liesurely breakfast at that hour, and that there were people having difficulty finding parking, so maybe they should think about getting things put away, and was more often than not told to F off.

I have a favorite saying "Rules are made for people who need rules." It is pretty clear to me that without the simplest of guidelines, people can be the biggest jerks.

There is no Walmart really close nearby(thankfully), but there IS one now in Ellenville. It is about 15 miles from the Trapps, if I got it right on Mapquest. Of course, crossing over the ridge on 44-55 makes for slower driving.
Kedron Silsbee · · El Paso · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 0

Is camping in a tent in the dirt parking lot below the visitor center OK if you get your shit together in the morning before it starts to fill up?

lucander · · Stone Ridge, NY · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 260

No

Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

so is it legal to car bivy in that lot?

Greg Pouliot · · Rumney NH · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 90
Pnelson wrote: I assume you meant the Gunks CG feels "exclusive," and not "inclusive?" Anyway, thanks for the props you're giving the NRG campground, I like it too. However, it is not as simple as "the New is chill, the Gunks just wants to make money." The Gunks campground has much more overhead, obviously, from utilities to two full-time staff, not to mention that most stuff just costs more in NY than in WV. And while there is nothing definite, it is likely that the NRG's fees will get changed once we have the showerhouse and pavilion built.
I know there are a lot of costs associated with a campground in the gunks. It just sucks that it's going to cost that much more to spend a weekend climbing there.
Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

Happie. i would never hog a parking spot to cook in if someone actually needed that spot. your post kind sounds like you don't like van campers to relax and enjoy life.

Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Nick Goldsmith wrote:so is it legal to car bivy in that lot?
You are technically trespassing one hour after dark.
Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

It really sucks getting rousted by security or cops in the middle of the night. A legal parking place to van crash is key.

Caz Drach · · C'Wood, UT · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 310

Does anyone really know why they closed down Camp Slime?

I understand the move to get more people to AAC, but I can only imagine how quickly the AAC grounds and MUA will fill in leaving no where else to camp.

PETITION THE MAN!

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
D-Roc wrote:Does anyone really know why they closed down Camp Slime?
Two primary reasons:
The land at Slime has be horribly abused for over 45 years.
The Preserve feels that camping is incompatible with their core mission and adds overhead.

The core mission of the Perserve, btw, has nothing to do with climbing.
Rui Ferreira · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 903
Marc801 wrote:The core mission of the Perserve, btw, has nothing to do with climbing.
I agree that the Preserve's mission has nothing to do with climbing, but climbers have benefited greatly overtime from the Preserve's resources. Both sides benefit from each other and without the Preserve making their lands accessible, climbing in the region would be severely restricted or impossible. We have to look no further than Skytop and the local private crags to get a taste of how much worse it could be.
Happiegrrrl · · Gunks · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 60
Nick Goldsmith wrote:Happie. i would never hog a parking spot to cook in if someone actually needed that spot. your post kind sounds like you don't like van campers to relax and enjoy life.
Not so. I live in my van half the year. I would never think it acceptable to park at Intersection Rock in Joshua Tree on weekend morning set up cooking, and wait until it seemed, to me, that the lot was getting to the last spot or two, where somebody might "need" my extra space.

As I wrote in my post - people taking up an extra spot on a day when the lot is generally known to be full to capacity by 9am is not someone relaxing and enjoying life. It's something else altogether.


Does anyone really know why they closed down Camp Slime?


I explained my take on that upthread. It may not be an official explanation, but it does make sense. Regulations surrounding the designation of a campground have evolved over the years. As laws changed, Slime was grandfathered in as a "campground" due to there being few other camping options around. The main issue with Slime was that it could not be modernized to comply with sanitation(and perhaps other regulations). Once a modern campground was available, for the population that had served Slime, the state would no longer allow Slime to operate in the capacity it had been.

Or, you can believe it is because MP wants to pick your pocket clean of everything but the lint, and if they could use the lint to generate income, they'd grab that too.....
Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
Rui Ferreira wrote: I agree that the Preserve's mission has nothing to do with climbing, but climbers have benefited greatly overtime from the Preserve's resources. Both sides benefit from each other and without the Preserve making their lands accessible, climbing in the region would be severely restricted or impossible. We have to look no further than Skytop and the local private crags to get a taste of how much worse it could be.
Spot on.
J. Serpico · · Saratoga County, NY · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 140

Absolute worst case, I'll be stealth camping at Stop and Shop or the park and ride or the rock and snow lot. Stop by for a cup a small batch roasted french press if you see me. Sorry no soy or skim.

Seriously, this was the kick in the ass i needed to buy and convert the van.

curvenut · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 0
D-Roc wrote:Does anyone really know why they closed down Camp Slime? I understand the move to get more people to AAC, but I can only imagine how quickly the AAC grounds and MUA will fill in leaving no where else to camp. PETITION THE MAN!
Camp slime is closed. Last week-end I went there and notification signs has been post there and in the west trap parking lot asking people to camp at the MUA.

My question is , what is the status of the MUA after the opening if the AAC campground on May 15 ?
Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
waltereo wrote:My question is , what is the status of the MUA after the opening if the AAC campground on May 15 ?
Apparently open for now and the foreseeable future.

From page 5 of this thread:
Kevin Heckeler wrote:Page 60 in the UMP draft indicates they're looking to reduce or eliminate camping at the MUA, or transfer ownership to another organization (unsure what that would mean for camping): dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_fores… In my brief internet crawl couldn't find anything definitive regarding the status of the MUA.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
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