Indian Creek - Bridger Jacks Campground

Hard to believe but it's been over 14 years since I've been to Indian Creek. A young friend of mine recently moved to Colorado from NYC and also got her first car ... she's taking off shortly for a shakedown run for about a week in Utah. She was looking for an initial place to camp and I suggested Bridger Jacks. Although currently her main interest is backpacking, I met her in a climbing scene hang. I suggested Bridger Jacks campground as an initial place to hook up with the desert climbing tribe, get oriented, and figure out where she wants to head off to ... eps. due to it's desert vibe but also a solid and casual social scene, low law enforcement presence, no camp fees, and being a dirtbag friendly place with a chill vibe. However, I'm now a little concerned as to what changes have occurred in the past 14 years, gulp. Is it still free? Is it now ovecrowded? Is there a BLM panopticon erected on the top of the spire? I recall it going from just open areas without formal sites, to numbered sites (and once I saw a BLM Ranger doing a usage study there). 

So ... how has it changed in the past 14 years? 

No panopticon but you can now leave your vehicle at the intersection of 211 and beef basin rd and take the airport-style moving walkways to the campground. 

The road is wider now, owing to people’s reluctance to drive over what are mostly truly minor ledge obstacles.. Designated sites were formalized by the BLM, although long term residents who care for the place were already starting to do that.  More people are using some kind of potty system, or just going to the beef basin shitter, which is an improvement over the cathole scene.  Still free, and really only crowded during spring break/primetime weekends.  I think the road remains a big deterrent.  

Thanks guys!

Glad to hear things are still chill as I was getting a little worried.

My travels have been mostly hitchhiking and although things are pretty proximate in the Creek, still walking everywhere - including distances which are considered trivial and routine if one has a vehicle for ex. from the creek crossing to the campground or from the campground to Supercrack Buttress - turns into an fairly committed excursion and a real approach. The moving walkway sounds like an impressive improvement and will be a game changer for someone on foot such as myself.

I’m pretty sure that was a joke.

Ted Pinson wrote:

I’m pretty sure that was a joke.

I believe it. In fact I thought they were planning something like that due to all the studies the BLM was doing. As long as it's enclosed in glass to keep the sand and water out the walkway will probably be there a long time. Convenient yes - and I certainly intend to use it - but it makes me a little sad that technology is creeping in to the remote desert: Abbey warned about this sort of thing but it has its own irresistible attraction. So along with the wag bag depots to protect the environment and all the other stuff to reshape human interaction with Nature it's inevitable that they'd put in the walkway to help preserve the delicate flora, prevent widespread erosion from all the foot and vehicle traffic, and restrict future impact to just the small footprint of the walkway. My main concern is that they don't introduce camping fees because that would usher in the end of an era. 

Actually the wag bag depot hasn’t been filled since m/l the last time you were there 

Though you have to pay, Creek Pasture would be a better spot to meet folks.  If she just wants to camp, the Bridgers are great, but the social scene is definitely Creek Pasture now.

While Adam is probably correct, I'm not sure why people just don't hang at Hamburger

Trad Man wrote:

While Adam is probably correct, I'm not sure why people just don't hang at Hamburger

Shhhhhh. That's where I like to go. Sometimes there's more of a dirtbike, off road, and national park crowd there that can be off-putting. 

Adam Fleming wrote:

Shhhhhh. That's where I like to go. Sometimes there's more of a dirtbike, off road, and national park crowd there that can be off-putting. 

Off putting how? Is their beer too cheap for you?

Adam Fleming wrote:

Shhhhhh. That's where I like to go. Sometimes there's more of a dirtbike, off road, and national park crowd there that can be off-putting. 

Hamburgers hardly a secret...everyone I ran into last fall said "we're camping on hamburger! by the van with the pirate flag, you can't miss it...." what was going on over there? New 5 acre "dispersed" camp site? The BLM guy was driving around taking photos of that and all the dispersed camping happening on access roads...

Maybe it was just my imagination, but when I camped at the BJ (huh huh) camping area in 2019, the road in seemed much rougher, rockier, and washed out than when I was a local in 2005-07.

Pnelson wrote:

Maybe it was just my imagination, but when I camped at the BJ (huh huh) camping area in 2019, the road in seemed much rougher, rockier, and washed out than when I was a local in 2005-07.

I remember spring 2019 being pretty heavy for rainfall, I think one storm dumped 2x the expected monthly average in a few days on a drought experiment I was working at the time.