Lifehacker recently posted this article about making summer camping reservations now to get spots in more popular destinations. This is becoming a growing pain in my ass....because there is just something inherently wrong with having to reserve a spot on the ground for you and your tent. With a credit card. Six months or more in advance!
If I've never been to Yosemite before (which I haven't), how would I know which back-country site I would want to try and reserve? It's ridiculous. One of the purest pleasures of strapping on a backpack and heading into the backcountry is discovery - not only of place and wildlife and flora and fauna and landscape, but also of the sometimes Perfect Camping Spot. In my humble opinion, this is what backcountry hikers love most. The feeling of discovery. The last thing I want to do when on a backcountry trip is block myself into a desintation itinerary with a timetable. What about the path less traveled? What if I want to strike a different route then the one I was aiming for? What about flexibility and discovery?
The need for guerilla reservation tactics is because more and more people are heeding the call of Nature. They have a real need to escape from the wholly plugged-in, hyperfast reality in which they live the bulk of their lives. It's also a simple supply and demand dilemma. More people with a desire to use public lands, with a public land balance that is not able to meet the need.
Really makes you want to go build a cabin in the woods. Good luck finding a spot to yourself, though. You can petition here to protect the Public Lands that we do have from being parceled and sold; or here to support the creation of public landss (has a search-by-state feature for existing or proposed areas).
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