Does a Weekend Warrior Lifestye Suck This Much

So we're reverting back to a predominantly weekend warrior lifestyle after lots of years having an irregular schedule. It's only week 3 or so, and I know it's high season, but holy shit. Do I now need a reservation everywhere I go? We pull into campgrounds on a Thursday night and everywhere is either booked or the site is only open on Thursday because someone has reserved it through Reserve America for Friday and Saturday. Come October do I need to camp out on my laptop and plan everything out so I can park my fucking Winnebago somewhere? Do I need to buy a Winnebago?
I know there are lots of you guys and gals out there that climb a lot harder than I do. Is there no spontaneity anymore? How do you do it?

walk in backcountry permits for the rest of my life and finding forest service land for rouge camping

i feel your pain

A ranger told me two weeks ago that any campsite that requires a reservation wasnt worth it.. Im starting to believe it.

If your deadset on an area that requires a reservation, i know of a little trick with RA to help you get a spot.. Youll still need to plan 6 months in advanced though.

I dont know where you live but in California, there is plenty of BLM land that is free and plenty of other areas where you can just walk in and find a nice place to setup shop for the weekend

I do agree with you though, as a weekend warrior myself, i find it increasingly difficult to camp in my backyard mountains. I find myself driving farther and deeper..

In Colorado I only look at actual sites if there are no reservations. Otherwise gooooooooooood luck. Typically you have to either leave work by 11 am on Friday or head up Thursday night to have a chance at a spot.

More and more though I just look for free BLM or USFS camping. It is a little more logistics but just easier all around.

And the weekend warrior life isn't so bad.

I think it depends a lot on what you are getting in return for your loss of weekday freedom. Unless it is something good, you will likely view the weekend warrior life with ever increasing bitterness.

Mediocre - Welcome to hell man!

plantmandan wrote:I think it depends a lot on what you are getting in return for your loss of weekday freedom. Unless it is something good, you will likely view the weekend warrior life with ever increasing bitterness.

I get what you mean there. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to actually be able to plan a few months out because your schedule never changes. I just don't remember everything being so damned crowded all the time. This may be our excuse to invest in a van or camper. I've run into and seen too many wack-jobs out on BLM and USFS land to feel safe leaving a camp set up while I'm gone all day.

in CO it helps to have a high clearance truck. i can camp in a lot of dispersed sites in national forests because mom and dad in their subaru can't get up the road.

One solution - move to New Mexico. I feel your pain from having lived in northern CA, but often in NM you're the only person at the campground/trailhead/climbing area. Seriously, its kinda creepy.

Owen Summerscales wrote:One solution - move to New Mexico. I feel your pain from having lived in northern CA, but often in NM you're the only person at the campground/trailhead/climbing area. Seriously, its kinda creepy.

Not a fan of New Mexico. Beautiful, but I've seen a lot of backwards shit out there.

Not that I haven't seen a lot of backward shit in WA, OR and CO, but it seems to have been magnified in NM

mediocre wrote: Not a fan of New Mexico. Beautiful, but I've seen a lot of backwards shit out there. Not that I haven't seen a lot of backward shit in WA, OR and CO, but it seems to have been magnified in NM

Yes! Keep that stereotype up so those of us in NM continue to enjoy no crowds!

Btw, New Mexico, especially northern New Mexico, is starting to see a shitload of traffic from Colorado & Arizona. Colorado because "it is too crowded," & Arizona because "it is too hot." This has been my experience over the last 6 weeks at a somewhat obscure bouldering area and a pretty obscure sport wall. A local crack climbing area is starting to look like super crack buttress (exaggeration).

If you're in the east, state and fed forest land.
Primitive camp sites.

Welcome to worn out, hung over and beat down Monday's

#daytrips

The reservations thing sucks for us, spontaneous escapes seem the only way. We have found booked up areas more than once, including RMNP a couple weeks ago and Yellowstone in August.

The big van idea is sounding more enticing. In a New Mexico forest with dispersed camping we had just set camp at dusk when this creepy vet came up and told us he had PTSD and got all out of sorts when his dog barked at others. He asked us to break camp and move on. After a long discussion we came to terms with sharing the forest. We didn't sleep well that night, maybe because I was spooning my gun instead of my wife. The kids sure did shut up for the first time. Aside from the crazy dude, we had the most peaceful camp ever.

We go to get away from the crowds. Now it is just about doing better research and finding that special location to explore. Keep leaving no trace.

mediocre wrote: I get what you mean there. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to actually be able to plan a few months out because your schedule never changes. I just don't remember everything being so damned crowded all the time. This may be our excuse to invest in a van or camper. I've run into and seen too many wack-jobs out on BLM and USFS land to feel safe leaving a camp set up while I'm gone all day.

We're in Denver and feel your pain. It has become cumbersome to plan that far out, pack all the gear, get on the road, traffic, dry the gear when you get home, get ready for Monday, yada yada yada. We have a great apt downtown for a good price, we're not having kids. Last week, we sent our deposit check to Sportsmobile for a Sprinter 4x4 build. It's really the only way we're going to get out and and make the most of every weekend. Shower, pooper, signal booster built-in so I can finish up work while cruising up I70 (wife is off work at 2:15).

Otherwise, we've made a habit of getting up *really* early to be at the crag at sunrise before the masses get there. We both walk to work everyday, but we're logging close to 20K miles a year in commuting to and from the mountains.

We're going with a fully optioned Sprinter, custom layout, lithium batteries, the works. It'll be around 110K when done, but we'll be able to take warm showers at the TH after a day of BC skiing. At first, it was hard to comprehend that price, but after realizing how much it'll change our life - it seemed like a no brainer. After sending in the check, we're giddy like school kids at the thought of not having to find a campsite, and not having to deal with all the packing and unpacking for weekend trips.

#vanlife

Reid Rechel wrote: We're in Denver and feel your pain. It has become cumbersome to plan that far out, pack all the gear, get on the road, traffic, dry the gear when you get home, get ready for Monday, yada yada yada. We have a great apt downtown for a good price, we're not having kids. Last week, we sent our deposit check to Sportsmobile for a Sprinter 4x4 build. It's really the only way we're going to get out and and make the most of every weekend. Shower, pooper, signal booster built-in so I can finish up work while cruising up I70 (wife is off work at 2:15). Otherwise, we've made a habit of getting up *really* early to be at the crag at sunrise before the masses get there. We both walk to work everyday, but we're logging close to 20K miles a year in commuting to and from the mountains. We're going with a fully optioned Sprinter, custom layout, lithium batteries, the works. It'll be around 110K when done, but we'll be able to take warm showers at the TH after a day of BC skiing. At first, it was hard to comprehend that price, but after realizing how much it'll change our life - it seemed like a no brainer. After sending in the check, we're giddy like school kids at the thought of not having to find a campsite, and not having to deal with all the packing and unpacking for weekend trips. #vanlife

Holy shit. Way to pull the trigger

Reid Rechel wrote: We're going with a fully optioned Sprinter, custom layout, lithium batteries, the works. It'll be around 110K when done, but we'll be able to take warm showers at the TH after a day of BC skiing.

Yeah man, the answer is to spend 110k so you can take a hot shower. Jesus Christ.

Being a weekend warrior is a nuisance, since you're fighting against the pack. You need to have your logistics on lockdown to make it work. I have found that having secret bivy spots, and/or the ability to stealth-camp in you vehicle are key. Having to rely on finding an official campsite in a campground on Friday night, within 3 hours of a major city---forget it. But having somewhere you can roll into at 10:30 pm, and be able to rely on it being quiet and unoccupied, makes those trips more possible. Pullouts to park in, caves to sleep in, whatever you can find. It takes some legwork to figure out your spots, but once you do you can return to them over and over again.

Don't know what you guys are talking about. Only 1 campsite at Turkey Rocks was used on sat. I was the only person on the entire road into Thunder Ridge.

Andy Novak wrote: Yeah man, the answer is to spend 110k so you can take a hot shower. Jesus Christ.

And live for extended periods at ski resort lots. Live downtown Crested Butte in the summer for riding, and the next week, but living in J-hole. Stealth camp in parking lots for dawn patrols.

But, I see that the price and ability to shower has offended you. We put in our years sleeping in the back of our wagon. We work hard, play hard, and buy things we like. g'damn right we're getting a badass van!