The night before @toesalad started his second section and southbound hike on the Long Trail in Vermont we needed a place to sleep in the Burlington area.
One thing we LOVE about the United States are its public lands, forests and parks. The mountainous regions of Northern New England have lots of these lands. And in many places primitive camping is allowed, under certain conditions and restrictions.
This is free camping and we’ll take this option over a campground any chance we get. The price is right, free. The locations are usually quieter and more remote. And it suits our needs great which is to just have a place to pitch a tent and sleep.
We’re not campground people. We don’t go camping to camp. We don’t need services like toilets and showers and activities. We camp as accommodation on our way places, we camp to be in the woods. We camp because we want to hike nearby. Primitive camping suits our needs and interests perfectly.
It’s been hard to find these places in Quebec.
After hiking the AT and never paying for camping its disorientating and restrictive to pay to sleep in the woods.
We are very respectful of the land, always LNT, and we try to follow the rules. 1000 ft from the road was a hard one at this spot and we fudged it.
At this particular spot we met the grandson, a grandfather himself, of the man who donated this land to help build Camels Hump State park. He is working in a habitat restoration project in the area.
It was a privilege to meet him and consider his family’s gift to Vermont and people like us - foreigners who love the woods and appreciate places where we can responsibly recreate.
#dispersedcamping #vermont #camelshumpstatepark
