Minor gripe about Mather CG, Grand Canyon...

[DiscoveryDiver]

We really love this campground, it's one of my favorites...

Lots to do
Nice facilities
Good space
Lots of trees
Visits by deer, elk and coyotes

As other members have posted, their rule on hammocks is the same as clothes lines, nothing is to be left tied across trees while the site is unattended so that deer and elk do not get entangled with their antlers...fair enough.

On our second morning, I was taking down 4 hammocks for our daily activities and had an idea. If I set up my Superfly as a tent between two trees with no space for a deer or elf to have access to the space between those trees (and no lines above knee height), that would eliminate the risk to antlers.

So, I set up my tarp to completely block the two trees (pictures attached)...

I knew a ranger usually made rounds in the morning, so I waited until he/she came around to show/propose what I had done. If I could leave the two hammocks for my wife and I hung under the tarp...saving me some setup time in morning and evening.

The Ranger had a look and agreed that the setup would eliminate the entanglement possibility, or at least make it the same risk as for any tent with guy lines...and it was approved...

Well, we returned to the site in the early evening after a day of hiking...to find a "citation" on the tarp, saying that I had left something tied to a tree unattended...

The citation said to come see them at the office, but the office was closed and we were going to leave in the early am next morning long before open time...I'm sure it would have been a pointless discussion from my point of view anyway...

Sorry all...hope I didn't sour the water there...

[gavinar]

Inconsistency in rules is really obnoxious, though I suppose it's better to be inconsistent than hardline on a pointless rule, unless they tell you one thing and then enforce it a different way.

I had a similar thing happen with my sailing canoe. I have a canoe, standard 17'6" canoe. Under Oregon law, it doesn't require registration. Any sailboat over 12" requires registration. I got a kit that bolts on a sail, leeboards, and steering oars, which essentially turns the canoe into a temporary sailboat. The sail is one like you'd typically find on an 8' sailboat, only 55 sqft. Given all these factors, it seemed like kind of a gray area, whether I needed registration or not. So I called the State marine board, the initial person on the phone had no idea, so I asked to talk to a manager. Manager says "You'll be fine, you shouldn't need registration for the craft you've described, since the sail is smaller and not a permanent part of the canoe." (emphasis on the shouldn't, notice she didn't say "Don't").
Apparently the Lane County marine patrol didn't get the memo, because he gave me a $230 ticket, no warning or anything, just a ticket. Went into court to try to fight it, explained the situation to the judge, no reduction, guilty, you violated the rule, sailboat greater than 12' pay the fine.

Sorry for the threadjack, but your situation just reminded me of this

[Shug]

Just another reason to camp where there is no office or uniforms and walkie-talkies around.
But you had family....and that is different.
It is minor but a bother nonetheless.
Shug

[DiscoveryDiver]

Inconsistency in rules is really obnoxious, though I suppose it's better to be inconsistent than hardline on a pointless rule, unless they tell you one thing and then enforce it a different way.

I had a similar thing happen with my sailing canoe. I have a canoe, standard 17'6" canoe. Under Oregon law, it doesn't require registration. Any sailboat over 12" requires registration. I got a kit that bolts on a sail, leeboards, and steering oars, which essentially turns the canoe into a temporary sailboat. The sail is one like you'd typically find on an 8' sailboat, only 55 sqft. Given all these factors, it seemed like kind of a gray area, whether I needed registration or not. So I called the State marine board, the initial person on the phone had no idea, so I asked to talk to a manager. Manager says "You'll be fine, you shouldn't need registration for the craft you've described, since the sail is smaller and not a permanent part of the canoe." (emphasis on the shouldn't, notice she didn't say "Don't").
Apparently the Lane County marine patrol didn't get the memo, because he gave me a $230 ticket, no warning or anything, just a ticket. Went into court to try to fight it, explained the situation to the judge, no reduction, guilty, you violated the rule, sailboat greater than 12' pay the fine.

Sorry for the threadjack, but your situation just reminded me of this

$230 is a steep ticket

[mbiraman]

Just another reason to camp where there is no office or uniforms and walkie-talkies around.
But you had family....and that is different.
It is minor but a bother nonetheless.
Shug

+1 on that one,,,,very annoying