as of today! Commercial boat tours start tomorrow on Maligne Lake which means that my planned 3 day kayak/camp trip June 10-12 is a go. Only bad news is that Parks Canada weren't too keen on hanging so I will take my tent as a backup in case I'm told by the rangers to take the WB down.
Great news, have a good trip.
I can't believe the ice is only just going now, we're coming over in 6 weeks and I'm only packing my shorts
Glad your trip is a go. Look forward to some pics. Hope you get to sleep off the ground
" The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."
“The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer
www.birchsidecustomwoodwork.com
Just tell the ranger that your hammock is your tent!
I'm going to try and get a confirmation from Parks Canada. I know there have been other Parks that have allowed hanging, not sure if the decision lies with the individual park. Maybe talking to someone else will get me the answer I'm looking for!!
You might want to present the idea that you use a TARP instead of an enclosed TENT, and sleep in a "camping hammock" underneath the Tarp. To my way of thinking that's a bit less "radical".Originally Posted by ScottD
"The more I carry the happier I am in camp; the less I carry the happier I am getting there" - Sgt. Rock
Had to Google your destination. Looks nice. The 3d effect in Google earth is pretty impressive.
Wish we could get Backpacker or someone to do a cover story on hammock camping. Might go a long way towards park acceptance if they had seen it before.
Do rangers usually check tents at night? I'm just thinking as a last resort, you could have the tarp set up between 2 trees as normal. Then, right at bedtime, just hang the tarp and lights out? It just seems they would not be likely to even know a hammock was there.
Of course, you might have the old "tent platform/pad" hassle. Where you have to pitch your tent on a certain 10 sq.ft. spot, which has no trees.
This is why I often avoid National Parks, too many rules. But, a couple of years ago when I hiked Olympic National Park, they just told me to hang wherever I wanted.
From what I understand the Park Ranger checks daily. Hopefully it would be early in the day and I could do what you suggest BillyBob. The explanation I received early in the booking process was that the Park considers hammock camping to be similar to "lean-to" camping which is not permitted, that they want to see the camper use the pad.
It is 22km (13.5 miles) to the end of the lake where one of the campsites is. The other is about halfway down the lake which I will stop at for the 3rd night on my way back. There are only 8 spots in each camp area and they are monitored by a reservation system and the rangers. Interestingly enough, there are no motorized boats allowed (electric yes) other than the ranger and the commercial tour operator which runs to Spirit Island which is about halfway down the lake. Maligne is the second largest glacier fed lake in the world and its tourquoise water has an average temerature of 39f or 4c.
Ice melting? Its 100 degrees here today! Ha! Have fune on your trip! I am betting you can get by with hanging...
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks