Always have a couple of back up campsites on hand.
Those of you that have been following this blog over the past eight years know that ghost towns and old mining camps rate high on my list of places to explore. While researching for places to visit in Idaho with some RVing friends, I came across the Spring Mountain mining district and the ghost town of Hahn.
Obviously, RV parks were not available in the area so a boondocking site would have to be found. Zooming in on an the area via Google Earth showed several RVs camped near the base of Spring Mountain. Looking at the date, the image was captured September 9, 2014, indicating it was Labor Day Weekend. My research revealed that Spring Mountain was also a popular area for ATV use. I assumed the camped RVs were enjoying the weekend and doing a little off-roading.
Finding Sites in the Spring Mountain District
My thinking was if we arrived on a weekday, we would have our choice of boondock sites. The number of RVs in the photo also led me to believe that the road conditions were suitable with easy access. Nobody would tow their RV miles over a rough road just for a weekend of fun.
My assumptions, however, proved wrong. We turned off Idaho State Hwy 28 in late August and saw two travel trailers in the distance. They were atop the old smelter site at Hahn where I was planning on camping.
As always, I had a couple of back up campsites flagged on my map. We proceeded to an alternate site on what was a very rough road. How had I miscalculated so badly on someone being camped on a weekday and the condition of the road? After setting up camp and visiting with our ATVless neighbor I had my answer. They were archery antelope hunters!
In my home state of Washington, you don’t have to worry about competing with big game hunters for a camp space until October. In Utah, September is typically the time RVs show up in the national forests to set up hunting camps. I never imagined we would have to compete with hunters for a place in the boondocks before Labor Day.
Our campsite in Hahn, Idaho.
Turns out archery season for antelope opens in mid August. When I learned this and after reviewing Google Earth again, I noticed there we no ATVs parked alongside the RVs in the photos. It now made sense that the RVs in the Google Earth photo were week-long (or longer) hunting camps and not weekend warrior camps.
Wrong assumptions and competing with hunters for campsites prior to Labor Day is just another adventure in RVing! If anyone knows of a comprehensive website that lists hunting seasons for the western states I would love to know about it.
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
I do not understand why “competing” for dispersed campsites is an issue for anyone. Whether a camper is riding horses, hunting, hiking, fishing, harvesting mushrooms, cutting timber, the area can be shared with other campers with different objectives. Bow hunting seasons and black powder seasons preceded regular hunting seasons in the West. If you need specific dates and zones, then you check with regulations posted on Division of Wildlife web-sites for each state where you intend to travel.
Kim, I totally agree that ALL members of the recreating public have equal opportunity to use THEIR public land and have no problem with hunters. I was just surprised to learn that hunting opened before Labor Day as I had never encountered it before. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks! You’ve answered a question I’ve recently had. I like to hunt upland game birds (pheasant quail & grouse) but that’s all I hunt, at the small RV park, where I’ve been spending the past month, there seems to be many camo-clad folks armed with bows and arrows in the park. Since all I hunt is birds I didn’t realize that there was an earlier pre-hunting season bow hunter season. Thanks again for clearing up the mystery.
Steve