On Saturday evening, I arrived in southern Colorado amidst the beautiful San Juan mountains, and found a nice place to setup camp along Devil’s Creek, not too far from Pagosa Springs. This is my first time camping in Colorado, and spending any time in the state besides a very short drive through the southwest corner a few year’s back during a road trip.
It is quite an interesting story of how I found myself here, for I had not planned to leave the Santa Fe mountains of northern New Mexico until the end of the month, and was tentatively planning to then stay at least a night or two at higher elevations in the mountains near Taos, before then finally heading towards either Colorado or Utah sometime in early to mid May. And even when I did decide to cut my time in NM short and head further north ahead of schedule so to speak, this was not my intended destination, as I rather hoped to find a place to camp for a week or two along the San Juan River. But alas, neither of those scenarios played out, and here I am in Colorado a good week and a half earlier than expected, camping along a Creek I had never even heard of, still enjoying my good fortune to have found anywhere at all to camp in these parts, let alone right next to water, and that it turned out to be such an ideal picturesque location.
The adventure began when a Forest Service Fire unit drove past my campsite in NM and noticed my wood stovepipe sticking out the top of my canvas tent. “Is that your tent,” the driver asked me, speaking from his now open truck window. “Yes,” I responded. “Is that a wood stove you got in there?”
“Yes, is that a problem?” I responded, well aware by now that the southwest regional so-called covid19 fire ban covering all national forests in NM included both wood stoves and charcoal grills. He explained this, and handed me a copy of the official order, which detailed all the specifics including the propane stove/lantern exception, and the punishment of up to a $5,000 fine and/or 6 months imprisonment. He said that even though my stovepipe was fitted with a spark arrestor, it was still a violation of the order, and asked me not to burn a fire that evening while promising that he would check with his supervisor and see if any exception regarding wood stoves with attached spark arrestors could be made, but didn’t offer me much hope for such an outcome.
“Sorry, I know it’s gonna be a cold night,” he remarked. “You’ll be sleeping close to your dog tonight!” After voicing my opinion that my stove was perfectly safe and explaining that it had never caused fires in the far more fire-conducive conditions of the dry southern Arizona grasslands, I assured him I wouldn’t start a fire that night. He said it looked like my stove was safe, and explained it wasn’t that my use of it was dangerous, “but if something were to happen, we’re short on personnel right now.” Apparently the Forest Service along with some other government agencies have reduced the number of active employees in response to the so-called pandemic. Of course that doesn’t negate the nonsensical nature of banning something that doesn’t pose a risk to begin with, particularly when private dwellings across the state in much drying areas, and in the very same vicinity just a mile or so up the canyon may continue to legally use their wood stoves and as far as I know, even tend outdoor fires for that matter. But then again, politics is just a massive nonsensical game to begin with.
This particular gentlemen was as nice as could be for a government employee trampling on your rights, and it was quite clear he was simply ‘doing his job’ and didn’t want me to get a hefty fine. He gave me a friendly warning that if any Forest Service Law Enforcement agents themselves came up, they would “probably” give me a ticket. Then after apologizing for the inconvenience, off he drove. Since it was mid-day I’m sure he would have no idea which of the other campers further up the canyon had been burning campfires at night, being there are pre-built fire rings at every pullout next to the creek.
In any event, rather than push my luck any further, and mainly because I had promised not to make a fire that night, I proceeded to take down my stove and began to pack up, deciding that it was time to move on, to a state that was not covered by this insane fire ban. I made the 45 minute drive into Santa Fe to pick up a few groceries, not knowing where I would end up next, and used the opportunity to look for potential destination while I was in cell service. I found what looked like a beautiful area with many campsite options along the East Fork of the San Juan River north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado; and after a web search revealed no news articles regarding any such covid19 fire ban in Colorado, I decided that’s where I would be heading next.
After packing everything up, I left my beautiful creekside campsite late Saturday morning, and headed down Dalton Canyon towards Santa Fe, and then from there up towards Colorado.
The drive was scenic, and after passing through the Carson National Forest north of Santa Fe, there were lots of gorgeous colored rock formations, that I call ‘painted’ rock because of the color variations.
Then after a few miles of this desert scenery, in far northern NM the landscape abruptly changed to lush green valleys sitting below the gorgeous snow-capped San Juan mountains as the backdrop to the north.
Ever so slowly I crept closer and closer until eventually they were right there in front of me, before vanishing out of sight, blocked by the surrounding lower hills. It wasn’t too terribly long after crossing the border into Colorado that I arrived in Pagosa Springs, where I filled up on gas before heading towards my final destination of the day, or so I thought.
Much to my dismay, the gate on East Fork San Juan Rd was still closed, which perplexed me as I had read more than one review of this dispersed camping area by people who had in previous years camped up there in March, or so they said; and I thought if that was the case then it would surely have to be open by the last week of April! But I was wrong. I was also a little surprised to see a fire ban sign here, similar to the ones throughout NM, though no attached paperwork explaining the specifics or mentioning that it was a covid19 ban. Nonetheless I began to suspect that Colorado too was under a different but similar covid19 fire ban order.
Many other forest service access gates I had passed on the drive up had also been closed, and I began to wonder if I would even be able to find a place to camp in these parts, especially with water access, or if I should just head towards Moab, Utah, only another three hours away. I could get there by dark, I thought, and knew of one nice little spot by a creek on forest service land not too far south of Moab where I could chill for a week, as well as a number of decent places I could camp on BLM land for a night or two if that one spot was taken, while deciding where to go from there.
I mulled over my options as I drove back to Pagosa Springs, noticing how numerous people were tending fires along the river, right next to the forest, and I laughed at the irony.
I once again stopped at the gas station in Pagosa Springs to scrutinize the area on Google maps, looking for any forest service access roads nearby that ran alongside a creek, any creek. There are tons of creeks and rivers covering the Colorado mountains, and I was determined to find a campsite next to a creek if I was going to stay more than a night; and I was thinking that if I was only going to stay one night, I may as well just head to Utah tonight and get the drive over with already. As it turned out, I noticed a creek on the map only about 10 to 20 miles west of the town, that looked to have a forest service road running alongside it for a short distance. I would have to drive through a bunch of private land to get to it, but it looked promising, and only another half hour drive, so I set off to see what I would find.
After driving through the private land on several different dirt roads, I arrived at forest service land, and there was no closed gate! There was, however, another large sign making it clear that both campfires and grill use was banned, and since I was high up on a hill with good cell service, I decided to go ahead and call the local forest ranger to see if it also included wood stoves before going any further. No answer, as they only return calls, so you must leave a message, all due to covid19 of course. But the pre-recorded message did say I could find more info on the San Juan National Forest website, and they even included the web address, so after driving a bit further and still having decent reception, I decided to see what I could find out online.
Lo and behold, all the national forests in Colorado along with other additional states not included in the southwest regional fire ban, were also under a different but rather identical ‘covid19 fire ban order’. Well this was even more nonsensical than the NM fire ban, as down there at least the fire danger was officially listed as ‘high’, and yet I had literally just driven past a sign with the fire danger up here listed as ‘low’! I guess my destiny was to be an outlaw for a few days longer still, I thought, as I chuckled at the craziness of it all. Just what I had left NM to get away from! I decided to press on and see what I would find.
After winding my way up a few more switchbacks, I found myself sharply descending into the valley below through which this Devil’s Creek flowed. It turned out that there were three viable campsites next to the creek, and I opted for the first, a couple hundred feet from the road. After scouting the area and settling on a place to pitch my tent under a massive fir tree, and deciding to stay here at least a few days to a week, my immediate future as an outlaw was once again set in stone.
I then embarked on a walk back up the road, to get some much needed exercise for both Dakota and myself, and in hopes of finding some cell service nearby. Indeed, within half a mile, I was high enough up the hill to get some spotty service, but it was good enough to check on some various national forests to see if there were any states not covered by similar covid19 fire bans. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, at least as of then and as far as I could find, all of the national forests in Utah, Idaho and Montana are free from such tyrannical measures!
Well, after spending a week here, I would be off to Utah, I imagined, and would once again be able to freely build a campfire for heat and/or cooking without being an outlaw and without risk of any ridiculous fine. But for now, I was still an outlaw, if I insisted on using my stove to cook or heat water for a hot shower, which I was intent on getting the next evening when I wouldn’t be busy spending all night setting up my camp.
After getting my campsite all set up on Saturday night, I was able to go for a nice long hike on Sunday, as I found a trailhead nearby that leads deep into the nearby forests. I was quite pleasantly surprised to get really decent cell service at several high point along this trail, which also took us right by a tiny pond, or maybe more like a marsh. Dakota was loving the outdoors after being cooped up in the car all afternoon the day before, and I was loving the views.
Although quite similar to the mountains and forests of northern New Mexico, it is also just a bit more similar to Montana, reminding me of the place I called home for so many years. It was nice to see wildflowers once again!
A little further up, and the trail took us past a real pond, which could maybe even be considered a tiny lake, and some awesome views of a nearby ridge.
Then it was time to head back down and collect some firewood so I could heat up some water for that much desired hot shower later in the evening.
I met some locals who were recreating in the area with their 4-wheelers, and was informed that the gate for this road had in fact just opened on Friday, literally the day before I arrived! Talk about good timing...
Dakota enjoyed playing with their blue heelers, and after they left, she found another playmate in an older lab. That couple who were just enjoying the afternoon by the creek invited me to share a beer with them, and I learned much about the local area. They had at one time lived the same camping lifestyle as me, before eventually settling down in Pagosa Springs. They told me of friends currently in Florida who had been living the camping lifestyle until so many people gave them crap for camping during the so-called pandemic that they gave it up for the time being to stay at a friend’s house.
These locals also knew a high-level forest service employee who is against all of the covid19 restrictions being enacted, but said there are others who are pushing for even stricter and farther reaching restrictions, such as a total nationwide ban on all public use across all national forest land. Their fear is the public using non-patrolled ‘public’ land. And since they have reduced the number of active agents in response to covid19, they are ‘short’ on agents that can be sent out on patrol.
If such a ban were to go into effect, and they did subsequently stop all forest service patrols, they would have no way of enforcing the ban other than closing gates. And as I well know, there are a large number of forest service access roads without any gates at all, and others that must be left open for private land access. If such a totalitarian measure were actually implemented, there is no way it would stop me and certainly others from continuing to use national forest land; it would simply force users to use non-gated areas or hike in by foot or travel on a bike. There are plenty of such undated access roads in Utah, however, so I am not in the least worried about my own ability to continue this lifestyle in the near future.
Apparently the BLM is attempting to shut down large swaths of public land in some areas, and have reportedly been kicking campers off of public land under the guise of responding to the covid19 ‘pandemic’, and this couple said they had heard of this going on around Moab, Utah. A user commenting on one of my recent posts explained how a friend of his had found an area posted as full, but when they checked it out to see if there was actually room to park their camper, actually found it completely empty with no other parties camping at all!
It would appear that the government is trying to use as many methods as they can to keep people off the public lands, and restricted to the cities. Many public lands are officially off limits, they are apparently attempting to discourage use in other areas, and some higher ups among the authorities are seeking complete, nationwide ban on any use of all public lands. However, without local enforcement of any such current and potential future public land use bans, the federal agents on their own are and will be entirely incapable of fully enforcing such measures. As it is, there are many rural areas that were already lightly or extremely rarely patrolled, if at all. Much public land access cannot be gated and physically shut off to the public. And there is a good chunk of the public who will not stand for such tyranny, and will resist such outlandish totalitarianism by going about their business as usual.
Already, there are counties refusing to go along with federal recommendations. Right here in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where fires have been banned on public land, I was informed that the county Sheriff refused to implement a county-wide fire ban, and so fires are still legal on any non-federal land in the county. Hence I saw numerous people with fires next the river, right outside the forest on my drive through the area. Cross that boundary into federally managed land, though, and the very same completely safe and legal act becomes officially ‘unsafe’ and ‘illegal’. And that right there is the insanity of government and politics.
They can easily outlaw any freedom they choose with the simple stroke of a pen, but how can they enforce such broad orders, and how do they go about ‘banning’ all the outlaws such orders create? The real question isn’t about the legal orders or laws themselves, but about the people’s willingness to comply and ability to enforce them.
It is an interesting time to be living the camping lifestyle for sure, but I have no doubt that I will be able to successfully continue to do so in the near future, without any major fears. Hopefully some of this madness will soon go away and things will begin to get back towards the old ‘normal’.
There are always ways to go about living free in an unfree world, and to outsmart the tyrants. I have decided to take down my stovepipe during the day in the off chance a forest ranger drives by, so as not to give them the opportunity to discover I even have a wood stove in my tent. Even if they were to unilaterally ban camping on all public land, there are places I know of where the rangers rarely if ever go, even when they are fully manned - remote places far from any large city, places with no gates that can be locked, places where the chances of me being found are next to zero.
If such draconian measures are taken, I will be immediately off to Utah to just such a place, where I plan to be going next anyway, and I guess I would just continue being an outlaw just a little bit longer. If all goes well, no such nationwide ban will ever be implemented, and when I do head that direction in the near future, I will finally be back from my brief stint as a backcountry outlaw. In the meantime, every evening when I light up my wood stove to cook dinner on, I feel just a tad like Robin Hood, an outlaw hiding out in the forest on the King’s land, me and Dakota living free in an unfree world.