SurlyLHT26in08

Would you Camp with a Homeless Person if he or she have a good Stealth Camping Spot??

When I got my Surly LHT 26in 52cm 2008 in 11/2008 I gone Homeless by Choice in
San Diego, California to get my camping gear and bike gear and from Feb to Nov I work
the Carnival games in California and I am on SSI and SSDI from US Gov to live on and I have
a good Stealth Camping Spot near Pacific Beach and I world let anyone camp with me!!!

My Camp Spot there is a lot of room to share

indyfabz

boomhauer

I took their spot once in a drainage ditch at a Seminary in the Toronto suburbs. They didn't seem to be mad.

bradtx

I've found the homeless in my area to be a bit opportunistic and territorial so I wouldn't camp near them.

Brad

alan s 

They tend to smell bad, so no. Not saying I smell that great after a day's ride.

mdilthey

Since everyone here is usually so level-headed and nonjudgemental, this should be a model thread.

I'm with Indy, pass the popcorn

BigAura

If you're stealth then no one should find you

mev

I "wild camp" more than I stealth camp, the difference being that I don't necessarily try for stealth and hiding.

Not sure I would be able to tell that a particular tent was from a homeless person or someone who had a residence elsewhere. In general, when I am looking for a camp site, I'll try to find my own site rather than camping right next to someone else.

So for your hypothetical question to work, most likely two things would need to be true (1) the person would need to invite me to camp next to them and (2) the person would need to tell me they were homeless. Since my natural bias is to camp in my own spot, it would really depend on the vibe I got in the conversation and my sense of what the motivation was for someone to want me to camp next to them. I'm not sure the homeless or not homeless aspect would make as big of a difference by itself.

Machka 

1) Carrying on from mev's comment ... "In general, when I am looking for a camp site, I'll try to find my own site rather than camping right next to someone else."

I don't understand people who want to pitch their tent right next to ours. We've been in the type of campground that is basically a large field. We've pitched our tent in a nice, out of the way spot, gone off to get some groceries and returned to find that despite the fact that there is a large empty field available, someone has pitched their tent right next to ours. WHY???

So when I'm wild camping, I don't want to be near anyone either. In fact, that's part of the point of wild camping. If we found a likely-looking spot, and it was occupied, we'd be polite and move on.


2) When we tour, we're often out in the middle of nowhere ... or if not nowhere, then travelling between small towns. There aren't a whole lot of other people cycling or camping. There just simply aren't a whole lot of other people.


3) We often try to tour outside popular tourist times ... and again, not a whole lot of other people around.

B. Carfree

If I want to sleep next to homeless people, I'll go home to Eugene, OR, the homeless capital of the US.

Just kidding. Like others, I usually make my campground as far from others as is possible when stealth or wild camping, so generally I wouldn't camp next to anyone, homeless or not.

mstateglfr 

I can say with certainty this never crossed my mind before now.

That's all I have.

DropBarFan

I guess I'd have to consider the circumstances. In California housing costs are very high--I've read about folks working in Silicon Valley that make $$ that would be a semi-comfortable living in most parts of US but in Silicon Valley they can't afford a small apartment. Also I've seen articles about NoCal homeless camps where folks with skills & creativity rig up some fairly nice mini-houses.

hilltowner

In the summer of '11 I was looking for a bike path in Keene, NH and stopped to talk with another guy on a bicycle to inquire as to its whereabouts. The long and short of the conversation was that I could go looking for a stealth campsite or share his. He was homeless and unemployed though his knowledge of bicycles led me to believe he had some skills as a bike mechanic. He was a pleasant enough guy and welcomed the company. In the morning I gave him $20 which was what I calculated would have been the fee for a tentsite at the local Wheelock Park campground. The one he provided, while closer to downtown, was probably quieter than the campground would have been. Plus, there were two trees that were spaced perfectly for my hammock which is always an issue at campgrounds.

urbanescapee

I try not to be judgmental but unfortunately, my reality is that most homeless folks that I have encountered have serious mental illnesses and addictions that cause them to have very unpredictable behavior. That alone is enough for me to say that unless I already knew the person somehow, I would not even consider it.

I also share the sentiment that when I do camp, I don't want to do it around anyone else anyways. I have the same problem backpacking, you'd think that in thousands of square miles of wilderness people would have the decency to camp elsewhere. I have found though, through extensive traveling around the world, that Americans seems to be unique in terms of having access to vast wilderness to camp in. Most people that I find camping next to me in the U.S. are euro and have few spaces where they can camp in solitude back home so maybe they camp near others because that's all they know...

Vintage_Cyclist

My friends and I ended up stopping one night in Keene on a tour from Albany to Acadia National Park in Maine. We thought we were going to use the AYH for lodging, but it had just closed because Keene State College (where it was) was gearing up for the fall semester. We ended up camping on the college baseball diamond's infield.

As for homeless, most of them have issues, including opportunistic predatory behavior. Personally, I would avoid them.

stevepusser

As for people camping right next to you, I think it's because they believe you've scoped out the field and nabbed the best spot, so they should settle for the next best thing.

I've also noticed the same thing at empty picnic areas with scores of tables with me being the only one eating lunch; as soon as another family shows up with screaming kids, they will head toward me and sit at the closest table possible!

I'll bet the OP's camp is off the San Luis Rey River bike path near Oceanside...Hopefully the original photo doesn't have GPS data appended by the phone or camera.

Oh, wait, that photo's near PB..Tecelote canyon?

hilltowner

I didn't get that impression from Bradford, "King of Keene" as he referred to himself. Just a very nice guy who had some unfortunate events in his life. There but for the grace of God go you and I.

BigAura

I tend to wild-camp more than stealth but no matter what I always try a find a location where I'll cause as close to zero impact as possible. It looks like the OP's spot is one I'd choose but more than likely if stumbled upon while occupied I'd move on.

Here's my camp site from this spring:


Nicolet National Forest

Trevtassie

I would if it was Mad Dog... https://www.perthstreetbikes.com/for...d.php?t=147514

I used to love watching him at traffic lights. His favourite trick was to ride past motorists with open windows and just bark at them.... then he'd hammer off with his thongs (flip flops or rubber sandals to the rest of the world) hanging all over is beartrap pedals.

MassiveD

What's the point though, That as long as they are the right class homeless or not doesn't mater? Or matters less, which is probably true.

The Op's original post seems more like a warm showers listing, than a question about the pros and cons of sharing camping spots with homeless people. I have minimal desire to share camping spots with anyone other than family members, though it can be great it is not what I set out looking for. So by definition his spot would not be desirable to me, and the fact he is homeless is not going to be the thing that tips me in favour, though it could be a great experience to share, conceptually.

Homeless and stealth raise different questions. In some urban areas, there are often homeless people that the authorities leave alone, or seem almost scared to confront. But random rich tourists who don't want to pay their way, and are breaking all kinds of municipal laws. Open season. So the idea of choosing a homeless area could have some tactical validity, but not really much since stealth never tips it's hand, and in some respects is actually easier in large cities.

Cyclebum

• Would you Camp with a Homeless Person if he or She have a good Stealth Camping Spot?

No.

OTOH, when they show up in my hometown on a bicycle, I do interact and assist if needed. Had several interesting and rewarding encounters.

fietsbob

After the OP worked the Carny Circuit for a while He Should know the type of person in those camps .
[expect theft, ?]

I liked touring out of the country myself

where I went there were less people pushed into the margins by the economic 'winner take all' system

that is destroying the middle classes in the US.

vik 

I don't tour in cities or towns so I rarely run into any homeless folks.

I did once run into a guy panning for gold along a river and stealth camping in the forest near it. He was hiking back to his camp with groceries as we met him on a steep hill. We chatted as we all walked up that hill. He invited us to camp with him. It was too early in the day for us to stop, but if we had been ready to camp I wouldn't have minded sharing a camp with him.

mtnbud

I agree with MassiveD. I think the OPs intention is an open invitation to share a real nice looking campsite.

indyfabz