Do folks from CO work on Fridays anymore?

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A lot of people in Wyoming are bad about bringing so much shit into the mountains you can't tell if they're staying overnight or setting up permanent residence.
No sense in going on a weekend camping trip if you aren't pulling doubles.
 
I can't speak to Colorado, but a similar situation is developing in Montana.

Insane amounts of people out and about. I would bet the amount of folks camping has doubled or tripled compared to previous years. Numerous campgrounds have been full all summer, even on weekdays. I am seeing folks camped at trailheads frequently.

There have been a ton of camps on the BLM behind my in-laws that have been up all summer... 60+ days exact same spot.

FIL called the BLM and they are totally exasperated with the situation, and basically told him, nothing we can do at this point.

A camper I saw up the South Boulder in the Tobacco Roots in May, was up there 3 months later.

If this increased pressure is to persist, I think two things we are all going to have to figure out is:

1) An investment in infrastructure on public lands. More campgrounds, camping spots, toilets, etc. How many campgrounds survive on volunteer camp hosts that are members of an increasingly shrinking generation and will there be people to fill their shoes?

2) An investment in increased law enforcement on public land. I really believe we need to have a orders of magnitude more LEOs on the landscape. From more people doing stupid chit, to people having conflict with one another, just camping with my family this summer there is an air of lawlessness on the landscape.
 
I think the increase is everywhere this summer, the local boat dealership in central MN is selling 40+ boats a month, then all the side by sides to, they can't even keep stock. They predict a large amount of the people will loose them in a couple years. People got there stimulus money and went crazy this year.
 
i mean i'm a regular in the snowies and saratoga, since i was child, so i've always been adding to the crowds

my old job was every other friday off, my new job requries some weekend work every now and then which results in a bonus 4 day weekend about once a month. on any given friday i bet one quarter to nearly one third of the working corporate population doesn't have work

but i've been to wyoming a few times this summer, and it's just as bad as colorado. spent a long weekend in the san juans the other weekend. green license plates were, without joking, almost a minority.

there are always bad apples in the woods no matter the time of year, so statistically we're seeing more of them with trash and disrespect of rules. i'm just holding out hope that this summers insanity is at least producing a few more advocates of public lands and wild places
 
It was hard to find even dispersed camping spots last week when we were out in western MT. Roads were lined with parked cars, trailheads were packed. It was a little crazy.

Over at the office this week, we were talking to some of the North Dakota Game and Fish guys. They said fishing licenses are up 35% (!!!) this year, and they’re seeing much increased interest across the state from non-resident waterfowl hunters. I know we’ve been getting way more calls from waterfowl hunters this year, most of them usually hunt Canada, and none of them have hunted ND before. I think hunting season is going to be a zoo.
 
Oh, I know. They usually seem like 1/3 of the license plates though. I don't go up there opening week for that very reason.
My favorite experience was driving up behind two chuckleheads with Denver plates at about 4 am. They were crawling along, both hanging out the windows with bugle tubes trying to locate bulls from their moving vehicle. I laughed to myself thinking about them as I packed my first archery elk out six hours later.
 
As a person from Colorado, I will share that I work 4-10’s and do indeed have Fridays off. You will however never see a mountain bike or kayak strapped to my truck- the best I can do is a beaten up 1970’s Coleman canoe. Because of the folks on this board, I really try to be on my best behavior when I’m in Wyoming. 🙂
 
I have a friend in Grand Junction in the power sports industry, the amount of side by sides sold this summer is about 700/month which is more than double what they normally see in Junction. Seems everyone wants to get outside one way or another
 
I can't speak to Colorado, but a similar situation is developing in Montana.

Insane amounts of people out and about. I would bet the amount of folks camping has doubled or tripled compared to previous years. Numerous campgrounds have been full all summer, even on weekdays. I am seeing folks camped at trailheads frequently.



A camper I saw up the South Boulder in the Tobacco Roots in May, was up there 3 months later.

If this increased pressure is to persist, I think two things we are all going to have to figure out is:

1) An investment in infrastructure on public lands. More campgrounds, camping spots, toilets, etc. How many campgrounds survive on volunteer camp hosts that are members of an increasingly shrinking generation and will there be people to fill their shoes?

2) An investment in increased law enforcement on public land. I really believe we need to have a orders of magnitude more LEOs on the landscape. From more people doing stupid chit, to people having conflict with one another, just camping with my family this summer there is an air of lawlessness on the landscape.
It's the same back east in Indiana. Stopped at a local boat ramp last weekend people were parked along the road and the pit toilets were almost overflowing.
 
Look at current trends in sales and pricing of things like travel trailers, kayaks, paddle boards, mountain bikes, etc. Outdoor recreation is through the roof, and I don't see that trend reversing unless the economy really shits the bed. In terms of public land value, this is great. Hopefully people take a greater role in advocacy for such. It does, in my mind further my notion that our current model of one use group solely funding wildlife conservation is an entirely dated model that needs re-evaluated.
 
Look at current trends in sales and pricing of things like travel trailers, kayaks, paddle boards, mountain bikes, etc. Outdoor recreation is through the roof, and I don't see that trend reversing unless the economy really shits the bed. In terms of public land value, this is great. Hopefully people take a greater role in advocacy for such. It does, in my mind further my notion that our current model of one use group solely funding wildlife conservation is an entirely dated model that needs re-evaluated.
I think there will be a lot of screaming deals on boats, travel trailers, side by sides, ect in 2 to 3 years when the people buying them this summer on credit, stop making payments because they are broke. This insanity is not going to end well.
 
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