Sometimes people kick you out

Dealing with unfriendly neighbors on public land

Sep 01, 2023

In hundreds of nights of dispersed camping, I've been threatened (by humans) only a few times.

Dispersed camping is usually on public land, National Forest or BLM land. You drive around on dirt roads until you find a first come first serve campsite. No fee, no reservations, no showers, and no camp host. Just a little pullout in the forest or the sagebrush.

In the summer of 2019, we were driving around during the afternoon in the eastern Sierras scouting out campsites for later. We pulled into a big dirt turnaround in the middle of the sagebrush. A camper was already parked there, with chairs, tools, etc. stacked outside. As we stopped the car to take a look around, a person with a shaved head walked over to us from the camper, holding a metal baseball bat over one shoulder.

His questions were casual but his body language was threatening.

“Are you lost?”

“No, we're looking for dispersed camping but I guess we're leaving.”

“There's a great spot you might like 20, maybe 30 miles down the river.”

“Yeah, we're leaving.”

I started the engine and we slowly pulled away, without even having gotten out of the car. “Baseball bat guy” became a funny story almost immediately.

Since then, we've camped next to so many people. Hundreds, maybe. The vast majority are reasonable, nice, even helpful or friendly. Even in states with discriminatory laws against LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups (Florida tops the list) the people who camp on public land and in campgrounds tend to be reasonably respectful.

Until “truck guy.”

We pulled into a dispersed camping area in the early evening, noting a few people already parked nearby and likely intending to stay the night as well. We were in a fairly popular spot as there was swimming a short walk from the campsites. We cooked dinner, got in the car, watched a TV show on a smartphone, and discussed our upcoming trip plans. Basically, we were sitting in the car for well over an hour as the sun set. We did not interact with any of our neighbors, until we heard a repeated knock on the window of our car.

My partner and I both stepped out of the car to talk to this person. He asked if we were lost or needed directions (apparently, a popular question when you're looking to kick someone out). We said no, we're planning to park here for the night.

“This is my campsite,” he told us, gesturing towards his camper. He didn't seem to care about another van parked even closer to his camper. For some unknown reason, we were the problem.

“Okay, but this is BLM land. Anyone is allowed to stay here.”

“You look unfriendly to me. I don't like your energy,” he said.

When we expressed skepticism that we were the unfriendly ones in this interaction, he escalated quickly to threats of physical violence.

“I’m going to punch your face. I'm going to knock you out.”

I've watched a lot of people punch Dave (in aikido) and this guy didn't look like a big threat. Plus, there were two of us and one of him.

Unfortunately, he really didn't like our lack of fear at his threats. We just kept standing next to our car not doing anything. He clearly didn't want to actually punch one of us and we were calling his bluff.

He said he was going to get a weapon from his trailer, and we got in our car and drove away.

The level of unprovoked confrontation was alarming, rather than funny, this time. Everyone was fine and no blows were exchanged but it could have gotten worse.

It was frustrating and unpleasant to drive down more dirt roads in the dark an hour away to find another spot we could be comfortable in. It was a late night and a crashy day the next day. But, we did see multiple huge jackrabbits while driving around in the dark! Two and a half feet tall from feet to ears.

The story gets funny again a few days later when we scout another one of our favorite spots, two hours away. We spot a very characteristic vehicle and camper.

“It's him! I can't believe truck guy is here!”

Sighing and laughing, we turned the car around and left.

Anyway, now we're in Utah, and it would take a minor miracle for truck guy to show up here too. I'll keep you updated.

Despite all this stress, we're still dispersed camping (in some lovely places), feeling safe, and even considering extending our trip.