Craiger05 wrote:

You aren't misunderstanding Flybites . . . I was wondering how they got vehicle permits, but my guess was they booked Rock Lk campground sites, then just left them empty and went interior.  The missing dash permit would be brutally obvious otherwise I'd think . . .

There was no reason not to have Rock/Pen/Clydegale/Galeairy/Whitefish back country open, other than just not enough other places I guess, so blanket ban was easier . . .  All of the back country sites we passed were better drained and dryer than about 50% of the campground B sites, many pooled with a lot of standing water!

The only safety factor would be if a lake is 1/2 ice out, you could get pinned in somewhere by an ice flow. 4-5 years ago we had to sign a waiver to that effect going in across Cache . . . Seemed fair to make SURE we knew what the potential was.

With the MODIS sat images though, we knew we'd have no trouble day-tripping to Pen or beyond on the big lakes.  The ice flight hardly seemed necessary (although I love the aerial shots . . .)

I guess the lesson is to either a) wait until the last minute to make plans next spring or b) make em for Mothers day of after and hope its not an early year with blackflies in full flight by then!

 

 I really hate how they do the blanket ban because it is easier. There is no reason why they cant get people to sign a waiver like you said and let them access any access point lake without issue.