Some people are just so entitled. I had a similar experience that i posted here, with people who were on a site they were supposed to be on, and it really sucks being out there with no way to resolve the situation, especially with unreasonable people. You really just want to hurt some one or break some of their shit, but in the end it's only going to make it worst.

Best thing to do is move on and forget about it and remember why you're in the park.

Last edited by hoser89 (5/28/2016 8:56 pm)

I've got this "what if" scenario running through my head now thanks to this thread, especially since I'm scheduled to spend a night on Shippagew on my upcoming trip (which has only one reservable campsite). I think I'll just head back to Big Trout if someone's squatting on my site, especially since I'll be out there alone. It's not worth attempting anything else. 

A similar situation happened to my friends and I a few years back. We had reserve our campsite for 5 days on a lake that only had one campsite. After portaging our gear to the lake, we discovered that a couple had set up camp. They tried to imply that there was another campsite across the lake, but after I told them that we had reserved the only campsite on the lake they agreed to pack up and move. They were suppose to camp on the next lake, but had stopped due to the long portage in (4.5k) and wanted to rest the night before continuing on to their lake which was another 2k+. After they left and we had set up our gear, I realized that there was more than enough room for both groups. To this day I still feel bad about asking them to move because they seemed like nice people and I could understand their situation.














 

numbered camp sites? i really do not want my holidays micro managed by this policy. 

@boredenman we're talking about backcountry sites where you don't have a reservation for a specific campsite and the rules are somewhat looser - I think everyone here has camped on a lake they weren't booked on from time to time. You wouldn't have that issue with a car camping site. Even if someone decided to poach it from you, a quick trip to the front office would get them kicked off rather quickly. 

Now that being said, people do leave early from car camping sites too, and don't always check out when doing so, so the park might let someone else book your site if they think the occupants have left. Best to leave something on your site that makes it clear it's still in use, just in case!

Never in my 50 years of interior camping has this ever happened to me.  If I was solo, no way would I get into an argument; however, if interior camping with  2-4 in a group,  LOOK OUT!

Happy Thursday,    with about 30 years of back country camping in APP I only have had 1 experience where my son and myself where accused of camping at someone else's campsite.   This happened at one of our Fav campsited,  the one that borders Cradle and Bonnechere, ( if you've camped there you"ll know why ). Our routine once in camp is son sets up tent and sleeping gear,  I get fishing stuff ready and we are usually on the water fishing within a 1/2 hour.   This particular time we just push off and are about 30' from camp and we have a canoe coming towards our camp with a lady in the stern screaming at us,  as she got closer she started accusing us of taking her campsite.   I explained we had a reserved site on Bonnechere and that there where 3 or 4 empty sites we canoes past.  She proceeded to ask why he hadn't taken one of them instead of her campsite ,  I proceeded to tell her to feel free to portage through our camp and continue on her way.  I got a few cuss words and that she was reporting us to the Rangers.  This kind of threw me off for a few hours as I said to my Son, 5 hours in the bush and we are getting attitude from someone who we presumed was making their first trip ,  after doing some head scratching the only logical thing we could come up with was when they had checked in with the outfitter he told them in order to complete the loop they where doing in the time frame they had was to take the first campsite on Bonnechere that they came to and they came to the conclusion that it meant they had a right to the first campsite.      So moral of the story is BE prepared for anything to happen,       Not sure what would have happened if we had been fishing farther away from camp.          Hope everyone had a HAPPY CANADA DAY.

Last Thursday afternoon (Aug 17, 2017) I took a day off work, and went in to Pen Lake to try and secure a decent campsite for the rest of my group of coworkers, who were scheduled to arrive on Friday in the late afternoon. You know that there are maybe 5 great sites for a large group out of 16 (?) sites on that lake, so to ensure a good one in August, sometimes you have to do these things.

Well I get there around dinner time, and rain is threatening, I can't check out the whole lake, so I just settle for the night on the site in the northeast corner of the lake. It looks south across to the island and the former island (peninsula) sites, both occupied. In the morning the islanders leave, and i jet across quickly check it out, find it more than suitable---heck it's a great site for a big group---and claim it by setting up two tarps, plainly visible from a distance. Plan is to go back and get the rest of my gear at the first site.

But having read this thread before, I clip a note to one tarp saying "I have claimed the site for Friday and Saturday nights," sign it and and take a photo and a selfie of it. Unagi.

I go back to my first site and start packing up. Then I hear a motorboat. A motorboat on Pen? Are they allowed? I guess they changed the rules? Sheesh! The park is going to the dogs. Of course the boat heads straight for the site I have just claimed. Folks jump out. I'm thinking, oh, they just need to use the thuderbox. After twenty-five minutes, I'm almost done packing, thinking, what are they doing? Are they pirates? They better not be stealing my campsite!

Burning with righteous indignation, thinking they're trashing or stealing my expensive tarps, I hop into my boat, just as I see them get into the motorboat again and drive on south down the lake. Whew!  But what about my tarps?

Well, you can see where this is going, but in my burning indignation, I couldn't...I get to the site...one tarp, okay...second tarp...okay...the note is till there...okay...what's this? The fireplace has been neatly dug out. The area around it has been raked. I go out back and--- lo and behold, the thunder box has been moved and a new hole dug! Wonderful! Thank you park staff! I felt like a fool, but luckily there was no there to witness my jumping to conclusions and stupidity--until now.

Last edited by Methye (8/25/2017 8:45 am)