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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 16, 2003 - 09:47pm PT
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I've been operating under the assumption that as long as you were outside of the park and not in any area or municipality where camping in your rig was specifically outlawed that it was okee-dokee.
Last night I bonked early on my way home from the Valley. Around 11:30, I started getting really fuzzy so pulled into a gas station and snoozed for a half hour or so. I felt a little better, and pushed onward. Around Tracy, I started to really loose it again, but held on until I got to the Altamont pass where I figured I could find a very out of the way place. At Altamont, I took a dark and apparently sparcely traveled road and pulled in behind another truck that I assumed was in the same situation. I jumped in the back and was out like a light.
A short while later there was a spotlight in my window. The cops informed me that the area was full of 'homasexials' getting money for, 'you know', and that they had to keep an eye on cars along side the road. They said that it wasn't legal to sleep in my truck, but they didn't cite me for anything. It wasn't clear to me that they were even going to make me leave once they determined that I wasn't part of the thriving Livermore lesbian sex trade. They were rational enough to concede that I was in at least as much danger were I to drive when exhausted as I was of beeing picked off by an axe murderer. Anyway, I had a bit of rest, and the commotion helped give me a bit of a third wind, so I left.
Does anyone know what the laws are regarding sleeping in your rig by public roads?
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Chalky Fingers
climber
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Jun 16, 2003 - 11:07pm PT
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Hey mellisa,
I'm mostly sure you are able, for the exact reason you did,"safety", to bivi for a limited amount of hours, say 3 or so, on state highways. I believe the cop was trying to blow smoke up your skirt with the illegal crap, you know authority and all that stuff. they really go for that type of stuff.
next time your tired don't sweat, bivi. lock up for saftey.
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Gene
Social climber
Two hours away
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Jun 16, 2003 - 11:45pm PT
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Mel,
Next time try this truck stop. You will be secure and not accosted by the cops. On the way back from the Valley, if you need a nap, go south about 5 miles on 99 from the 120 interchange in Manteca and go to Flying J in Ripon. Good coffee once you wake up. Bivies on interstates are dicey at best and put you in risk of tons of drive by freekos. Quality truck stops, especially the Flying J franchise, are well lit, patrolled, and clean. No hookers. No junkies trying to sell you sh#t in the cafe. They rely upon repeat road warriors to stay in business. Better than a curb-cut on the interstate, IMHO.
Gene
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TCR
Trad climber
Wherever my VW Westy is parked.
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Jun 17, 2003 - 01:11am PT
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What I want to know, is why the hell you can't sleep in your rig while in the valley?! On Monday, after having hiked 14 miles (there & back) for a really dicey, run-out route, my buddies & I passed out in my VW Westy in the Camp 4 parking lot, and then got rousted out of the park @ 1 am! In the same situation Melissa was in, we left the valley, drove just outside the park boundaries, and found somewhere we could bivy for the night. I was falling asleep at the wheel while my buddies were sound asleep in the back. My van is my home away from home, and I don't want to sleep on the ground in Camp 4... that's why I bought the damn thing!
I know that in most areas, local ordinances can dictate whether or not it's legal to sleep in your rig on the side of the road. A safe bet, under most circumstances, is always a truck stop, or believe it or not, a Wal-Mart parking lot (although there's a lot of sketchy individuals that hang out @ Wal-Mart - a cop got shot 5 times at one in Ukiah a few months ago).
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coiler
Trad climber
yosemite
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Jun 17, 2003 - 07:05am PT
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If you want to get hassled in Yosemite, camp 4 is the place to do it. As I've said to many friends before, camp 4 is the front line of the war between the rangers and the climbers. Unless you're paying for a site I would recommend hanging out in one of the many other happy buroughs of yosemite, like curry, the ahwahnee or many other fine turnouts. Camp 4... turn up the heat baby. Sure the place is historic, but what else does it have going for it? oh yeah, lot's of dirt. I have made a life of o.b. camping in yosemite(10 years now, all year long) and when I want to sleep with both eyes shut I go as far away from camp 4 as possible, that's the beta.
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FTB
Big Wall climber
Near the Vally, CA
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Jun 17, 2003 - 11:15am PT
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Mellisa,
Here are "The Rules of the Road":
CA State Vehicle Code # 21718
(a) No person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle upon a freeway which has full control of access and no crossings at grade except:
(1) When necessary to avoid injury or damage to persons or property. ..... and so on .....
I would say you fell under the exception (1). That is more than like why you did not get a ticket. I think that police did you a favor by checking on you and sending you along. There have been lots of really bad things happen to good people out there late at night. We (the supertopo gang) would not want anything to happen to ya! You can be hardcore to the bone and it will not help you when a sicko has a gun to your head. The earlier post will keep you alive, truck stops and well populated area are the best bivy spots. Glad you made it home.
Later
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Ben Rumsen
Mountain climber
Sacramento, CA
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Jun 17, 2003 - 11:51am PT
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Sleeping in your rig on National Forest land is usually a - ok.
Here is a slightly related topic - do you need to register your climb or do anything special to park overnight at El Cap meadows while on El Cap these days?
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 17, 2003 - 01:17pm PT
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Thanks for the info FTB. I knew that you couldn't park along the freeway unless you were in peril. I was on a turn out off a little road a mile or so from the freeway, and that's where I was wondering if it was a legitimate spot to stop.
This time I did it out of necessity, But my truck is my home away from home when I'm climbing, and I prefer to park as legally as possible to avoid getting rousted in the middle of the night. I've know where the cops will leave you alone in Yosemite (I saw one patrolling my spot last weekend...just making sure the folks there were OK, but no lights in anyone's windows or anything like that). I was just wondering if my random side roads (not freeway) when I go to Joshua Tree, etc. are illegal.
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 17, 2003 - 01:19pm PT
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"Here is a slightly related topic - do you need to register your climb or do anything special to park overnight at El Cap meadows while on El Cap these days?"
As long as you remove yourself and your food from the truck, you don't have to do anything special.
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Nemo
Big Wall climber
Colorado Springs, CO
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Jun 17, 2003 - 01:58pm PT
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If you need to pull over, just do it. Better to get woken up and hassled than get in an accident.
Last year a friend and I made a trip to Zion. We drove through the night, and blasted Moonlight Buttress. We were exhausted, but decided to start home anyway. I was too tired, so he drove. A little bit later he fell asleep and we rolled. I broke my neck as a consequence, and the healing is a very long-term process.
If you're tired, just pull over. Pushing it will catch up with you eventually.
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montgomery wick
Social climber
L.A.
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Jun 17, 2003 - 04:12pm PT
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Another question from the digression about parking in el cap meadows if on the wall...do you need to put a note in your front window, or is that just good practice? Is there any possiblity of getting the vehicle ticketed or towed?
thanks in advance
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Jun 17, 2003 - 04:20pm PT
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A note in the window about which wall you're on is an open invitation to robbers. Don't worry about the rangers (unless you leave obvious food lying around or try to bandit camp), and clean every last little food piece out and you don't have to worry about the bears. Your car getting sideswiped by a tourist gawking at the big stone on the other hand...
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Jody
Mountain climber
San Luis Obispo County, CA
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Jun 17, 2003 - 11:37pm PT
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"I've been operating under the assumption that as long as you were outside of the park and not in any area or municipality where camping in your rig was specifically outlawed that it was okee-dokee."
Melissa, it is okay, as long as you are not on a freeway or as long as the municipality has no ordinance specifically prohibiting it. I would NEVER recommend stopping on the shoulder of ANY road to sleep. Do as Melissa did and find a wide turnout. I have investigated accidents where some poor soul decided to stop on the shoulder to sleep and got creamed by a drunk drifting off the road. What made it most irritating was that the guy that got creamed was within view of the next off-ramp. I have also seen people stopped on the shoulder, right next to the traffic lane, when just to their right is a huge turnout where they could have gotten 100' off the road. How stupid can people be?
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| Messages 1 - 13 of total 13 in this topic |
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