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Reply to camping on the trail
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ovsa from CALGARY on 1/13/2015 2:28:32 PM:
planning on doing the trail first week of June. will be tenting it the whole way and wondering if i should be reserving in advance or how crowded does it get? I rather not have to reserve because it becomes difficult to anticipate where i will end up at the end of the day, but if it means securing a spot then will probably have to.

Thanks

 
ArkyKenny on 1/13/2015 3:23:30 PM:
I would not reserve spots if camping. Even in June. There are good spots to camp at Clinton, Sedalia, Pilot Grove, New Franklin, Huntsdale, Hartsburg, Tebbetts, Bluffton, Hermann, Marthasville, Augusta, and elsewhere (those are only the places I know of). There are few/no places near St. Charles--so know that. Click on each city above for resources at each place and you will see all the options, and then print the page off, or use a smart phone for reference of this site on the trail. If like me, you don't like schedules and you can handle a little risk, roll the dice and find your place on the fly.

DO NOT STEALTH CAMP. DO NOT CONSIDER STEALH CAMPING. But you can try your luck in asking someone for permission to camp on the edge of their property (and give them a $10 bill if they allow it). I have been known to knock on a door and ask for permission to pitch a tent--and I have both been given permission, and turned down in the process. I have also spent the better part of the night in a bathroom because I got caught in a "weather event". That, to me, is also part of the fun.

Same goes for showers and food. Sometimes you are lucky and camp next to the Boy Scouts who brought too much food, and sometimes you do without. Have emergency supplies of food and water, have a little cash in your pocket to buy what you come across, be prepared to wash off in a sink, and be open to adventure. The bars are open on Sundays, serve food, and take the money of stinky cyclists.

 
MidSouth from Rogersville, MO on 1/13/2015 3:45:39 PM:
I have camped my way along the whole trail several times. There is no need to make reservations for camping, there are always plenty of tent camping sites in all the established campgrounds. I would stay at the Lococo House in St. Charles, because the the closest camping is Klondike Park near Augusta.

 
Anonymous on 1/13/2015 9:48:51 PM:
You do not need to make reservations to camp.

 
victor from calgary on 1/15/2015 10:32:23 AM:
Thanks, like you I am not much of a scheduler preferring to do things on the fly. I also travel self contained with my jet boil and packaged food so I welcome the challenge. Thanks again for the info.