Camping in the Boonies - safe to leave tent

[Bill in Roswell]

Camping in the canyon country at designated or approved sites, is it safe to leave the tent and table up while away day hiking? We will be near Combs Ridge, Butler Canyon to near Black Mesa. Are all the sites safe from vandals and thief? Or some sites have a vandal reputation while other sites won't?

We are camp Oct 16 until around the 26th, weather permitting. I know the slick mud road stories!

 

[regehr]

I've have never had a problem with campsite theft or vandalism anywhere in Utah. Obviously don't leave valuables or easily-carryables sitting around. I'd worry more about the wind-- plenty of times I've driven past campsites and seen tents blown down, people chasing tents, etc.

 

[Titans]

We have not had a problem in Utah.

“people do leave tents (presumably without valuables and without expensive sleeping bags and pads) during the day in that area”.
@regehr is right about worrying more about the wind in the desert. If a front/cell suddenly comes through (and they do come through without notice even on nice days), the tent might not be standing when you return . Securing the tent against strong wind gusts is a much bigger concern in that area. And there’s often a lot of slick rock right underneath the sand in the desert, it’s not always easy to stake down the tent properly.
Or it’s only sand and the stakes come right out in the first wind gust . Lots of ways to handle all that- but staking down the tent isn’t trivial in the desert.

And a heads up- cold sinks and it can get very cold at night along the bottom of the comb ridge end of October.

 

[regehr]

one time I was driving the maze road and there’s a campsite at the pass between the flat tops and a large group had left camp setup while out canyoneering or whatever. A wind had come up and every one of their tents was blown into a pile on one side of the area against some rocks. No fun!

The Steve Allen books say that a tent for the desert needs to be able to take 80 mph winds. I’ve never seen anything like that but a friend has a story of being camped in Dark Canyon and during a storm tents were getting blasted around with the people inside

 

[TrailScot]

one time I was driving the maze road and there’s a campsite at the pass between the flat tops and a large group had left camp setup while out canyoneering or whatever. A wind had come up and every one of their tents was blown into a pile on one side of the area against some rocks. No fun!

The Steve Allen books say that a tent for the desert needs to be able to take 80 mph winds. I’ve never seen anything like that but a friend has a story of being camped in Dark Canyon and during a storm tents were getting blasted around with the people inside

A few years back, before securing a permit to hike in The Maze, I remember it was necessary to call the Hans Flat ranger station for the latest water availability information, backcountry rules etc. I was a little confused when the ranger asked me about my experience in camping in extremely windy conditions. Thinking that this was just the usual advice overkill, I barely paid any attention.

Little did I know just how fierce the wind can be in that locale, and a couple of days later, I was racking my brains trying to remember the crucial strategy the ranger had told me for reliably securing tent guylines. However, I did recall he advised that, when leaving your tent on a very windy day, it's a good idea to collapse the poles and place a couple of rocks on top on the flysheet, which is what I now usually do, and it seems to work well. Not advised, if it's also likely to pour with rain though

 

[Bob]

Black bears ... Leave no food stuff out

 

[Janice]

Black bears ... Leave no food stuff out

Bears, hmm... Do you know if they're down by the river? We'll be paddling on the Green in a few days, and my husband and I are using our bear canisters for convenience since we already have them, but some in our group are planning to use rat sacks. Do you think they need ursacks instead?