Desert Island Tourism
thehustle.co
thehustle.co
Where I live, there's islands which are not owned by anyone in the rivers. (Check your county's GIS map for which ones) You can just go camp on those, no problem.
In the Great lakes, there's islands which offer ferries to go camping backcountry-style. I highly recommend visiting North Manitou Island, which is an abandoned farming/logging/vacation community where you can see the ruins of old houses and homesteads. There's also a south island which I haven't visited, which is a little less wild. Ferry runs from Leland, MI. Probably one of the best camping trips I've ever taken, beautiful.
My advice: Download Google Earth Pro (now free!) and just scroll around until you find something. Then search for info about said island, and see if anyone owns it (if not, you can probably just find a way to get there and camp).
As always: Leave the place cleaner than you found it!
Oh, you have to care about who owns the land in order to camp in the wilderness? Bummer.
But that is technically trespassing, and could get you shot or arrested. So you know, if you're going to do that, make sure you assess that risk carefully.
Downvoted because of the obnoxious tone of your comment. You could have made the same point in a more-engaging way.
I've lived and camped in countries with freedom to roam, and I've lived and camped in the US. I think that freedom to roam is a really cool notion, and also I think it's great that so much of the United States is owned by federal and state governments, rather than by individuals -- 40% according to one source [1].
In the UK, for example, only 8% of land is publicly-owned [2].
[1] https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentag...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/17/who-owns-engla...
I definitely understand the harm that inconsiderate travelers can do. Throughout Latin America ranchers are quite accepting of cyclists crossing their land, but the one thing you hear them complaining about is those cyclists not closing gates behind them.
Not only that, but much of that land is basically uninhabitable; there's a reason it's all managed by the BLM. It's not really a good place for hanging out in nature unless you can haul a LOT of water with you. It's far from civilization, much of it is arid, there isn't much cover if any. Even the roads aren't really fit for riding a bicycle (or even driving a car); you could use a full-suspension mountain bike I suppose, but that's not what bicycle touring is about.
But it is what “bikepacking”[0] is about, a term that over the last decade has started to crowd out “bicycle touring” among younger generations. People are intentionally searching for rough roads, even singletrack and hiking trails, and especially in North America! (But you overestimate the need for suspension.)
Water is indeed something one has to plan around. I have cycled several hundred km of rough roads in the American West and met quite a lot of people living in vehicles on BLM land, just moving every two weeks. They of course were able to haul in all the water they needed for days on end, while a cyclist on rough roads can carry no more than about 15 liters at a time.
You’re an American national?
I like how you take offense to my banter tone (obnoxious) and then bring up a national park squarage comparison out of nowhere. Just embrace the pissing contest.
All seriousness though, as a local I've found it impossible to get into many campgrounds during the summer because of the tourism. Sleeping Bear gets booked months in advance. North Manitou is dispersed camping though, so you can just kind of show up. I'm not sure the ferry was running this summer though, because when we showed up on my buddy's boat they were saying something about the water being too low. South Manitou is very much a regular campground.
And filled with yoopers, eh?
> as a local I've found it impossible to get into many campgrounds during the summer because of the tourism.
COVID revenge has made this problem much worse in recent years. Maybe next summer will be better.
It’s a nice bit of local color.
But last year I took a trip to a remote island. The ferry dropped us off and said "we'll be back in 3 days". The island had no services or cell phone signal. There were other people, but other than at night in the campground, we didn't see anybody.
As the ferry sailed off after saying "we'll be back in 3 days"... there's a feeling of isolation that sets in that you don't get, even in the remote backcountry.
I find it takes about 5-8 days before the contentment and clarity kicks in.
Unfortunately even once you take on a family and the responsibility of children it's a memory you can't ever shake, and you live with the jarring reality that it's become a far away forbidden dream.
Enjoy the sweet drug of isolation while you still can, and know you'll always be a recovering addict.
In real life, the opposite seems to happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongan_castaways
> The boys divided up the labour, teaming up in pairs to work garden, kitchen, and guard duty. The two eldest served as leaders: one spiritual, the other practical; Stephen (who would go on to become an engineer) managed to use two sticks to start a fire, which the boys kept burning continuously for more than a year while marooned. At night, they sang and played a makeshift guitar to keep their spirits up, composing five songs during their exile.
The book reflects more about the author (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/16/william-goldin...) than a scientific concept.
He needed to take plane across the globe just to remove all distractions. He could just bike tiny fraction of that distance and bivouac. Or they could drop him in random town without money.
If others don't rely on you enough to desperately search for you nearby then yeah your approach works.
Fun fact: my family had a claim on Howland island due to the Guano Island act. But wow… not much you can do with an island like that! It is the most isolated place on earth and there are no resources. Not even shade!
And thus people go out & seek such places. Result: even fewer of them.
Reminds me of how a blockbuster movie showing beautiful locations can turn those into to tourist hotspots. Often destroying such places' beauty.
But I guess it is a bit ironic for the ones who are trying to “connect with nature” by traveling from Boston to Java.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
A more constructive comment would be: “Actually, it’s not that expensive, here is evidence to back up my claim or experience…”
>Unsubstantiated personal attacks are not welcome here.
If I'm going to burn my account with that kind of rule violations it will be a seething insult to get my money worth to the point whatever indiscretion you perceive seems utterly tame. Please.
Reddit style false rules violation smear campaigns (often designed as way to censor an unliked opinion) are exactly the 'contribution' your comment brings. Congrats for this message presenting what you purported to avoid!
This is a shame. Will every beautiful thing eventually end up in the hands of the rich with a concrete and glass building slapped on it?