Always thought the 'no campfires' rule in the Wind River Range was overkill | Backpacking Routes

Taylor Moore · 2026-04-06T01:30:05.177929+00:00

Did a 5-day loop near Cirque of the Towers last summer and the ranger was super strict about it. After seeing how dry and beat-up the ground was in some spots, I get it now. Anyone else have a park rule they hated at first but ended up agreeing with?

tessa9225mo ago

Learned that lesson the hard way too.

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the_harper5mo ago

Honestly, I felt the same way about bear canisters. Thought they were just annoying extra weight until I watched a guy's entire campsite get trashed by a bear that learned how to get into hanging bags. Changed my mind real fast.

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jade6185mo ago

Man, I was the same with bear spray. Thought it was just a heavy can of fear for newbies until a moose charged our group on a trail in Montana. That spray stopped it cold about twenty feet away. Now I won't step foot on a trail without it, even in places they say bears aren't common. You just never know what you'll run into, right?

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