Originally Posted by
mtnbud
Good points. Agree totally. On public land to you might want to keep it legal and out of sight. I've found if you set up near nightfall and pack up reasonably early no one will probably even know you were there.
Your bicycle reflectors can give you away if tucked into the trees at night and a cars headlights happen to hit them. I'm remembering a night up in the Willamette National forest when an older Volkswagon van had stopped to investigate the reflection from our bikes they noticed when they were driving by on a secluded gravel road. It had to have been past midnight, closer to 1 or 2 am. I'd assume they saw a reflection and were looking to see if they were seeing the reflection of an animals eyes. Even if they knew it was from bicycles, they were likely curious and nothing else. Still, it makes you realize you have no idea who is in the vehicle just as much as they have no clue who you might be. Since our campsite was totally legal, maybe being in plain sight would be a better way to go...
Yup, I hear you. I'm personally way too far in for car lights to reach, and I store my bike inside my tent anyways, which is either forest green or granite grey, depending upon season. I also do some ADVmoto/dual-sport self-supported touring and with that, do use legal dispersed plain-sight camping sites along the NFS roads. But honestly speaking, I find that much more unsettling - rather deal with weird animals, than weird people when you're out in the middle of the woods.