Posting this on behalf of a friend. She believes her tent blew away. It was last seen at Kite Lake:

Is that a legal campsite? If not given the fragile nature of that heavily used environment I would guess someone did the right thing and removed it. She didn't find any stakes?

Don't know about that, but she said the stakes were still in the ground when she returned. Anyway it's nobody's business where she camped. If that spot were illegal, a ranger would have dealt with it the right way.

Which would be the greater crime?
Would it be legal to remove someone's tent, even by a ranger?
Do rangers ever take those measures?
What if that action led to the exposure and death of a climber?

I've always trusted in my fellow climbers to leave my stuff alone!
I've even left valuable things behind inside my tent knowing the trustworthy nature of climbers. Are times changing that much?

A few years ago, I found a tent pitched near the summit of Camel’s Hump. The campers had torn up a few small trees to make a tent site -- totally illegal and a really bad act in a fragile alpine zone (those trees took decades to grow). My first reaction was to take one of the tent’s poles and leave it down below in the parking lot (as a lesson). But I thought better of it, and just wrote a nasty note and left it on their car (there was only one car in the lot). In hindsight, I wish I had taken the pole. . .

Should hikers/climbers be vigilantes, dealing out eco-justice?

Just a rhetorical question, I wouldn’t want to hijack this thread and start a good old-fashioned SP firefight . . . .

Sorry I can't help... I almost went to Kite Lake during that time period, but I decided on Mt. Yale instead. Good luck to your friend. I've camped at Kite Lake before, and my tent nearly blew away as well... even with anchors and big rocks placed in each corner.

Kite Lake was a legal camping area at least a few years ago (before the land-use issues that arose). I'm not sure about the existing access limitations (the Mt. Democrat page would probably be a good start). Other than a possible land-use issue, the site in question is below 12,500', is a good distance away from the water, and there's a dirt road that goes right up to that area... so it wouldn't appear to be illegal.

And for all the vigilantes out there... never steal someone's 1) food, 2) shelter.

PS - Was her chair still at camp when she returned?

i'm a big fan of vigilantism. That's why I always pack my 9 in case someone tries to mess with my tent

WalksWithBlackflies wrote:PS - Was her chair still at camp when she returned?

I guess she had put everything in her car except the tent

I admittedly could have worded that better. Bross is still legally off limits as far as I know. Most lakes have permiter allowances for camping. IMO access might possibly, ultimately be obtained by this and other communities insisting on observing basic best practice in the area.

As to possibly stranding Climbers as I remember Kite Lake has the highest Campground in the NFS system with a fairly heavily used road going right to it. With all due respect I don't see any excuse for jeopardizing already limited access to the those peaks when the area is well signed. Call me a proponent of vigilantism if you wish, I'll call myself a stickler for common outdoor sense and the accountability that has to come with [out] it for us all to continue to enjoy access.

All the stakes in place sounds like it didn't blow away but you never know.

Kite Lake is a legal campground, I was there in August. They even charge you $10 for camping and parking your vehicle.

She paid to camp there.

I also found out her tent disappeared in the time it took her to carry her stuff to the car around 5am... so wind seems the likely culprit here.

Is that a legal campsite?

The campsite pictured is a legal one and part of the official campground. It is indeed a fragile area, so maybe the campground should be moved farther down the valley.

The tent almost surely did blow away. Same thing happened to us last year, but we didn't leave the tent unattended and retrieved it, though the poles were damaged and the tent ripped. Kite Lake is one windy campground. I wouldn't try camping there again without a 4-season tent.