Hey Karl,Sorry. I was not insinuating that stealth camping caused the fire. low-impact campers are probably the most considerate of all. but when there is a fire their first concern is PEOPLE and to get campers out of the woods. they need to know where they are. i wish we could camp anywhere, even if it just meant give a rough coordinate you would be at. it only takes a few to ruin thing for the rest. my hat goes off the our NJ Rangers, they have a hard, hard job (and short handed). i just follow the rules to make it easier on them.
it would be nice to have some spots we could camp on the Batona trail for people hiking end-end
Hike Safe
What about hunters? What if there is a fire during shotgun deer season? How will Mommy rescue all of them? If you go into a forest or anywhere else in the world for that matter you assume a certain risk. On your thru hike will you always be able to let someone know where you are every minute? What if you are on a Wharton day hike and you decide to take a detour? Life is a dangerous place.
I agree that remote camping is not for most folks. You have to know how to take care of yourself. As to rangers I am sure some of them are great folks, I mean they can't all be like the ones I have dealt with, because if they are and I find myself in a jam, they are they last people I would want to depend on. It would really rather just take care of myself and enjoy the pines the way we were meant to.
Bluemoonmuskrat also has a good point about the saftey aspect. Any AT thru hiker will tell that the shelters which are closest to the road are the most dangerous.

its ridicules. you may of changed my thinking on all this.