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Interview: John Soares, author of ‘Camp for Free: Dispersed Camping & Boondocking on America’s Public Lands’

July 30, 2020 By Jeff H Leave a Comment

Since the pandemic shut things down in California back in March, we’ve been keeping connected through weekly online “Happy Hours.” Each week, we discuss a different topic related to the outdoors, and for our 14th happy hour, we held a Facebook Live discussion with John Soares, author of Camp for Free: Dispersed Camping & Boondocking on America’s Public Lands.

Personally, I’m a planner. When we are on a road trip, I like to know where I’m going to camp each night, and in the past have booked sites at established campgrounds. Aside from the cost, this approach also doesn’t allow for much flexibility if your schedule changes. My experience with dispersed camping has been limited to an overnight stay on BLM land in Arizona last November, en route to Sedona for the Arizona Summer Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge Finishers Party. I was very interested to learn more about dispersed camping from someone who’s been doing it for 30 years.

If you’d like get a copy of John’s book, it’s available in both Kindle ebook and paperback editions on Amazon and you can find more dispersed camping resources on his companion website, dispersedcamping.net, and learn more about his latest book here.

Keep up with all of our Happy Hours and other live events by following us on Facebook.

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Filed Under: Hiking News Tagged With: boondocking, camping, dispersed camping, John Searles, public lands

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Jeff H

About Jeff H

I'm an avid hiker and backpacker. My wife Joan and I are on the trails every weekend. I started SoCal Hiker to share my passion for outdoor adventure.

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I created SoCal Hiker while preparing to thru-hike the John Muir Trail. My goal? Create guides for the best hiking and backpacking trails with enough detail to make it an enjoyable experience for you. And while I started with trails in Southern California, I’ve expanded across the west. We hike each trail to create these guides, sharing practical advice on gear and outdoor skills. Read more…

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