Unregistered

Just had a run in with one hell of a jerk, Ranger Jerry Donner, who drives a Jeep Cherokee. This was in Hecla Junction, Colorado. He issued me a completely frivolous $50 unlawful camping fine, and my group had paid ahead to rent 5 campsites for two nights at something like $14/night! He claims I was on the wrong side of an invisible barrier that somehow separates two of the campsites in the same graded gravel pit. I somehow didn't see the invisible fence when I rolled out my sleeping pad that night (I don't even set up a tent unless it's raining). Oops, sorry I slept on the wrong few feet of gravel, it caused so much harm, and I'm a bad person for it. The camp ground was by no means crowded, there were plenty of empty sites, and we aren't a bunch of drunk partying kids. Also, when we got there, we cleaned up a bunch of trash around the sites.

This is highway robbery, and the worst thing is that the law is set up to give pee brained, pompous, self-righteous scum like Jerry the authority to issue tickets with no burden of evidence or due process of law. Nothing like getting woken up by a creep with a gun and a chip on his shoulder while you're on vacation, and then having him steal $50 and have the twisted law on his side! Unchecked authority will always be abused.

I would like to see Park Rangers use a more educational approach to minor violations instead of being so punitive. I am in the process of writing his supervisor as well as all 50 State Park offices to let them know exactly what sort of person they shouldn't have working for them.