Re: DV Accomodations??
Posted by Bodie the Dog on October 01, 2002 at 11:27:40:
In Reply to: DV Accomodations?? posted by Melody on September 30, 2002 at 16:38:25:
I've found this area to be very anti-dog. Official National Park policy is that dogs are not allowed in the backcountry, including not on trails. They are only allowed in parking lots and designated pet areas. I was once threatened with a citation for letting my dogs out of the car on the road from North Pass into Saline Valley, approximately 1/2 mile from Waucoba Spring. It's a fairly remote area, definitely not a high-impact spot; check out http://inyo.topcities.com/dv/wsgeology.htm for a picture. The ranger was the first car I'd seen in two days, the nearest habitation was Willow Springs (about 10 miles away?), the nearest town was about 50 miles away, I was very polite with the ranger (I'm aware of their "attitude" test), and my dogs were obviously under control (when I saw the ranger I called them to me and had them load up using hand signals only). I'll spare everyone my opinions of law enforcement, but the guy wasn't very polite. I said I had only let them out to go to the bathroom. His response: "Well, if you go about 20 miles that way, just past such and such junction, you'll find some BLM land where you can let your dogs out. Otherwise, they have to stay in the car."
And policy matters aside, the cholla found in some areas plays havoc with my dogs' paws, you can't leave the dogs in the car because it can get way too hot, but if you let them out then you have to worry about a ticket.
But horses are allowed in many areas closed to dogs. Go figure.