From the mid-1970s to the mid-90s, thousands (literally) of these types of developed sites were removed from the wilderness parks. They included fire pits and garbage in amongst the charcoal; nails in trees; boards between trees for shelves; stoves; camp chairs made out of stumps and boards; rock walls; tables (up to 4 feet high) made out of piled rocks and can dumps hidden amongst the willows and rocks.
I'm in favor of minimizing fire rings and makeshift camp furniture and of course hauling out cans and trash. The example presented by Ken was "800 campsites in the Humphrey's basin area." Unless someone is packing lumber into this moonscape, there isn't much to work with other than rocks. And I believe campfires are not allowed at that elevation even if one could find wood. As for Machu Pichu sites, some rock moving might be in order in remote places, but do we need to create an illusion that one is the first ever to see Guitar Lake or Trail Camp?
Just curious if anyone knows, what are the use numbers for Humphrey's Basin comparing visitors on horseback vs backpackers? Do we even know what percentage are backpackers camping in this area? Humphrey's basin doesn't seem like a fair example to support low trailhead quotas for backpackers.
