Hi,
Miło cię poznać! where abouts in Poland are you from? I'm visiting Złockie on the 18th staying with a friend. I heard that you have some pretty tight laws regarding camping, bushcraft etc.
Is it true that there is a 5000 zloty fine for having a fire in the forest?! I was also told that you can have fires by the rivers as its a different organisation that owns the land but if you can't even collect dead wood that nips that in the bud!
happy bushcrafting
Danny
Im from 3city. Never beed in Złockie area, but its in Beskidy so You will have great time. Thats the most wild and charming area in Poland, best of the best for bush crafting in my humble opinion.
As I said before - Yes, in the state's forest You can't even pick deadwood legally. There was a huge case few years ago - some 90 y/o lady living off the land alone got fined few thousand zloties cause she was gathering firewood to survive the winter. However, those situations are extreme. 90% of the time people do bush crafting and light campfires without any problems. If You know where to go, You will rarely meet government officials. Plus if You are nice, respectful to nature, don't litter and stuff its usually just a chat or maybe they will ask You to change the camping place. But If you encounter some idiot, You might get fined for, i don't know, picking berries or sharpening a stick. Im not afraid to camp or light fire anywhere really apart of national parks, but I would probably be a bit scared to chop some fresh wood for making a shelter.
The whole harsh law thing isn't that much about causing real problems. Its that government and park rangers should be my friends, not my enemies. When Im out on a hike i'd prefer to cover my traces because I respect nature, not because I don't want the ranger to hunt me down.
Cheers
