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  1. #181
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    Incidentally, while we trailheads tend to be a very small minority, if you survey the media coverage of shutdown concerns, the most prominent one is the closing of the parks.

  2. #182
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    Let's not get into the politics of it folks. The Departments and Agencies have shutdown procedures already codified prior to shutdown, and still have nonexempt personelle in charge operating under rules and laws pertaining to shutdowns. Use of federal property is established by law, passed by Congress, handed off to the executeive branch, and watched over by the courts. This thread is just to pass on information on what's open for hiking. OK please? Go do whatever you want about it, but keep the discussion here about hiking places on federal land and keep the suggestions legal. TYVM.
    Sorry if my post sounded political... I don't mean to take it there... I was just simply trying to explain what (IMHO) is the logic behind the reason that we currently do not get to hike "on our land".

  3. #183

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    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    Well, I think we've established that yes, everything official says the AT within park is closed. But I think it's also clear that many are still enjoying the trail, and many "official" people (such as some PATC menbers and some rangers) say don't worry about it and just Hike On. I sure hope most people do just that. That all being said, if in fact there are "closed" signs on the AT proper at the park boundaries, I would indeed obey the post. When I exited the north end of the park yesterday, there was no such notice at the northern boundary of SNP. Plus there were plenty of SOBO's I passed and discussed this all with and they had zero intention of stopping. They were of course bummed about having no services along the trail inside the park. I personally relied on these services (stores and waysides) this last week as I entered the south end with only 2-3 days of food and spent 5 1/2 days in the park.
    I'm glad to see you back on here C_R... hope you had a good section hike thru VA.

    Quote Originally Posted by jeffmeh View Post
    Incidentally, while we trailheads tend to be a very small minority, if you survey the media coverage of shutdown concerns, the most prominent one is the closing of the parks.
    This info doesn't directly affect hikers on the AT thru Central VA but just as a FYI.. the Blue Ridge Parkway is still open.
    All the services along the BRP are closed.

    I'm happy about the road being open so I can get up on the BRP to get water on the AT... it's really getting very dry around here.
    Maybe the hurricane "Karen" will change all that for us shortly.... ;P

  4. #184
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shmaybix View Post
    Maybe the hurricane "Karen" will change all that for us shortly.... ;P
    A hurricane named Karen? Hmmm, that could be interesting.

  5. #185
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shmaybix View Post
    I'm glad to see you back on here C_R... hope you had a good section hike thru VA.
    glad to see you back hikermom
    Conquest: It is not the Mountain we conquer but Ourselves

  6. #186

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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    Sorry if my post sounded political... I don't mean to take it there... I was just simply trying to explain what (IMHO) is the logic behind the reason that we currently do not get to hike "on our land".
    Your post was not political. I agree that you only were explaining the possible logic behind the shutdown procedures.
    Trillium

  7. #187
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    Conquest: It is not the Mountain we conquer but Ourselves

  8. #188

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    Quote Originally Posted by illabelle View Post
    A hurricane named Karen? Hmmm, that could be interesting.
    Ha ha!! Yeah.... I don't think there's ever been a "Karen" before.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ewker View Post
    glad to see you back hikermom
    Thanks Ewker..

    The Blue Ridge Parkway roadway is still open tho... I heard someone had the choice to close the gates or keep them open, they chose to keep them open. Yay!!

    Here in Roanoke, the locals use the BRP all the time to travel on from one side of the city to the other.

    I'm aware of a 4 mile night trail run coming up in a few weeks that would have to be cancelled if they closed the Parkway road itself.
    A lot of people use the Parkway to do day hikes and/or section hikes as well. A BRP closure would impact us in a BIG way.
    Last edited by HikerMom58; 10-03-2013 at 17:30.

  9. #189
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    I wonder if this is the guy "busting" SNP AT hikers:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwVpSBKzQYo

  10. #190

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    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    Sorry I was "snarky" before, Ms. B, if you're referring to my response yesterday. ..... And why would rangers still be around anyway?...
    Colordo rob, I greatly admire your polite apology, even though you clearly don't think you were wrong. We could use more of that sort of civility around here.

    As to why the rangers? Well, remember, they're not all laid off. And those law enforcement rangers still working are.....enforcing the law: looking for poachers and/or Dakota Joe types seeking to take advantage of the situation ( not to mention smuggling or manufacturing drugs ); looking for silly mooks who have gotten themselves into trouble; even looking for through hikers to run them out of the park. Law enforcement doesn't work by catching everyone; just by catching and punishing enough people to discourage almost everyone from breaking the law.

  11. #191
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    I have a friend who is biking the towpath from Cumberland to DC. She left a voice mail tonight to please bring her water. They've turned off all of the water pumps along the way. Cause WOW that just cost the government so much to run!
    Last edited by Alligator; 10-05-2013 at 22:19. Reason: Language
    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

  12. #192
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    I live near Wolf Gap and as of today the forest Service roads were open. They are usually closed Jan. to March so there are gates but they are open going to Big Schloss Cut-off trail. The parking lot at Wolf Gap has yellow tape across but a few cars were parked there. The link to the PATC says no hikes or work trips can take place. So I think the PATC is cancelling any group hikes but doesn't specifically say there is no hiking.

  13. #193
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    While ive been deleted once before for only asking a question about the closure, I would really like to know how we can have a discussion about the NPS shutdown WITHOUT discussing politics? Im not saying house floor brawls, but it is one and the same.

  14. #194

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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    Sorry if my post sounded political... I don't mean to take it there... I was just simply trying to explain what (IMHO) is the logic behind the reason that we currently do not get to hike "on our land".
    Quote Originally Posted by Trillium View Post
    Your post was not political. I agree that you only were explaining the possible logic behind the shutdown procedures.
    Quote Originally Posted by 4thandgoal View Post
    While ive been deleted once before for only asking a question about the closure, I would really like to know how we can have a discussion about the NPS shutdown WITHOUT discussing politics? Im not saying house floor brawls, but it is one and the same.
    You talk about what areas are closed. You don't go into what's going on in Congress, who's fault it is, or what needs to be done to fix it. Because we do not allow politics and this particular issue is a raging political mess. We know the government is shutdown, the thread is for how hikers are affected regarding hiking on public lands. If you have information about what is open or closed post it, but keep in mind the hiker/hiking link. Thanks.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
    Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan

    Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.

  15. #195

  16. #196

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    gator, overall I agree with the no politics policy, and i'm not questioning the moderators determination or the TOS of this site. but I think there may come a point when a choice has to made, do we as a community zealously advocate for the use of the lands we enjoy, or do we simply say "well, the trail is closed" and move on to other trails? last time this happened it lasted for 23 days. at what point is it in our best interest to become political about it? this website is the largest online forum for the AT, there is an opportunity to have a meaningful voice if you/troll/management so choose. I don't want people that aren't passionate about the trail making decisions about the policies we must follow, I want backpackers to have a voice. perhaps we could have a subforum or group that allows politics to be discussed as it impacts the trail? on that, i'll get off my soap box, hope I didn't cross a line with anyone.

  17. #197

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    First and foremost this is a SF thread and the question centered on the NPs. I left the National Forest posts in because a lot of people get the two mixed up. But the intent was to discuss access issues.

    Hill Ape we do at times let politics get posted if it directly concerns the AT, and this does. But the political sticky point is the Affordable Care Act (aka as Obamacare) with the AT and the rest of the country as collateral damage. This isn't a specific law targeting the AT nor a targeted budget request nor a court case affecting AT lands. It's a budget fight. The whole budget no less, not just a single spending bill, it's all of them. It would set a precedent that any time there is a budget fight looming, politics would get discussed because the AT would be affected. I see your point about wanting to get this reversed but the thought of running a thread about it and the political dialogue that will likely ensue is not very appealing. There is very little interest by the admins to run a political forum or group. We had one previously, it was not pretty. Politics is very polarizing.

    But I have an idea that might work, I don't know if it is a workable solution but I created a group called Non-Partisan Solutions to Getting Our Trails Reopened. It's in the Groups area. You click on the Groups icon to get there. Top of the page. I am transferring group ownership to someone else I have in mind, I will see if he will accept the role. The membership is set to moderated, so join requests will need to be processed.

    Now can we keep this thread more straight forward please.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
    Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan

    Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.

  18. #198

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    First and foremost this is a SF thread and the question centered on the NPs. I left the National Forest posts in because a lot of people get the two mixed up. But the intent was to discuss access issues.

    Hill Ape we do at times let politics get posted if it directly concerns the AT, and this does. But the political sticky point is the Affordable Care Act (aka as Obamacare) with the AT and the rest of the country as collateral damage. This isn't a specific law targeting the AT nor a targeted budget request nor a court case affecting AT lands. It's a budget fight. The whole budget no less, not just a single spending bill, it's all of them. It would set a precedent that any time there is a budget fight looming, politics would get discussed because the AT would be affected. I see your point about wanting to get this reversed but the thought of running a thread about it and the political dialogue that will likely ensue is not very appealing. There is very little interest by the admins to run a political forum or group. We had one previously, it was not pretty. Politics is very polarizing.

    But I have an idea that might work, I don't know if it is a workable solution but I created a group called Non-Partisan Solutions to Getting Our Trails Reopened. It's in the Groups area. You click on the Groups icon to get there. Top of the page. I am transferring group ownership to someone else I have in mind, I will see if he will accept the role. The membership is set to moderated, so join requests will need to be processed.

    Now can we keep this thread more straight forward please.
    I have a question about your idea. What's the point of a private group discussing this issue?? If the same rules apply in the group, nothing that wouldn't be tolerated on the main site wouldn't be allowed in there, either.Because the group is private no one can even see what y'all are discussing, much less participate without an invite. That piece makes no sense to me. Just for the record, I wouldn't want to participate..I've got nothing.

    Soooo why not start the thread on the main site called.. Non-Partisan Solutions to Getting our Trail Reopened??

    I understand the risk you take by opening such a thread. This subject is a political nightmare but, in the end on this site, you have 100% control. You can "fix" it.

    The members that really care about abiding by the rules will not keep pushing the envelope. The ones that don't care will push it. You have the ability to distinguish between the two. You can thread block the ones that don't care.

    If you figure something out in your group, can we get a report??

    I like this thread b/c we can report to each other what we know about how our government shut down is affecting hikers using the trail. We can all participate. Thanks.

  19. #199

    Default Yes and No

    Quote Originally Posted by Ewker View Post
    The highway portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway remains open to normal vehicular traffic. It is the various visitor centers, rest areas, campgrounds, etc, which are closed. My wife and some friends have been driving the BRP between Blowing Rock and Linville Falls, NC to access hiking trails since Tuesday of this week. This article states the same--highway open, facilities closed.

    AO

  20. #200

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Shmaybix View Post
    I have a question about your idea. What's the point of a private group discussing this issue?? If the same rules apply in the group, nothing that wouldn't be tolerated on the main site wouldn't be allowed in there, either.Because the group is private no one can even see what y'all are discussing, much less participate without an invite. That piece makes no sense to me. Just for the record, I wouldn't want to participate..I've got nothing.

    Soooo why not start the thread on the main site called.. Non-Partisan Solutions to Getting our Trail Reopened??

    I understand the risk you take by opening such a thread. This subject is a political nightmare but, in the end on this site, you have 100% control. You can "fix" it.

    The members that really care about abiding by the rules will not keep pushing the envelope. The ones that don't care will push it. You have the ability to distinguish between the two. You can thread block the ones that don't care.

    If you figure something out in your group, can we get a report??

    I like this thread b/c we can report to each other what we know about how our government shut down is affecting hikers using the trail. We can all participate. Thanks.
    OK good questions.

    There is no invite needed, the group is set to moderated (user requests to join). Anyone can join, then their join will be approved. This is different than an invite only group. There a user has to be invited by the group owner to join. The groups area is outside of search spiders so it does not get imaged on the web. There are more options for creating discussions within a group that help to organize the discussions (threads). A user can bypass a thread block by logging in as a guest, but if removed from a group, the access is cut off completely. I am not going to keep junking up this thread so go to the Group if you would like to ask any more questions. I have asked Sailing Faith to be the group owner. He will approve joins as he gets to them.

    I am going to delete any further off topic material. I have asked enough times already for people to keep it SF. Use PM if you have to. THANKS!
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
    Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan

    Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.

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