I am driving home from a solo overnighter at Spy Rock, which is in GWNF i believe--
Didnt have any problems with rangers at the fish hatchery road, but did share the same negative sentiment about whats going on in Washington with the few day hikers taking advantage.
wake up! IMPROVISE and do not let this shutdown affect your outdoor experiences. there is always an open door somewhere
its OUR property
we're headed back out Friday morning again too-- we rented a PATC cabin adjoining Shenandoah on private land...that has trails directly into the park.
bet theyll have a ranger posted up but i do feel very bad for all the people who rented cabins within the park
I totally sympathize.
Unlike federal employees (whom I hope will get paid retroactively), our business inside the Park has zero possibility of ever recovering one cent of the money we are losing every day of the shutdown.
closed Park = no customers for store = no point in opening store = employees don't get scheduled to work = employees are poorer
If not NOW, then WHEN?
ME>GA 2006
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=3277
Instagram hiking photos: five.leafed.clover
actually, back in 1996, the last time this happened, furloughed federal employees weren't guaranteed back pay, either. It took a specific act of Congress, after that crisis was resolved, to authorize back pay then, just as it will take a specific act of Congress when the current situation resolves. Unfortunately, attitudes are even more set in concrete now than then, and this time there is the added controversy about the debt ceiling - neither factor lending to a speedy resolution of the problem, nor to a Congressional attitude of support for back pay.
i posted this in groups so apologies to the 3 people who have already read it.
I think Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is handling the closure perfectly.
They have 18 employees; 14 were furloughed and 4 law enforcement officers still working. Obviously, the visitor center, museum, souvenier shop, theater, and main parking lot are all closed. However, the satellite parking lots remain open. These lots are gated so it would be easy to close them if they wanted to. The law enforcement officers are telling everyone that the park is closed, but are allowing anyone to enter the park and use the 20 miles of hiking trails after warning them that they are entering "at their own risk" and to be careful.
Everyone keeps mentioning that "it's our park", which is true, but in a rather abstract manner.
At the same time, everyone seems to forget history. When the Bonus Army marched on Washington, DC in 1932, the National Mall was "their property", too. That didn't stop Herbert Hoover from ordering Douglas MacArthur to use Army troops to clear federal property.
Sorry guys, the mall issue isn't a hiking issue, please refrain from discussing it here. 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.
I have found the anecdotal reports of rangers saying the "park is closed" and then look the other way, as the way to play this. I hope our SOBO brethren run into this more than some harda$$s. It still leaves roads being closed. I cannot recall how many areas that would affect resupply. I'm thinking the SNP would be a nightmare for resupply if the roads were closed.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
I find it kind of nice that the rangers at the different areas have some control over how they handle the closures, but at the same time, I wish each place would post up on its website what exactly they are allowing.
They can't post on their web sites: The National Park Service has shut down the entire domain until the government closure is over.
Here's what you see if you try to access them:
From my good friends at Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts that run the concessions at Shenandoah (and many other National Parks)
http://www.goshenandoah.com/Governme...formation.aspx
We are monitoring the government shutdown and are working closely with the National Park Service to ensure we have the most current information available related to the closures. We are contacting our lodging guests and providing a refund if a guest is not able to change his or her reservation. All NPS entrance gates are closed. All areas outside of the immediate lodging areas are also closed which includes hiking trails and backcountry areas.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
Here's what you see if you try to access them:
NPS Closed.jpg