Shut Down

[Mother Natures Son]

With the government shut down looming, what do we do? I know we've been through this before but.. Will we get busted for hiking in a N.P. or the AT?

[Slo-go'en]

With the government shut down looming, what do we do? I know we've been through this before but.... Will we get busted for hiking in a N.P. or the AT?

In theory, yes. In practice, maybe. This would only apply to GSMNP and SNP along the AT. What's truly ironic, is it costs more to shut these things down for a week or two then to just keep on as normal.

[Sarcasm the elf]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-officials-weigh-keeping-national-parks-open-even-if-government-shuts-down/2018/01/17/7837649e-fbd1-11e7-ad8c-ecbb62019393_story.html?utm_term=.b0626316c9db

[handlebar]

During the last shut down I was hiking south on the Tuscarora Trail which spends some time on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath. I had forgotten it was a national park and was wondering why there was no one there, when it donned on me, oh yeah, government shutdown. There were no signs posted where the trail joined the C&O, no one stopped me, and I got to Hancock, MD OK. I figure if they can leave the airports open so the members of Congress can travel, I should be able to walk on the canal towpath, in national forests, and on BLM land.

[swjohnsey]

With the government shut down who's to stop you, gonna turn yourself in?

[Sarcasm the elf]

With the government shut down who's to stop you, gonna turn yourself in?

In 2013 it was the pissed off skeleton crew of Rangers and park staff stopping hikers, the onez who were stuck there as essential workers even though their pay checks were being delayed.

[Coffee]

The trails in SNP were officially closed last time. The reason is that they can't provide emergency services for hikers on reduced crews. They won't post rangers at the entrance but probably not a good idea to essentially trespass on closed land. The shutdowns are always quite annoying and illogical.

[swjohnsey]

I actually saw 2 rangers and a state game warden on my '12 thru and the government wasn't shut down.

[Starchild]

The trails in SNP were officially closed last time. The reason is that they can't provide emergency services for hikers on reduced crews. They won't post rangers at the entrance but probably not a good idea to essentially trespass on closed land. The shutdowns are always quite annoying and illogical.
That does not make sense since emergency services would be covered, however due to the responders also being non-essential federal workers till the emergency call comes in would take time getting to work, delaying the response.

[Tennessee Viking]

Gov't shutdowns usually go in stages. Usually it will start with unessential services will be stopped. Then send home a light duty personnel. Then send home all employees except essential emergency/law enforcement personnel and close federal offices/properties. NPS parks will be the first to close. USFS lands will remain open.

The Smokies, SNP, and any other Federal offices will be closed. Last shutdown, the Smokies were definitely closed with passage on US441 still allowed. Roads/Overlooks were blocked off. Reports of a few hikers tried to sneak into the park but got caught & ticketed (LE Rangers doing random checks). I am sure many others got through. Shuttle companies were picking up hikers at I40 or Hot Springs and jumping them to Fontana Village or NOC.

[colorado_rob]

I was hiking through SNP Oct '13 right smack when the gub-mint shutdown occurred. On "day zero" I walked through a wayside parking area along with a number of other AT hikers and chatted with a ranger. He said clearly to simply hike-on, we would not be affected except to note that of course the wayside would be closed. No sweat. When I got to the northern boundary, there was a sign to this effect, about the waysides being closed.

The smokies might have been a slightly different animal....

[FreeGoldRush]

Walking on a trail is dangerous without a government being funded daily. Stay indoors and wait on the authorities to give you the all-clear.

[reppans]

I was camping (campervan) in NP on Lake Powell when the Govt shut down in 2013. There were a few folks that came in to launch boats just ahead of the shut-down with a 'let them kick me out' attitude. Turned out to be a good strategy - you could stayed inside as long as you wanted (had food), but they weren't letting anyone else in, and don't think they'd let you out (i.e., for supplies) and back in. IIRC, the local police? were guarding the entrance, not federal park rangers.

[LittleRock]

The smokies might have been a slightly different animal....
Nope. I was there Oct. 2013. The rangers closed all the campgrounds, roads, and parking areas, but they couldn't have cared less about backpackers walking in from outside the park.

[colorado_rob]

Nope. I was there Oct. 2013. The rangers closed all the campgrounds, roads, and parking areas, but they couldn't have cared less about backpackers walking in from outside the park. Good to know. I keep hearing things like "they were issueing tickets". Probably fiction.

[Alligator]

It's okay to discuss what might be allowed under a shutdown, but I am closing this one down because it presupposes breaking the law. Any future posts suggesting you will or have will be removed per #4 of the user agreement. Also note we do have about 12 hours or so before a shutdown occurs and that it is still an uncertainty.