https://www.reddit.com/r/Appalachian...ease_for_2021/
Given the big increase in hikers the privies are usually overflowing before the caretakers even show up for the season. There is major shortage of workers and places for them to stay in the tourist areas of NH I expect AMC is going to have tough time staffing their operations. It is surprising how many campers they have to manage every night at these campsites.
Thru hikers still get a discount of only $5 a night after paying $10 the first night and acquiring a free thru hiker pass.
Hope raising the fees keeps people at home rather than driving them into the woods. Spreading all that poop around only makes things worse. I didn't bother with a Pemi loop last year and might not again this year because there are just too many people using that area in recent years. I'll do my part by going somewhere else.
$15 isn't going to stop anyone. $150 a night at the huts doesn't stop them. It's also amazing how many don't even know they have to pay.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoneStranger
As someone pointed out in that link, it will stop many families ($60-$75 per night for a couple with 2-3 kids), and also we pretty much all know many thru hikers will camp just outside their boundary avoiding the fee.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slo-go'en
Excellent point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starchild
FWIW, I seldom see families with kids at the AMC tent sites. Not sure if money is the big driver on that, but it could play a factor.
I believe all front country camping is charged on a per site basis.
There are not a lot of options for camping just outside the boundary of the sites with caretakers. That is why they have caretakers as the terrain in not very friendly for camping and they are in convenient location trail wise. Thruhikers are just a small portion of the traffic to these sites. Everyone of them except Garfield Ridge are long term campsites that were beat into the ground for decades and seriously degraded, its taken decades to restore the surrounding areas and the only way that has happened is with a caretaker on site.
There are couple of options for front country camping that do not cost anything. The quarter mile rule from roads allows dispersed camping in the majority of the national forest. At most it may require a parking pass. There are also some primitive roadside campsites hidden away on FS roads.
A family of 4 can spend $40 or more just going to McDonalds. $15pp is still a heck of a lot cheaper than a day at a theme park, or a day of skiing. It seems a lot of families can afford to stay at the Huts. There are a lot of other places to go and hike/camp on the cheap. The AT through the Whites is not one of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starchild