Worst/Unsafe road crossings?

[Smile]

OK thru hikers, which road crossings have a reputation for being "bad" because of locals, or undesirables hanging around and possibly causing trouble?

Please list from the worst at the top of your list on down, comments and experiences would be great. Also how you avoided trouble in a particularly infamous location.

[Ridge]

I can't proclaim any particular "road" area as being unsafe. But, I can recommend not camping too close to trail access points which usually involves a road and/or populated areas.

[colbys]

i dont know about people,but as far as traffic is concerend,i cant remember,but there was a road crossing near harpers ferry with really bad traffic..

[Mouse]

Trafficwise the worst in my opinion was the Palisades Parkway in New York. Crossing a four-lane freeway with heavy traffic and a less than good view to either side was just like that old videogame, "Frogger"!

[Colter]

What Mouse said.

[Smile]

How about down south? I think I remember a thread a while back about an area near the top of some mountain where locals were putting out trash, four wheelers abounded and hikers harrassed on occasion....a place where hiking folks made it point to get through the area as quick as possible.

[Lone Wolf]

Hughes Gap, just before ascending Roan Mtn., has it's moments.

[orangebug]

19E, north of the Apple Barn shelter was pretty miserable with poor view distance and pretty fast traffic. I was more concerned with those 3+ lanes than Pallisades Parkway with a broad median between the lanes.

[Askus3]

The Palisades is not that bad because you at least have a 50 yeard median, so you are crossing one side at a time. However, if you are crossing between 6-8 AM or 4-7 PM M-F, or Sat 10AM-12 Noon or Sunday 4-8 PM, then that highway takes on a new life. Instead of being a quiet country parkway, it becomes a commuters thoroughfare. And commuters drive reading newspapers, putting on make-up and driving way above the posted speed limit. They are a dangerous lot!!! It can definitely be scary.

You always have to watch when a shelter is close to a road, then that location becomes a popular hangout. Did you know the William Brien Memorial Shelter was right by the northshore of Island Pond in Harriman Park in the 1970s? It became such a bad hangout and drug location, they removed the shelter, changed the name of LetterRock shelter (two shelters to the north) to William Brien Memorial and even rerouted the AT for 20 years to loop around to the south through some muddy territory and boring routing so as to avoid Island Pond a picturesque pond but too close to an access road. They finally routed the AT back to the northside of Island Pond but not the same route and not right along the bank of Island Pond. It is a good lake to take a swim in (although illegally). Also there are many illegal campsites. Another popular hangout with many illegal campsites is Fitzgerald Falls. Watch the broken glass! This site is just 1/2 miile east (or north on AT) of the crossing of Lakes Road between Monroe & Greenwood Lake (after next road crossing after 17A & Wildcat Shelter going northbound).

[vipahman]

The Palisades is not that bad because you at least have a 50 yeard median, so you are crossing one side at a time. However, if you are crossing between 6-8 AM or 4-7 PM M-F, or Sat 10AM-12 Noon or Sunday 4-8 PM, then that highway takes on a new life. Instead of being a quiet country parkway, it becomes a commuters thoroughfare. And commuters drive reading newspapers, putting on make-up and driving way above the posted speed limit. They are a dangerous lot!!! It can definitely be scary.

Having been born and brought up in India, any road crossing in the US should be a piece of cake. Did you know that 1500 people die every year in Mumbai (Bombay) while crossing the tracks because it is inconvenient to use the foot overpass? And that's just one city! But I digress. Yeah, the Palisades can be bad at rush hour. As someone above said, it's like Frogger if you can make it one move. Posted speed limit is 50/55 but mostly everybody's at 65-75.

[Mouse]

Then there is the legendarily infamous Governor Clements shelter in Vermont, the ONLY shelter my guidebook specifically said to avoid. A few nights before I arrived it was said another woman stayed there alone and found herself surounded by drunken locals driving donuts around the shelter in SUVs, throwing bottles and epithets. I saw the tracks myself and as far as I can tell the story seems true.

[Jack Tarlin]

This thread seems to have become a discussion of road traffic; I think the original poster was more concerned with personal safety/security.

Most folks seem to think the problem spots are down south. (Call this the "Deliverance" factor.)

Personally, the very few times I've felt uncomfortable or had problems were up North: A bottle thrown at my head from a car in Pennsylvania; ATV yahoos at Governer Clement shelter in Vermont; and some teenage idiots trying to pick a fight at a convenience store in Gorham.

There are really very few places on the Trail that see regular problems (tho Clement might be at the top of the list). There are certainly places (like 19E for example) where one shouldn't leave a vehicle, but as far as personal security, you're safer on the trail than you are in your home, school, or workplace.

[Sly]

19E, north of the Apple Barn shelter was pretty miserable with poor view distance and pretty fast traffic.

A friend of mine was hit with a beer bottle here by passing car. She wasn't too pleased.

[Smile]

Good information. I remember somebody getting beaten up, or trash containing syringes in a thread somewhere....can't find it.

Glad to know there are few trouble spots!

[dperry]

Having been born and brought up in India, any road crossing in the US should be a piece of cake. Did you know that 1500 people die every year in Mumbai (Bombay) while crossing the tracks because it is inconvenient to use the foot overpass? And that's just one city! But I digress. Yeah, the Palisades can be bad at rush hour. As someone above said, it's like Frogger if you can make it one move. Posted speed limit is 50/55 but mostly everybody's at 65-75.

I drove down this section of the Parkway a couple of years ago and don't even remember any signs warning of the crossing. I can't believe that the PIPC hasn't put in a bridge or tunnel yet. This is an accident (and a lawsuit) waiting to happen. For that matter, I'm surprised the ATC and NYNJTC haven't put some pressure on them to fix this.

[astrogirl]

i dont know about people,but as far as traffic is concerend,i cant remember,but there was a road crossing near harpers ferry with really bad traffic..

Probably Route 7, Leesburg Pike. It used to be quieter, but now it's like a commuter race track. I doubt WV 9 (Keys Gap) is much better these days.

[astrogirl]

How about down south? I think I remember a thread a while back about an area near the top of some mountain where locals were putting out trash, four wheelers abounded and hikers harrassed on occasion....a place where hiking folks made it point to get through the area as quick as possible.

19E Elk Park is the area to which you refer.

There's still trash around, and people still use ATVs illegally near that part of the trail. I saw both the trash and ATVs last year in May.

[neo]

i have nere had any problem at road crossings neo

[RITBlake]

Trafficwise the worst in my opinion was the Palisades Parkway in New York. Crossing a four-lane freeway with heavy traffic and a less than good view to either side was just like that old videogame, "Frogger"!

ya, we hit this at about 5 pm on a weekday. It took us nearly 20 minutes to get across, it was freakin' NUTS. For those of you not fromthe tri state area, the Palisades is a MAJOR NYC feeder highway, I couldn't believe there wasn'ta footbridge.

Side story:
once we crossed mike and I walked about half a klick down to the rest stop to get water. It was closed but a lady had a case over bottled water in her trunk, and she gave us the whole thing. nice lady.

[UCONNMike]

It took us nearly 20 minutes to get across, it was freakin' NUTS.

HAHA, yeah...we totally almost died