Backcountry Shelters and Campsites closed in the Whites

[peakbagger]

Effective today all backcountry shelters and campsites in the whites on USFS property in the whites are closed due to the government shutdown. Not sure it this applies to the Green Mountain NF

http://news.outdoors.org/2013/10/upd...ckcountry.html

Don't Shoot the messenger

This appears to cover all the shelters and campsites along the AT (and other locations)in the whites but currently do not impact AMC huts that are still open or RMC facilities. There hasn't been a definitivel list issued.

Of course its kind of hard to lock up a three sided lean to or a tent platform in the backcountry but caveat emptor. To date I have not seen any notices on dispersed camping so as long as the rules are followed http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5363715.pdf folks can still camp away from shelters, this is a PITA on the ridgelines but down in the valleys there are plenty of options.

In theory the AT is Maine is closed and therefore all the shelters where it is on NPS land which is 90% of the state. This would also include much if not all of the Mahoosucs except for Grafton Notch State Park.

With the current campground closures in the WMNF and a very busy Columbus day weekend coming up, I expect a lot of folks are scrambling to change plans.

[Pedaling Fool]

I was overseas on a deployment during the last shutdown, so I don't know much back here in the states of what was happening, but it just seems unlikely that this happened then; I basing this on no one mentioning this sort of impact in all the other discussions of a shutdown. Seems like someone is going out o their way to make life ugly.

[GPK]

IMG_0005.jpg This morning, the Crawford Path trail head in the parking lot at Mt Clinton Rd had this issue. Holy crap - don't look behind the outhouse. We went up to Pierce then over to Jackson for lunch. The Mizpah hut was open, but we didn't go in.