Beware of overnight parking on 16 (and maybe other places)

[carla]

I was hiking on 19 Mile Brook and Carter Dome trails today, and parked in the 19 Mile Brook parking lot. I arrived around 9:30 am, and the police and towtrucks were busily towing away 5 or 6 cars that had been left parked on the road (rather than in the lot) overnight. I don't know if they always tow off the road, or if they did this morning because of overnight snow, and needing to plow Route 16. (The cop also told me that they had towed many cars parked on the road near Pinkham.)

There were a lot of bummed out hikers who had spent the night up at the Carter Notch shelter, only to hike out and find themselves stuck, having to hitchhike up to Gorham.

I don't know what the options are, but I would certainly be very wary about parking anywhere outside of any parking area

ughh....

 

[David Metsky]

This happens most every year. The parking areas by Imp are also hit by the tow trucks when there is a need to plow. It's a bummer, but I'm also happy to see the roads plowed as well as they can be.

 

[Peaks]

Route 16 either side of Pinkham is clearly posted as No Parking. Don't recall around 19 Mile trailhead.

 

[--M.]

I remember back in my dad's day (60s/70s) that one was okay as long as one had ALL FOUR tires off the pavement. I don't think there were also "No Parking" signs to contend with (in which case...).

Edit: I would add that the thought of having to shovel out a plowed-in (and maybe damaged) car would weigh heavily on my decision. If I remember correctly, I made a point to park at Pinkham for 19-Mile, more for security, but it would also seem to apply here. I had zero trouble hitching rides, including with nice, trusting families in expensive cars (whose little kids had just finished King Ravine!). Worked out great.

 

[cushetunk]

I admit I don't know about Gorham, but many New England towns have a winter ban on overnight street parking. So, whether it is signed "No Parking" or not, leaving your car overnight may still be illegal.

 

[MadRiver]

The 19 Mile trailhead is a very popular parking lot and fills up quickly. On Saturday I and some friends did the Carters and saw the cars parked on the street after the hike. One rule of thumb with any lot in winter, get there early!!

 

[peakbagger]

Sorry for a borderline "Rant"

The areas in question are not in the town of Gorham but Gorham does have a contract with the forest service for police services, mostly related to occasional loops thru Barnes Field, and responding to accidents. The call for towing is usually a state police decision although the plowing crew that is assigned to keep Rt 16 from Jackson to Gorham open in the winter probably has a lot of input. There was a forecast for potentially significant snow on Sunday and when that happens, the snow plows need somewhere to put the snow plus the likelyhood of damage to the hikers vehicles were high. Granted the timing was lousy for hikers but its not like there werent legal alternatives.

About 1/4 of a mile down the road from 19 mile brook is the Great Gulf parking lot, its plowed and very rarely is full in the winter. The alternative parking for Pinkham is Wildcat, which is about 1/2 a mile down the road from Pinkham. So those who elected to park in areas posted no parking along the road decided that their convienience was worth the risk. Normally its g good bet, but this time it wasnt.The 19 mile lot is not along a wide straight stretch like Pinkham, it has curves and elevation changes on both sides. The risk for parking along the road in that area is a damaged car or worse someone injured from hitting it.

I was driving in the area Sunday morning and it was quite slippery and visibility on occasion was questionable. Probably not a good time to have cars parked in the right of way and the road narrowed because the plows couldnt push back the snow.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I admit I don't know about Gorham, but many New England towns have a winter ban on overnight street parking. So, whether it is signed "No Parking" or not, leaving your car overnight may still be illegal.

The towing of vehicles has nothing to do with local Gorham parking restrictions per se- Gorham is the location where towed vehicles are stored. The state of NH DOT has designated certain overflow areas from hiker trailheads as "No Parking Zones", particularly on NH 16 south of Gorham, and occasionally they enforce it. When that happens, the vehicles end up in Gorham.

NH seems to understand the importance that hiking contributes to their tourist revenue stream, so it builds some excellent trailheads and is quick to plow them in winter. I wish other northern NE states understood that as well as NH does. I've parked many times at places like Pine Bend Brook and the Kinsmans on the Franconia/Eaton town line where you're hugging a snowbank beside the main highway, and never had any problems/concerns with being towed even on snowed days when the state plows are out. Always a good idea to have a shovel, though, in case you get plowed in.

Parking at Pinkham in the spring when Tuckerman's is in full swing gets really zoo-ey, and that's why people parking on the highway pull WAY off it -I've noticed that if vehicles are pulled in near the trees (on the lodge side) they don't get towed. But, if they're in the legal right-of-way (i.e., the shoulder) ... it's a big payday for the tow-truck operators.

 

[RoySwkr]

I've dug out parking spaces my last 2 hikes in preference to risking parking on the road

Several times I've gone elsewhere when I didn't see a good way to create a space, but then I'm by myself in a 2wd and if you have 4 athletes in a 4wd with 4 shovels you can dig a marginal space pretty quick and have people to help push out if need be

The easiest place to dig is an unplowed lot where you just have to punch thru a drift into easier stuff, it's harder to dig lengthwise in the drift and sometimes what may seem like an adequate shoulder in summer isn't so wide in winter

 

[Mike P.]

So if someone (me) is planning a Middle Carter trip, is there another option for parking. is the Renger Station parking close by? Is this more of an issue when snow is expected in a few hours?

When I went by 19 mile at 7:00 Am on Saturday, there were just two cars in the lot, so planty of spaces available if you got there early.

 

[peakbagger]

Middle Carters best option would be the great gulf trail parking lot. Assuming you do the tradtional route, you will go 19 mile brook, then up to South Carter, over Middle, than keep going over to the North Carter trail, then take North Carter down to Imp trail. Take a left on Imp and then take the shortcut on the old logging road down to camp dodge, then out onto RT16 almost directly across from Great Gulf parking.

BTW, very rarely does the 19 mile brook parking lot fill up until 11 AM on a nice Saturday in the winter. Its usually the combination of a hut full of people and a good day for hiking.

 

[Mike P.]

Was thinking up North Imp, North Carter & then the top. Done that trip before a few Novembers ago with Farmer Bob & have done South Carter in winter.

Going again in May to South Carter as part of a Carter warm up trip before another June Presi-traverse.