Parking on the Kanc

[wardsgirl]

I thought the rule was that you had to park with all 4 wheels off the blacktop, so I'm curious to know what's going on with parking on the Kanc. I severely sprained my ankle in mid-November, (solo on the Hammond Trail, but I hiked out okay and already re-upped my fishing license for 2016- just in case!), so I was out doing some low-key rehab snowshoeing this weekend. Forest Discovery Trail, Church Pond, Rail and River trail- LOL! But, oh my goodness, the Kanc was crazy with people parked on the sides of the road. There were 20+ cars on the road at Greeley Ponds, and they interfered with the flow of traffic- only one lane could get by them on the area below the hairpin turn. I would be surprised to learn that they were parked legally.

Meanwhile, there is no plowed parking at many trailheads: East Pond, Livermore, Pine Bend Brook, but people parked right on the road. My initial destination, the Sawyer River trailhead (on the Kanc) seemed to have been usurped by a logging operation. I think it's strange that there are large swaths of cleared parking in random areas, some with viewpoints, NOT including CL Graham Wangan Ground and Sugar Hill, and some without viewpoints, along the entire length of the Kanc. I can't make any sense of it. Who determines what gets plowed on the Kanc? Wouldn't it make sense to plow the trailheads and leave a bit of space for safe parking? What about all these cars on the road? I suppose when one person does it, the others simply follow. But isn't that dangerous as well as putting one at risk of being ticketed or towed?

Thoughts?

 

[peakbagger]

Good luck on who plows what. The FS normally plows the US fee parking areas which on the Kanc is normally Sabathday Fall, Chandler Brook and Downes Brook. They also actively monitor these lots for fee passes. They do not plow the wide spots in the road like Pine Bend Brook and Sawyer River trail. The state normally does plow the "wide spots" but its a secondary task after a major plowing event

The state has the right to ticket and tow any vehicle parked on the paved portion of the road including the shoulder. In the past they have done this at Pinkham. There does seem to be a lot of discretion. Generally the highest risk of being towed is during or immediately after a major snow event. The plow drivers will concentrate on keeping the road open and then after the storm they will go back and clean up the shoulders and hiker parking area. If cars are in the way, they may just plow them in or they may call a trooper and have a towing party. I am surprised that a trooper didn't show up if primary traffic was impacted by parked cars. I saw the same trooper running a speed trap on RT115 in Twin Mtn two days in row his weekend so I guess it depends on priorities. I also expect that the state is aware that a towing party of predominately out of state hiker vehicles is going to draw a lot of ire but it has happened in the past.

The state also maintains odd locations some of which coincide with hiker parking (Imp Trail) for turning around plow trucks and school buses that may or may not coincide with trails.

There are been past threads on VFTT from people who have been ticketed and towed for parking in the shoulder at Ethan Pond trailhead and Nancy Pond trailhead. There is no inherent guarantee that convenient parking will be available in the winter. In the past folks would bring shovels and dig their way in but I expect few folks would do this now.

I have noticed that AMC appears to be more actively plowing near the Highland Center of late, specifically they appear to be plowing the train station lot and the lot on the south end of the station. There was still a line up of cars on the side of the road at the Webster Jackson trailhead.

 

[John in NH]

Wardsgirl-- I had the same thoughts and concerns you did. I got to the Greeley Pond Trailhead at 8 am on Saturday when there was still regular legitimate parking. Within the span of the 15 minutes it took me to gear up, the lot filled, and many people (all with out of state plates) arrived and started parking on the road. It was definitely dangerous, as they were blocking half the lane as you can see in the photo below taken at the end of the day with a car still parked on the road (license plate blurred out). It was a sharp downhill bend on the other side, so drivers on that side would not have time to react to other drivers swerving into their lane to avoid the cars parked on the road.

Perhaps a call to the relevant police authority would be appropriate to mention to situation wouldn't hurt. Ticketing (and or towing) would be the only thing to do. I mention the out of state plate thing because I suspect the mentality is "I am doing this hike for my list and have driven 3-4 hours to get here (and may have already talked up on social media) and am doing whatever it takes to get this hike in today." But obviously I don't claim to know what people are thinking. Either way, it might be wise to have backup plans and be willing to change hikes if your parking decision will endanger public safety. No hostility intended towards residents of other states, just thinking of the investment of driving time issue.

 

[Snowflea]

My thoughts:

Greeley Ponds (Osceola) trailhead is woefully inadequate in size.

I, too, do not "get" what gets plowed and what doesn't. For example, Oliverian Brook trailhead--advertised as having a SKI loop--was not plowed out this past weekend.

I always have a shovel in my car during snow months and have shoveled out parking spots when in doubt. I am wary of roadside/shoulder parking because many years ago a friend was towed at Imp trailhead. Arriving back at the trailhead in winter in the dark with your car nowhere to be seen would not be fun. Would NEVER park as the photo depicted above!!

Forest Discovery trailhead is nice and big, with perhaps the best outhouse on the Kanc!

 

[sierra]

I work for the NH DOT, though not in road maintenance. I can assure you, it is never ok, to park on the roadway in the winter. Salting and general plowing is hard enough, without cars blocking the way. It is also extremely dangerous for traffic, even more so at night. I would say the Greeley Ponds trailhead has to be a likely candidate to be upgraded at some point. I would hazard a guess, that the scenic outlooks and parking lots for trailheads, fall under the FS. You'd think with all the money they make on parking passes, they would actually provide parking at trailheads.