Rainbow Family Gathering in the Kilkennies Fourth of July

[NHClimber]

It’ll all be fine!

 

[CaptCaper]

I was at Woodstock 69. And have no interest in being pot smoking. Acid head ever again. This gathering probably is just a excuse to get high and get laid. They should grow up.

 

[JoshandBaron]

This gathering probably is just a excuse to get high and get laid.

Sounds terrible.

 

[dug]

I was at Woodstock 69. And have no interest in being pot smoking. Acid head ever again. This gathering probably is just a excuse to get high and get laid. They should grow up.

So, I had my fun but nobody else can? got it.

(No, not advocating for this silly event)

 

[Hillwalker]

I missed Woodstock because I was participating in the Southeast Asian war games at the time. (2nd place) Maybe I ought to go and maybe discover what I missed. What popular bands are featured? What? None? Humph.....

 

[miehoff]

Maybe I missed something. Has no one brought up the restroom situation? 5000 people. At least two poops a day for 3 days? No need to do the math.

Ok… I did. 30,000 poops!

 

[JoshandBaron]

Maybe I missed something. Has no one brought up the restroom situation? 5000 people. At least two poops a day for 3 days? No need to do the math.

Ok… I did. 30,000 poops!

Apparently they dig trenches and have at it.

 

[peakbagger]

The forest service seems to have originally been agressive at enforcement against these gatherings but of late the incident teams reportedly work with participants to minimize the damage and environmental issues. One of the things they do is work with volunteers to try to locate privies and water sources. It probably a futile effort as the soil in most of the area is basically rocks with the only soil being that which has filled in around the rocks. The seasonal high-water table is usually quite shallow and state regulations require the base of an outhouse to be 4' above seasonal high water table. The chances are slim to none that that will happen. The PR claims are that there are skilled volunteers who come early and leave late to set up in consultation with the FS and then clean up post event. The problem is mass gatherings like these tend to generate a lot of solid waste, like tents, cooler and clothing in addition to packaging and that need to be hailed to the landfill in Success and disposed of at minimum in the range of $50 a ton. Not sure who pays that since no one is in charge. Sorted recyclables luckily can be hauled to the local Androscoggin recycling center not that far away on RT 110, but it still needs to be collected and hauled. Milan has one Berlin Police officer on contract. EMS service is one volunteer ambulance with some minimal coverage from Colebrook and Gorham. Its pretty well closed in canopy so no rescue helicopter landings (the closest open spot is probably back on York Pond Road.

The unfortunate part is the City of Berlin uses that entire watershed as its public water supply. Look on a map and Godfrey Dam is the intake and it's fed from the south end of the valley by the Upper Ammonusuc which originates right were the event is supposed to happen. Berin has a modern slow sand filtration system that also does biological control but no doubt they will be factoring in the "added load" for what will be a very long term source of contamination probably several years. The group would have been better taking over Pond of Safety Valley to the south but the road is far less user friendly.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Its pretty well closed in canopy so no rescue helicopter landings (the closest open spot is probably back on York Pond Road.

The clearing at the event site is fairly large and cleaner than some places I've seen them land.

 

[peakbagger]

Okay, I haven't visited the spot so if there is adequate clearance established they could land but since no one is in charge who would establish and maintain the clearance? Must be relatively new clearing, when I did a few NH 100s pre covid there were no clearings that I remember.

 

[Ken MacGray]

The USFS is seeking public input on the event:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whitemountain/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1115618

 

[ChrisB]

This gathering probably is just a excuse to get high and get laid...

The White Mountain National Forest.

"Land of many uses!"

 

[peakbagger]

The USFS is seeking public input on the event:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whitemountain/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1115618

I dont really see the forest service asking for public input as much as explaning their potential response to the event.

I saw 7 or 8 FS trucks parked at the Gorham fire station today, Pretty rare to see more than 1 or 2 in one place. The local paper mentioned the FS usually spends 500K to 700K in their budget to handle each event. I saw a few new "keep out" signs on driveways heading out on RT 110 today.

 

[CaptCaper]

Apparently they dig trenches and have at it.

I doubt they will. It'll be more like don't step in it while your try to have at it.

 

[CaptCaper]

I dont really see the forest service asking for public input as much as explaning their potential response to the event.

I saw 7 or 8 FS trucks parked at the Gorham fire station today, Pretty rare to see more than 1 or 2 in one place. The local paper mentioned the FS usually spends 500K to 700K in their budget to handle each event. I saw a few new "keep out" signs on driveways heading out on RT 110 today.

Once they let it happen it'll be done every year and get worse every year. The town of Bethel put a squish on Woodstock reunions fast.

 

[dug]

The town of Bethel put a squish on Woodstock reunions fast.

Sorta'. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has events (obviously nothing like the original Festival), including the 40th anniversary; the 50th got the go-ahead but was cancelled for other reasons. The 30th was a couple of hours north in Rome.

Also, it's generated a half-billion dollars for the town and continues to be the largest revenue generator in the Region. Maybe they are finally in the black after the original one.

What "town" will but the kibosh on something like this happening again? Milan? Stark? Technically this mess occurring on Federal land, not sure what pull they could even have. This group is well-versed in legal-eeze since everywhere they go, they have to fight the locals. They know what they can and can't do from a legal perspective. For a peace and love group, they appear to have little concern from an environmental perspective.

Driving through Berlin is going to be a real trip. No way they can handle that amount of traffic.

 

[Rhody Seth]

I think we all know what needs be done.

@peakbagger is going to have to go undercover and send back some first hand reports from this hippie fest.

We're all counting on you, sir.

 

[peakbagger]

I plan to be backpacking on the fourth. My brother is quite close to the turn off RT 110 to York Pond Road. I may get a taste of the traffic during a car shuttle.

My guess is if the FS sticks to their guns that the loop road will be one way with parking on only one side with the threat of towing that people will be parking on York Pond road and walking as the loop road will fill up quick and I suspect the gate at the fish hatchery will be repaired to allow it to be closed and locked as the state probably would not appreciate supplying a fresh hatchery fish for dinner for 5000 folks . I think the better approach would be for someone to drive up to Pond of Safety and hoof it up the snowmobile trail which skips Berlin and Gorham. When I hiked the loop up to the Crescent Ridge trail from Pond of Safety last year, the road up to the Pond turn off was real dicey in spots for vehicles with low ground clearance. If it has not been maintained this year, it probably will "eat" a few subcompacts. I expect I could pay for some diesel for my Unimog with a tow rope for hauling cars out of ditches

To me the choke point from the south is the traffic lights in Gorham which already backs up most weekends with the ATV traffic. Gorham usually has a couple of events that shut down Main street on 4th of July which snarls things up on either side of town. The area does deal with similar crowds for the various ATV festivals on RT 110.

On the other hand if this had happened prior to the relocation and rebuilding of RT 110 through Berlin several years ago it would have been a real mess. Most folks heading to the Mt Cabot trailheads only had a 70% chance of finding their way through the maze of streets that the old RT 110 used to follow through Berlin. There are also a couple of "bypasses" around downtown Berlin but with Gorham there is one three way traffic light and one lane of traffic and that is it with a lot of east/west traffic on RT 2 that is heading east on main street past the town common 4 day 4th of July celebration (loaded with pedestrians crossing the street). The two stores on RT 110 (one in Berlin and one in Milan) are going to make out like a bandit if they can get enough inventory in stock. Walmart already probably has truck loads of cheap tents and camping gear heading north to be purchased and abandoned at the end of the event.

 

[CaptCaper]

I

Sorta'. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has events (obviously nothing like the original Festival), including the 40th anniversary; the 50th got the go-ahead but was cancelled for other reasons. The 30th was a couple of hours north in Rome.

Also, it's generated a half-billion dollars for the town and continues to be the largest revenue generator in the Region. Maybe they are finally in the black after the original one.

What "town" will but the kibosh on something like this happening again? Milan? Stark? Technically this mess occurring on Federal land, not sure what pull they could even have. This group is well-versed in legal-eeze since everywhere they go, they have to fight the locals. They know what they can and can't do from a legal perspective. For a peace and love group, they appear to have little concern from an environmental perspective.

Driving through Berlin is going to be a real trip. No way they can handle that amount of traffic.

know about bethel woods well. Been back to visit the site 4 times over the years. Expensive and not the same. To me they capitalized something there they should of left alone some how. Police patrol the area and did boot me off the field.
And one can't compare this to that period. Fake hippes. Frank Zappa would say "plastic hippie "

 

[Andrew]

My wife had to work at Barry Camp (York Pond Rd) on Thursday, and all her colleagues in the Concord office on Wednesday were freaking out and telling her about all the difficulty she was going to have with traffic and check points; In fact, another colleague told her they had cancelled a meeting at the hatchery on Friday due to the expected troubles.
My wife had a very pleasant drive to Barry Camp, although she did pass a woman who was pulled over by the cops, and the woman asked my wife to drive carefully.

So, some who came up from Concord on Thursday were so alarmed, that they couldn't just go to their business, but had to drive down and investigate the situation for themselves.

The people are gathering, and many are making other events of it, and unfortunately, they will be negatively impacted by the actions of many people who don't really get this gathering. I bet the attendance would be half of what it would be without all the advertising the media has provided.

I spent quite a few years spreading hydraulic fluid all over that area on snowmobile trail while grooming, so it's these folks chance now to spread a little pollution.