Interesting Baxter State Park article

https://downeast.com/wild-man/

I think the number of mandatory BSP thru hiker permits (not to be confused with the voluntary triangular AT "self registration" tags) snapped up this year has surprised everyone. Of course BSP considers anyone who claims to have hiked in excess of 100 mile a thru hiker so I expect more than few were grabbed by section hikers doing the 100 mile "wilderness" who wanted a way of getting into BSP without reservations. If the AT follows the PCT example the voluntary triangular tags will become the only way to access specific limited access areas of the AT like GSMNP, SNP and BSP.

The DUPR cut off has definitely got some folks irked. The park tends to encourage folks to hit the trail early in the AM as many underestimate how long a hike will take. There are many folks who show up at the gate early without a DUPR and hope for an open spot. If the park pushes back the cut off time then that means more folks waiting in line and the ones who get the open slots start later. Folks also underestimate how long it takes to get to the park from Millinocket and I have run into folks camping at the WW rafting campgrounds near the gate that complain they had to get up too early to make the gate on time. I expect any cut off time will be too late for some. Its a pretty easy thing to fix, just book a site in the park. BSP was originally envisioned as a multiday camping park with day use a very minor component as it was so remote. I know of many folks in the sixties would never even consider a long weekend trip to baxter, they planned on a weeks vacation. I95 north of Bangor was not completed much before Baxter's death and the prior option of either RT2 or via Brownville added several hours to the trip. I know of folks prior to the I 95 completion that would plan 8 to 10 hours from Kittery compared to the 4 to 5 hour trip these days.

I did notice a much more robust solar array and what looks to be a backup propane generator hidden away off to the side at Togue Pond gate this year. I expect this must make the park staffs job of trying to fill out empty sites in the park a bit easier these days since they have power and in theory a data connection.

Thanks for sharing this, Peakbagger.

The older I get, and with the ever-increasing number of hikers, the more I appreciate Baxter State Park's rules, and the leadership of Bissell and the BPA. It is, in part, based on the successful preservation of wilderness at BSP, that leads me to believe that much stricter regulation and enforcement will be needed at some point—if not in the near future, then at some point decades from now—to preserve what is left of the wild character in over-run places such as the Adirondack High Peaks.

I have been going there since 1969 with a few gaps and compared to what is happening in the whites, its night and day. BSP is getting wilder as the years go on and the restorations of over used areas really kick in (Chimney Pond once a poster child for overuse is now dense regrowth, even Russell Pond is far more wild these days with lot more privacy between shelters). Fewer folks these days seem to be willing to put on a backpack so once you get off the BSP day hike routes to summits on the 4K and 100 highest lists, its rare to see more then a couple of folks all day. Its too bad that the initiative to put in more interconnecting backcountry trails got sidelined due to the Abol and now Dudley rebuilds but expect at some point they may get back on the agenda. About the only thing that would make the park better is to put parking lots outside the gates and switch to a shuttle bus system.

The WMNF and AMC is currently collaborating on an overuse study. I think its focused on popular day hikes like Franconia Ridge but it will be interesting what is proposed for solutions. The WMNF did have a wilderness permit system in place for a few years in the eighties, reportedly it didn't work well and could be gamed by folks who knew the system and was abandoned. There was also an attempt at one point to limit occupancy at Franconia Falls but that didn't last long. Given the mess at Diana's baths parking which is sucking up two FS employees and pushing cash into the town of Conway's coffers I don't hold out a lot of hope.

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peakbagger said:

Given the mess at Diana's baths parking which is sucking up two FS employees and pushing cash into the town of Conway's coffers I don't hold out a lot of hope.

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Trying to understand what your interpretation is on where you see money being pushed into The Town of Conway's coffers. I would agree that the private sector may be benefiting with what I believe is the shuttle service, but not seeing where the "Town of Conway" is.

skiguy said:

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Trying to understand what your interpretation is on where you see money being pushed into The Town of Conway's coffers. I would agree that the private sector may be benefiting with what I believe is the shuttle service, but not seeing where the "Town of Conway" is.

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I think he's referencing the steep parking tickets in the 'no parking zones' along West Side Road.

TJs got it, The town of Conway extended no parking zones for quite a stretch on either side of the road and increased the no parking fine substantially yet folks still park there and the town is reportedly quite diligent in ticketing.

Fundamentally at most 4K hiker parking lots in the whites, the demand well exceeds the parking spaces by a significant number every weekend from spring to fall. In most places cars just park along the highway and the state police tend to ignore it except in winter but at Diana's baths there has been a shift in the demographics of the home owners along the road. The new homeowners are buying older homes, gutting them and rehabbing them into higher end homes. They have been complaining to the town about parking along the road and the current situation is the result.

I have been surprised that there hasn't been a serious incident along the Franconia parkway near Lafayette place, the cars usually are parked along the highway for 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the parking lot. The highway is quite narrow. Traffic is running routinely at 60 MPH plus and hikers tend to be oblivious to them.

In the ADKs near Cascade and in the Hudson Highlands at Breakneck Ridge the solution has been to close the trailheads entirely and prohibit all street-side parking. I think that approach is going to spread rapidly.

peakbagger said:

TJs got it, The town of Conway extended no parking zones for quite a stretch on either side of the road and increased the no parking fine substantially yet folks still park there and the town is reportedly quite diligent in ticketing.

Fundamentally at most 4K hiker parking lots in the whites, the demand well exceeds the parking spaces by a significant number every weekend from spring to fall. In most places cars just park along the highway and the state police tend to ignore it except in winter but at Diana's baths there has been a shift in the demographics of the home owners along the road. The new homeowners are buying older homes, gutting them and rehabbing them into higher end homes. They have been complaining to the town about parking along the road and the current situation is the result.

I have been surprised that there hasn't been a serious incident along the Franconia parkway near Lafayette place, the cars usually are parked along the highway for 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the parking lot. The highway is quite narrow. Traffic is running routinely at 60 MPH plus and hikers tend to be oblivious to them.

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Kudos to the town of Conway for enforcing a law when it is being broken. I personally would not enjoy people parking in my front yard on a regular basis whether I had a trailer or a gutted rehabbed higher end home. Besides the demographic of the neighborhood IMO has nothing to do with the situation. Plain and simple it's just dangerous the way the situation has been. The Forest Service should also be limiting the amount of people in the area as it has already been trampled. As far as Franconia Notch that situation should have been limited a long time ago. I actually surprised that there has not been serious injury already.

skiguy said:

Kudos to the town of Conway for enforcing a law when it is being broken. I personally would not enjoy people parking in my front yard on a regular basis whether I had a trailer or a gutted rehabbed higher end home. Besides the demographic of the neighborhood IMO has nothing to do with the situation. Plain and simple it's just dangerous the way the situation has been. The Forest Service should also be limiting the amount of people in the area as it has already been trampled. As far as Franconia Notch that situation should have been limited a long time ago. I actually surprised that there has not been serious injury already.

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Feels like we're getting away from the BSP issue, although I think analogies to other systems of maintenance/management are valid. I'm definitely curious how the management of KWS will compare to BSP, given they are neighbors. I suspect the differences will be stark, but not quite like on Hispaniola.

On a slightly related note, is it fair to say that a reduction in logging is leading to conversion to conservation in the Millinocket area? I've assumed that most of the large parcels bought for conservation have been recently logged and then sold off, but it's high level assumption that could be faulty, or very loaded. The use of the forest as a whole seems to be shifting (not just use for recreation).

peakbagger said:

I have been surprised that there hasn't been a serious incident along the Franconia parkway near Lafayette place, the cars usually are parked along the highway for 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the parking lot. The highway is quite narrow. Traffic is running routinely at 60 MPH plus and hikers tend to be oblivious to them.

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Agreed. Two Falls ago I almost plowed into an Indian family (6+ people) that literally wandered out into the road to get a picture of the flowers on the island between the North and South lanes at Lafayette Parking area. It is nothing short of amazing that there have been no incidents there. I can't say I've even seen a traffic accident there let alone an actual pedestrian issue. Hard to imagine that lucky streak lasting with the ever increasing flow of people. Used to be a State police car often in that turnaround in the island but I haven't seen in awhile. Seems like they patrol more South of the Notch looking for high speed drivers. With a 45 mph speed limit they could literally write tickets all day in the notch.

skiguy said:

I personally would not enjoy people parking in my front yard on a regular basis whether I had a trailer or a gutted rehabbed higher end home.

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The neighbors don't seem to mind as many of them are turning their yards into parking lots and charging $20 a vehicle.

JoshandBaron said:

The neighbors don't seem to mind as many of them are turning their yards into parking lots and charging $20 a vehicle.

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LOL! Could an ice cream and hot dog stand be far away?

To follow up on TJs comment. The north maine woods is in quandary right now. It is optimized to crank out spruce and fir to supply pulp mills which are gone. The occasional repeat budworm epidemics preclude a true "old growth" forest as the budworm effectively kills the even age forests when they get mature. The last epidemic occurred in the 1970s and a new one is on the doorstep. If someone doesnt cut the stands when they die, they burn. In the long run that may bring back some stand diversity but it will be painful when its happening. The only real current buyers of woodlands are firms that buy low and then greenmail some conservation organization into paying them not to cut it up and develop it. Generally only the subdivision rights are sold and the owner agrees to manage to a third party sustainable forestry standard. Unfortunately there is little residual value to logging currently as no one is buying wood except high grade. Various folks will high grade the stuff they can sell, but that just degrades the woods. The only real market for woodland right now appears to be private investors, the Subway Sandwich chain founders just bought a big block of woods and John Mallone a multi billionaire buys when he sees a deal. They are just looking for places to park money and dont need short term return. The conservation groups dont see a lot of development pressure so they arent outright buyers these days, they would rather just pay to keep parcels intact and impose sustainable forestry standards. Plum Creek needed a way to greenwash their recreational development plan (that appears to be on hold) so they made AMC and offer they couldnt refuse. AMC bought the land and fairly quickly carved out high value inholdings and then cashed out much of the land by selling conservation easements.

Therefore the crystal ball is pretty murky on the future of the region. There is some noise about manufacturing structural timbers for sustainable building construction but that currently is niche market that is driven by carbon content/sustainability regulations. The DOE thought the region would become a major source of renewable liquid fuels but enhanced gas and oil production and the lack of a carbon tax had sidelined that potential market. The Europeans were buying every wood pellet they could but unless the pellets are processed into "bio coal" to increase BTU content and reduce handling costs the product is not competitive.

peakbagger said:

I have been surprised that there hasn't been a serious incident along the Franconia parkway near Lafayette place, the cars usually are parked along the highway for 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the parking lot. The highway is quite narrow. Traffic is running routinely at 60 MPH plus and hikers tend to be oblivious to them.

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I'm not sure if there or Major makes me more nervous. I did drive through a bad one at the Hancock Overlook, where parking on both sides obscured the view of somebody pulling out of the lot and they got hit.

Between this and the damage to the trails I do think we're actually in a usage crisis. I don't think the Baxter approach is appropriate everywhere but I appreciate it there and hope creative solutions can be found.