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madeintahoe wrote:

RickF wrote:The forest service campground website is reporting the campgrounds are closed but some or maybe even most of the campgrounds are operated by private camp hosts who are not employees of the federal govt. We were told by one camp host from the Bishop Creek area that the CG he operates is business as usual unless/until a Ranger comes and locks the gate.

Rick....Do you know what CG this is in the Bishop Creek area where the camp host operates?

Tahoe, it was the 4-Jeffreys CG off of Hwy 168 on the road to South Lake. But I read on another forum that forest service instructed the host at the Whitney Portal CG to closed down. I'm not sure if they're giving similar instructions to all other locations.

Does anyone know if White Mtn Rd is open to Schulman Grove?

What I meant was, Is the road open past Schulman to the Patriarch Tree, and is there any dispersion camping you'd recommend nearby for those with only a lowly 2wd car?

The Forest Service has evicted all the concessionaires; so Four Jeffreys is likely closed. They have have also locked the gates in most areas that have gates.

There is no reason to close many of the areas they have closed. It's unfortunate how the administrators in the Department of Interior and USDA have handled the partial shutdown.

Does anyone remember where the gate is going into Saddlebag Lake Road?,,,I know Saddlebag Campground is closed...I do not remember where that gate is..if it's right at the beginning when you turn on that road..or higher up past the walk in campground.

KathyW wrote:The Forest Service has evicted all the concessionaires; so Four Jeffreys is likely closed. They have have also locked the gates in most areas that have gates.

There is no reason to close many of the areas they have closed. It's unfortunate how the administrators in the Department of Interior and USDA have handled the partial shutdown.

Yep, I called the concessionaire today and spoke with live person. Four Jeffrey's like the other Forest Service campgrounds is "closed for the season".

It is unfortunate because the private consesionaires are not federal employees and are funded from fees collected. But most of the front-country Forest Service Rangers are still working on IOU's while funds are frozen.

madeintahoe wrote:Does anyone remember where the gate is going into Saddlebag Lake Road?,,,I know Saddlebag Campground is closed...I do not remember where that gate is..if it's right at the beginning when you turn on that road..or higher up past the walk in campground.

I think there is a gate very close to the turnoff from 120. I'm not sure the Forest Service maintains it or controls it, though. Even with the Saddlebag Lake resort closed for the season, that road does serve the Edison dam at Saddlebag Lake. Maybe the gate is locked and Edison's people just use keys, but it might be worth calling to see if the Saddlebag road is really closed: Mono County offices and the Mono Lake visitor center in Lee Vining (and Caltrans, but I would try the locals first) should all still be open. Also not that big a deal to walk the road if it's gated shut; people walk it in ski and snowboard boots every spring.

The forest service does maintain and operate the Saddlebag Road gate... right off 120. Whether they've done anything with it currently I'm not sure.

But the national forests I've driven through so far are open. A bit different than Saddlebag though.

Guys, it's not the forest or park or their respective departments you should be throwing under the bus - it is illegal for any government agency that's not funded right now to allow any activity that isn't related to protecting lives or property.

If you don't like this, please call your congressman or woman

RickF wrote:

KathyW wrote:The Forest Service has evicted all the concessionaires; so Four Jeffreys is likely closed. They have have also locked the gates in most areas that have gates.

There is no reason to close many of the areas they have closed. It's unfortunate how the administrators in the Department of Interior and USDA have handled the partial shutdown.

Yep, I called the concessionaire today and spoke with live person. Four Jeffrey's like the other Forest Service campgrounds is "closed for the season".

It is unfortunate because the private consesionaires are not federal employees and are funded from fees collected. But most of the front-country Forest Service Rangers are still working on IOU's while funds are frozen.

tarol wrote:Guys, it's not the forest or park or their respective departments you should be throwing under the bus - it is illegal for any government agency that's not funded right now to allow any activity that isn't related to protecting lives or property.

That isn't quite accurate.

It is illegal for them to spend money that isn't related to protecting lives or property, but there is absolutely no reason to stop people from doing activities in the wilderness.

It's still going on in the national forests for example. None of those borders or trailheads are shutdown. At least none I have seen. But the pricks running the NPS seem to think creating problems for visitors is part of the shutdown mandate. It isn't.

mrchad9 wrote:

tarol wrote:Guys, it's not the forest or park or their respective departments you should be throwing under the bus - it is illegal for any government agency that's not funded right now to allow any activity that isn't related to protecting lives or property.

That isn't quite accurate.

It is illegal for them to spend money that isn't related to protecting lives or property, but there is absolutely no reason to stop people from doing activities in the wilderness.

It's still going on in the national forests for example. None of those borders or trailheads are shutdown. At least none I have seen. But the pricks running the NPS seem to think creating problems for visitors is part of the shutdown mandate. It isn't.

Some of the national forest have locked gates because they want to protect the restrooms - especially in picnic areas. It's just a crime that they are making people shit in the woods while picnicing in these areas after they have walked over the locked gate.

I suppose if you are an employee of the USDA, you wouldn't be completely objective or want the USDA to be thrown under the bus. From the outside looking it, it's pretty hard not to feel that the Department of Interior and the USDA need to shoulder some blame for the excessive restrictions that have been placed on public access to public lands.

If I worked for the Forest Service (which I don't and never have), I would not want people using bathrooms which would not be checked, cleaned or maintained for an indefinite period. I don't know whether closing the gates is necessary, as opposed to just locking up the restrooms, but public bathrooms that are left open but don't get taken care of are a situation to be avoided. I don't know how often Forest Service campgrounds get trash pickup or any other service, but if the people who do that are not working I can also understand why gates would be closed to discourage use of picnic areas.

I was joking about people not being able to use the restrooms because being able to use a restroom is important to some folks. I also think restrooms that are not being maintained should be locked up.

At the same time I don't see the need to lock gates to protect locked restrooms - if there is parking outside the gates, people just walk over the gates as they should when it's public land.

I also don't see why the concessionaires were evicted - they could have been left in place and then many campgrounds could have been left open.

The more the agencies lock up, the louder the general public screams and gets upset. We're just being used as pawns.

Here's an example where the Forest Service has cut off access to a trail (the parking lot is also used for a picnic area):

http://imgur.com/a/3dmJ9

Those signs are not friendly at all and reflect the general sentiment of the forest service in that area.

Of course, it's possible that those signs were placed by the cabin owners.

I'm sure the cabin owners are happy the FS locked out those dirtbag hikers and lowlife folks who want to picnic in the area, but it is the FS that locks the gates and places the signs.

Anyway, sorry to go off-topic on this thread. Have fun camping along 395!