I love the park is being transparent and opening up communication here! It was particularly kind of Jason to come off the clock and explain the NPS perspective.
@@addressinggettysburg agreed. I also think they've been catching established groups used to doing things without interference/never seen enforcement off-guard and that has created a bit of an odd situation. But of course you know more about that than me...
My buddy and I were there on 7/9/2024 around 9:30 am and spent 2 hours exploring the new construction. I am 66 and my buddy is 70. I have an arthritic hip and he has had hip replacement and uses a walking stick to stabilize himself. We had no issues going anywhere we wanted to with no obstacles. Kudos to all involved for a job well done! We are frequent visitors to GB and average 5-6 times a year for the last 8 years and always include LRT every visit. If someone has never been there they would not even know what it was like before except for the "before" pictures placed all around the improvements. What a great idea to provide that comparison! The new trail up to the 20th Maine area was an easy traverse for both of us without issues from the 3 parking spaces provided below. The new railings around the NY monument are great to help control people and to protect them too. Even the green fencing posted all along the top is unobtrusive to anyone's visit. The NPS and all involved deserve a big "Thank You!" for preserving what was there and making it accessible to so many more visitors than before! WELL DONE!!!!!
To clarify about the specific permit request discussed here, as Jason from GETT implies that what was being requested was something more than just walking through the woods: -the request did not include climbing fences. -the request did not include crossing stone walls. -the request did not include crossing earthworks. -the request did not include walking through fields in crops. -the request did not include crossing private property (and why would that be the park's business anyway if you had permission to do so?) The request was, however, nearly identical to one that the park had approved just a few years ago, and the route was based upon a Matt Atkinson ranger-led tour route from shortly prior to that.
A little BTS context here. Prior to the recording, we discussed what we were going to talk about. I wanted to ask about your situation but, as I said, I didn’t want to name names so as to be able to let Jason give a more general answer. Even though it’s obvious to those who know, I thought that by naming the LR wouldn’t have helped because then his answer would have to be specific. I planned to move into my own situation with permits but I was coming up hard on a dinner reservation and had to end it. Also, the park service doesn’t seem to like how people enjoyed the park in prior MINUTES let alone years, so, I don’t know if precedent will work on them, unless a judge agrees and orders them to ease up. But what do I know? I barely understand how mortgages work, let alone bureaucracies
When I received word through the Gettysburg Witness fb page on 6/25 that the barriers were coming down, I was so excited. I made plans months ago to revisit, hoping it would be open and the closer the day to leave I was getting anxious. My first trip up was to see the sunset on 7/6 and I did have to park on Warren Ave, but the hike was so worth it(participating in the 63-mile Challenge). We went back up on the 7th and hiked down to see the 16th Michigan Sharpshooters Monument. The Park Service did a beautiful job.
They had something similar up at Devil’s Den, it’s important to prevent any kind of growth from being trampled on by tourists before its grown up to be healthy...
@@therabbitify You mean weeds or brush that block the path and view. If you look at original pictures of these places, cattle ate the weeds and grass. Natural growth is fine-- but do you let weeds grow in your back yard until you cannot see your house? The place should have what they call "natural prairie" and be noted... but not everywhere where we used to see a boulder or monument.
@@ldg1030 Unless it's been added since the two times I went up there in these last two weeks it's been open I have 0 idea what you mean. LRT is fully open
They’re artificial trails so you’re not going through grass. As long as they don’t let a jungle sprout up on either side of them, there should be wide berth to never have to touch vegetation while on most, if not all, of these trails.
The stance that there are the same number of parking spaces (24) at the summit now, as there always was, is questionable. I suspect folks know this, which is why they keep bringing it up. The NPS report on the rehabilitation has a map that clearly states the following for the area prior to the rehab: "Car parking for 36 cars (diagonal on west side, parallel on east side)". Furthermore, the google street view clearly shows 11 parallel car spaces on the right side with lines marking them. As stated, parking on the right is now gone, but to say they were unsanctioned is a bit of a stretch.
I saw it-- and was told there are now fewer parking spaces, but buses, they now have plenty of room. No benches, no bathrooms, no water fountains-- "Move along, do not sit, walk or take a bike, take a bus...
People pulling off and parking in the grass is part of why this renovation was needed... There's a lot more official spaces now, ones that don't damage this hallowed ground...
They don’t have the staff to do it shorter. And I think that it’s that they have UP TO 30 days to respond. Then again, because of the staffing issue, they probably take all 30.
@@addressinggettysburg I get it, although I still think the rules are old and need to brought into the new century. They should look at some process improvement too. Sorry for the venting. Thanks for bringing us this content, nobody else does it and it is super important. You Rock.
Ok, so requiring permits is just enforcing rules that already existed. Who ever made that call is still an A hole for doing it mid season and not doing it in November so there's plenty of time to comply without interruptions.
I love the park is being transparent and opening up communication here! It was particularly kind of Jason to come off the clock and explain the NPS perspective.
They’re good people at GNMP. They just have bad policies to enforce lol
@@addressinggettysburg agreed. I also think they've been catching established groups used to doing things without interference/never seen enforcement off-guard and that has created a bit of an odd situation. But of course you know more about that than me...
My buddy and I were there on 7/9/2024 around 9:30 am and spent 2 hours exploring the new construction. I am 66 and my buddy is 70. I have an arthritic hip and he has had hip replacement and uses a walking stick to stabilize himself. We had no issues going anywhere we wanted to with no obstacles. Kudos to all involved for a job well done! We are frequent visitors to GB and average 5-6 times a year for the last 8 years and always include LRT every visit. If someone has never been there they would not even know what it was like before except for the "before" pictures placed all around the improvements. What a great idea to provide that comparison! The new trail up to the 20th Maine area was an easy traverse for both of us without issues from the 3 parking spaces provided below. The new railings around the NY monument are great to help control people and to protect them too. Even the green fencing posted all along the top is unobtrusive to anyone's visit. The NPS and all involved deserve a big "Thank You!" for preserving what was there and making it accessible to so many more visitors than before! WELL DONE!!!!!
To clarify about the specific permit request discussed here, as Jason from GETT implies that what was being requested was something more than just walking through the woods:
-the request did not include climbing fences.
-the request did not include crossing stone walls.
-the request did not include crossing earthworks.
-the request did not include walking through fields in crops.
-the request did not include crossing private property (and why would that be the park's business anyway if you had permission to do so?)
The request was, however, nearly identical to one that the park had approved just a few years ago, and the route was based upon a Matt Atkinson ranger-led tour route from shortly prior to that.
A little BTS context here. Prior to the recording, we discussed what we were going to talk about. I wanted to ask about your situation but, as I said, I didn’t want to name names so as to be able to let Jason give a more general answer. Even though it’s obvious to those who know, I thought that by naming the LR wouldn’t have helped because then his answer would have to be specific. I planned to move into my own situation with permits but I was coming up hard on a dinner reservation and had to end it.
Also, the park service doesn’t seem to like how people enjoyed the park in prior MINUTES let alone years, so, I don’t know if precedent will work on them, unless a judge agrees and orders them to ease up. But what do I know? I barely understand how mortgages work, let alone bureaucracies
HAIL COL. STRONG VINCENT!!!!!!
When I received word through the Gettysburg Witness fb page on 6/25 that the barriers were coming down, I was so excited. I made plans months ago to revisit, hoping it would be open and the closer the day to leave I was getting anxious. My first trip up was to see the sunset on 7/6 and I did have to park on Warren Ave, but the hike was so worth it(participating in the 63-mile Challenge). We went back up on the 7th and hiked down to see the 16th Michigan Sharpshooters Monument. The Park Service did a beautiful job.
They had something similar up at Devil’s Den, it’s important to prevent any kind of growth from being trampled on by tourists before its grown up to be healthy...
@@therabbitify You mean weeds or brush that block the path and view. If you look at original pictures of these places, cattle ate the weeds and grass. Natural growth is fine-- but do you let weeds grow in your back yard until you cannot see your house? The place should have what they call "natural prairie" and be noted... but not everywhere where we used to see a boulder or monument.
@@tarky57 Nope that's not at all what is fenced in. We have pictures of LRT from the time, the park has done an excellent job with this restoration.
@@therabbitifyI was talking about the road barriers. I fully understand why they would have barriers to allow for growth.
@@ldg1030 Unless it's been added since the two times I went up there in these last two weeks it's been open I have 0 idea what you mean. LRT is fully open
What is the park service doing about the deer ticks and poison Ivy? It’s nice to have new trails but are they safe from ticks?
They’re artificial trails so you’re not going through grass. As long as they don’t let a jungle sprout up on either side of them, there should be wide berth to never have to touch vegetation while on most, if not all, of these trails.
@@addressinggettysburg thank you I have kids and they are sensitive to poison ivy
The stance that there are the same number of parking spaces (24) at the summit now, as there always was, is questionable. I suspect folks know this, which is why they keep bringing it up. The NPS report on the rehabilitation has a map that clearly states the following for the area prior to the rehab: "Car parking for 36 cars (diagonal on west side, parallel on east side)". Furthermore, the google street view clearly shows 11 parallel car spaces on the right side with lines marking them. As stated, parking on the right is now gone, but to say they were unsanctioned is a bit of a stretch.
I saw it-- and was told there are now fewer parking spaces, but buses, they now have plenty of room. No benches, no bathrooms, no water fountains-- "Move along, do not sit, walk or take a bike, take a bus...
People pulling off and parking in the grass is part of why this renovation was needed... There's a lot more official spaces now, ones that don't damage this hallowed ground...
30 day turnaround for permits is ridiculous.
They don’t have the staff to do it shorter. And I think that it’s that they have UP TO 30 days to respond. Then again, because of the staffing issue, they probably take all 30.
@@addressinggettysburg I get it, although I still think the rules are old and need to brought into the new century. They should look at some process improvement too. Sorry for the venting. Thanks for bringing us this content, nobody else does it and it is super important. You Rock.
Ok, so requiring permits is just enforcing rules that already existed. Who ever made that call is still an A hole for doing it mid season and not doing it in November so there's plenty of time to comply without interruptions.