Britbike forum Forums General discussion The Rod and Tappet Infrastructure

I ran across this on a recent back road ride about. The small pavilion had a stand holding a card which last reserved it in 2018. It looks like they locked the gate one day, walked away, and never came back. I guess this is the type of federal facility that we can no longer afford to maintain in the new America. I'm also guessing this isn't the only place this has happened.

Has little to do with "Can no longer afford..." Look at what they spend hundreds of billions on. .00001% of that would run this park. All about priorities.

Lannis

National Park system has been getting the short end of the stick for several decades now. Nothing new about that.

Very sad state of affairs from coast to coast.

Saddest part it, "the government" will not allow the OWNERS (you and me) to voluntarily clean the place up and use it in a careful manner, spending our own money.

Best I can suggest is, trek in quietly, camp out conservatively, and leave no trace.

The National parks are under the Department of the Interior. This is a National Forest site which is under the Department of Agriculture bureaucracy.

The fact that there are two similar bureaucracies is infuriating. BOTH are wasting money of stuff they have no business doing (not to mention overpaid "higher-ups")

Hurricane Sally 2018


Must have been lower on the priority list .

A local Jeep club has been maintaining a local Forest Service road that is "not maintained for public travel".

I don't know how extensive the damage here could have been. I didn't see any evidence of flooding, but then it has been abandoned for 4 years. It is on a grade and any flooding would be due to the creek which parallels the state road overflowing. This site would not sit under water. I was in the pavilion and it looked fine. Maybe the small bathroom building was damaged, I didn't look at it. The house on the property next to it was occupied. It was about 100 yards away and downhill from this park. There isn't anything else here to get damaged except the gravel roads and picnic tables.

Which brings it back to cost. I would speculate that once funding wound it's way through the bureaucracy of the Department of Agriculture, The US Forest Service, The Cherokee National Forest, and finally to this little facility, the money was all used up and there was nothing left to clean up or repair this little park. So, as I said before, the government simply can't afford it.

The bureaucracy today is different than it was years ago when this facility was actually built. I would say it cost considerably more to build than it would cost to clean up after some flooding.

After all, it's a lot easier to do nothing than to try to find a way to fund an unexpected cost. And this is the federal government we're talking about here.

I guess one could just bitch, rant, and speculate... Or pick up your smart phone and use those free minutes to make a call and ask those in charge.

Bottom line, the bridge(s) need to get replaced along with other improvements. This is a big project and will take ~ 1 1/2 years and it is funded. Bridges ain't cheap...and it looks like there are four of them on the loop ?

There are no bridges in this little campground. The first photo shows the creek crossing to enter the campground. It was intact. The loop road is(was) a gravel track through the woods. There are(were) a few primitive campsites. One is shown in one of the photos. Most of the photos were taken from what was the gravel road. It appears it has been abandoned for 4 years. Call the government and speak to those in charge. That's a good one!

I would think that if there are no barricades and/or advisories to stay out, you could do as I suggested earlier and use the area responsibly and leave it as you found it (or better)

The gate shown in the first photo is padlocked. It was the only way in that I saw. You can walk around the gate, but not drive in. I didn't see any "no trespassing" or "closed" signs. I was looking for a place to set up shop for the night and so when I saw it from the road, I stopped. It was immediately clear that it had been abandoned for some time. Out of curiosity, I wandered through it to see what it looked like. I saw nothing that told me why it had been abandoned. The forest has made good progress in reclaiming it. I still needed to find a place to stay the night so I moved on.

Looks like the perfect place to hold a Britbike Rally!

Steve

Maybe a group formed like this one would have more influence.
They sell firewood among other items to raise money for their projects.
https://www.sites.google.com/wyalusingfriends.org/wyalusingfriends

In Australia...they are already part of a National Park, but declare sections of them Wilderness Areas. This means they do jack sh1t, spend nothing, and everything slides into a jungle state!!!

I spent a good bit of time trying to find access to the National Forest on my trip. I knew I was within it from the map, but most of the state and local roads are bordered by private property and many of the access roads are unmarked. I found one by stopping and asking someone. I would never have guessed it was an access if he hadn't directed me.

I forgot about this one until I perused the photos I took on the trip. I believe these are National Forest signs. The first one is from the state road. Looks really old. The second one is after turning on to the indicated road. I have no idea what this means. I didn't investigate.