Dog Mountain now requires permits on peak season weekends

[Water]

same here, no big deal

not that there aren't problems, nobody's perfect

it's amazing we have so much access to so many amazing places with only minimal fees if anything

Agreed! Yet another reason why the potential increases in National Park access is no big deal, either!

Happy dances all around!

i appreciate your sarcasm xrp

[Chip Down]

Because the permit system is ostensibly to address parking shortages (not trail crowding) I was wondering if the DM parking lot is optimized to maximize capacity. Previous drive-by observations made me think no, but today I took a few minutes to pull in and walk around. Clearly there's room for several more vehicles, but what really left me scratching my head was the handicapped parking. This is a gravel lot, serving a steep dirt trail. There are no facilities or amenities that would attract those who can't get around easily on their feet (i.e. there are no paved interpretive trails, picnic areas, viewpoints, etc). I wonder if these spaces are there solely because of some arcane administrative requirement.

Thoughts?

[xrp]

Because the permit system is ostensibly to address parking shortages (not trail crowding) I was wondering if the DM parking lot is optimized to maximize capacity. Previous drive-by observations made me think no, but today I took a few minutes to pull in and walk around. Clearly there's room for several more vehicles, but what really left me scratching my head was the handicapped parking. This is a gravel lot, serving a steep dirt trail. There are no facilities or amenities that would attract those who can't get around easily on their feet (i.e. there are no paved interpretive trails, picnic areas, viewpoints, etc). I wonder if these spaces are there solely because of some arcane administrative requirement.

Thoughts?

Likely a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. I'm glad this wide swath of park-able area is consumed for handicapped parking because people in wheelchairs roll up Dog Mountain on a daily basis.

[Chip Down]

Likely a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. I'm glad this wide swath of park-able area is consumed for handicapped parking because people in wheelchairs roll up Dog Mountain on a daily basis.

Of course, but what I don't understand is this: If they were to put those parking spaces at the far end of the lot, the "hikers" (not sure what to call them) would have their "hike" extended by, what, maybe 0.001%? (see, I can be sarcastic too ) But yeah, I assume it's an ADA thing, or similar. Seriously though, how cool would it be to see somebody in an off-road wheelchair up at the top? Imagine how annoying it would be for that person though, with all the stares, comments, questions. You'd have to be an extreme extrovert to find that enjoyable.

[retired jerry]

as he (or she) got towards the top, people would give unsolicited advice, like "it's not too far"

I agree, the ADA law should have a few more exceptions.

It seems odd when there are a number of parking spaces never used at a particular business that just happens to have no handicapped people parking there.

On the other hand, if I was handicapped, my perspective would be there are seldom any handicapped spaces when I go to particular businesses.

[Chip Down]

On the other hand, if I was handicapped, my perspective would be there are seldom any handicapped spaces when I go to particular businesses.

I had a long term disability on two occasions in my life, and it was interesting to see it from the other perspective. Once I was actually looking for those spaces, I discovered they're not as easy to find as I thought. And of course they're frequently occupied for questionable reasons. Even so, having been in that position, I'm not a big advocate of adding more. I'm not going to go into that in more detail. Wrong place, and just generally not inclined.

[Chip Down]

as he (or she) got towards the top, people would give unsolicited advice, like "it's not too far"

I know what thread you've been reading! I was kinda thinking the same thing.

[retired jerry]

evil minds think alike

[dmthomas49]

The balsam root flowers were in full bloom today... plus other varieties. I arrived at 7:40 with about 15 cars in the lot. By the time I was down at 10:40 the lot was full.