kepPNW wrote: ↑May 15th, 2018, 8:09 am
Never having been there, but just reading this thread, one must ask... Would someone even know there are people there before actually walking back? I mean, really...
Well, there is a sign at the gate that says "group reservation area." And the gate can/will be closed. But gates closing off car access are the norm in places like that, and would not indicate to most people that you can't walk in. Similarly, a sign that says the group area is this way would not normally mean it's the
only thing that's this way, and you can
only come through if you hold the reservation. Particularly if those people are tourists from out of town who know nothing about the site except that the sign says there's an overlook, and there's an
interpretive sign at the base telling them about the cool CCC shelter there. An internet search also shows there is (or at least was at one point)
a sign that says "Closed 10:00-6:00," which might be reasonably interpreted to mean at other times it's, you know, open. I don't think there are any signs around
the lovely staircases that people would naturally want to wander. If you're going to get upset with someone about the private status not being respected, it should be the forest service.