About Tim Rowland

Tim Rowland is a columnist, author and outdoors writer living in Jay.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Boreas says

    Shouldn’t we wait to see if the EXISTING route(s) are successful? It hasn’t really been tested under normal demands.

  2. Scott says

    I’m not sure any of these people have looked at a trail map, but there’s very few hikes any normal person would do that start in Keene and end up at Upper Works or Boreas ponds, especially with the limited hours they run the shuttles. The type of person doing this sort of traverse will have figured out the logistics of spotting two cars at each trailhead so they aren’t at the mercy of a shuttle arriving at a certain time. Hikes traversing that route would start in the dark and end in the dark, long before and after the shuttle opens and closes for the day, and the shuttle itself would take over an hour between stops. Perhaps a few intrepid campers would use it but even with them added I have my doubts.

  3. Loki says

    The only added value shuttles bring is the ability to park at one trailhead, catch a shuttle to another, then hike back to your car (ideally in that order). Nearly all hikes (high peaks and otherwise) are done today as out and back only and semi-loops.

    Parking at Frontier Town is not really useful to anyone but local businesses, which of coarse the supervisors are rightly advocates for, but that’s a round peg in a square hole. Parking 20+ miles away and taking two shuttles makes no sense. This is why Marcy Field works. It’s a quick drive on a frequent schedule and worst case it’s a simple 3.5-mile downhill walk back to the car if you miss the shuttle.

    Everything else is a bandaid for other problems — namely unbuilt parking and poor trail maintenance that is defined in UMPs. Increase a few spots that need it, and let them fill up on the 5 days a year. It is reasonable that up to five days per year certain lots are full and people must go elsewhere — no permits, no fanciness needed.

    Use Marcy Field. Use Mt. Van Hoevenberg. Build the Loj Road Parking defined in UMP, enlarge few select parking lots and the let things fill up a couple days per year. It’s okay to make hikes longer and it makes things more sustainable in the long run too.

    Give it a go for anther year, but if the cost per rider is anything like last year — 89 total riders in 2 months costing tens of thousands in payroll, marketing, and equipment. Let’s stop throwing good money after bad and reallocate to more useful things (trail maintenance teams!).

    —-
    On another note, if a shuttle is used, why is it not stopping at AMR — after all closing that was about “safety” and people walking on the road right? … right?

  4. ADK Camper says

    Ridiculous that shuttles won’t stop at AMR.

    Why would anyone drive to Keene Valley to get on an hour long shuttle to Upper Works?

    Frontier Town Campground is a money pit. So let’s waste more money on horse trails…. Why not invest in trail crews for the foot trails that are a complete mess.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *