High Sierra Topix

Just curious - if I was already in the backcountry when the shutdown began, would I be required to leave? If I was planning to start a trip after the shutdown began, would I have to cancel?

The NF gate things and ask people to leave if they see them. You may have to stay out there til the shutdown ends if you can't drive around the gates...

It's a gray area. During the 2013 shutdown everyone in the parks was given a certain amount of days to evacuate. However for those in the backcountry they're probably not going to get the memo, particularly at this time of year when all backcountry ranger stations are unmanned. Then another gray area is that while national parks may close during a shutdown, national forests may remain open. So for Sequoia and Kings you can show up at the gate and tell the fee ranger you're going to national forest land, and they have to let you through. You can then start at a NF trailhead and wander into national park land and no one would ever know. The only problem is, if you screw up no one's coming out there to rescue you.

creekfeet wrote: The only problem is, if you screw up no one's coming out there to rescue you.

Not true. The SAR teams outside National Parks are all connected to the sheriff's department. So if you signal for help or are overdue and someone reports, they deploy. County gov'ts are unaffected by federal shutdowns. And my local SAR has in fact responded to searches within park boundaries as a matter of proximity -- Tehipite is within Kings Canyon yet the Fresno team has been down there annually.

Also, SAR teams in parks are made up of volunteers from within the park's employee pool, and a lot of them live in or near the park - and they will respond to a callout. Emergency services will go if there is a need. You don't care about the shutdown if you are a civil servant by choice, and volunteers who are normally paid employees don't care anyway, they're ready to go cause they aren't working.