These are a few years old, but we went hiking today and I thought of them.
So there's no parking lot for this trailhead. There are a couple pull-outs on the shoulder. There's always plenty of parking when we get there since we start pretty early, but it fills up quickly during the summer, as it's a popular trail. A few years back, I got the smart idea to park at the
end of the first pull-out. That way no one could park in front of me!
Except when I made it back to the car, someone did manage to
squeeze in the tiny bit of shoulder left in front of me...so close that I could not put my hand between my front bumper and their car!
I know this, because I was feeling for damage, because I figured they
had to have hit me. I didn't find any damage, but I had a hell of a time getting my car back onto the road, as the person behind me left less than a foot. It brings to light the term "wiggle room". I was actually somehow able to get my car out, though (still not entirely sure how I did it...lots of little maneuvers and swearing, I guess).
So the next year, I got the bright idea to pull at the
head of the pull-out. There is a guardrail right before the shoulder, so there was no
way anyone could park behind me! I left a couple feet between me and the guardrail, just in case I came back to find someone kissing my bumper I'd have room to back-up.
I came back to find a motorcycle squeezed into the space I left.
Fortunately, the car who parked ahead of me actually left a reasonable amount of space, so I didn't have any trouble getting back on the road.
This year, there was no suck to be seen.
Kissing my bumper
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