4 replies to this topic

[Matt78]

I’m fortunate to live 43 minutes (on a normal day) from a spot with 2 mins 26 seconds of totality. I’m even more fortunate to have a coworker offering me a parking spot. Knowing the following, when would you leave on Monday?

Maine DOT listed the road as moderate anticipated traffic. Every hotel by the town, Sugarloaf, is booked solid. There are other towns further northeast that are pushing 3:20. Even 3:30 if you drive to the top of Moosehead Lake.

Those who’ve been around eclipses, what are your guesses? I was thinking of leaving between 5 and 6 AM Monday. Is that crazily optimistic? 4? 3? Now?

[Matt78]

Sorry Sugarloaf isn’t the town it’s the area.

[sbsbbugsy]

I would go earlier than later.

[WadeH237]

You asked for hyperbole, so here goes:

 

I don't deal well with crowds.  I'd leave on Sunday and find a place to sleep, even if it was just in my car.  On Monday morning, I would pick a spot to set up a folding chair and hang out through totality.

 

I don't know what the roads are like in your area.  I was at the Oregon Star Party in 2017.  OSP is about 25 miles off the nearest highway on Forest Service roads.  It's normally about a 40 minute drive from the highway to the OSP site.

 

In addition to OSP, there was a large festival just to our south, on the same Forest Service roads.  I am a regular attendee of OSP and always arrive on site at least a week ahead of the event with my RV, so I was up there by myself for a while enjoying some quiet solitude.  As folks were arriving in the final days ahead of the eclipse, I was chatting with people about their experience driving in.  I was consistently hearing that it was taking 5 to 6 hours to get to the site from the highway.

 

Now our situation was a little bit special, due to the confluence of the large (70,000 attendance) festival and the narrow Forest Service roads, but the above was our experience.

 

YMMV...

[Matt78]

You asked for hyperbole, so here goes:

I don't deal well with crowds. I'd leave on Sunday and find a place to sleep, even if it was just in my car. On Monday morning, I would pick a spot to set up a folding chair and hang out through totality.

I don't know what the roads are like in your area. I was at the Oregon Star Party in 2017. OSP is about 25 miles off the nearest highway on Forest Service roads. It's normally about a 40 minute drive from the highway to the OSP site.

In addition to OSP, there was a large festival just to our south, on the same Forest Service roads. I am a regular attendee of OSP and always arrive on site at least a week ahead of the event with my RV, so I was up there by myself for a while enjoying some quiet solitude. As folks were arriving in the final days ahead of the eclipse, I was chatting with people about their experience driving in. I was consistently hearing that it was taking 5 to 6 hours to get to the site from the highway.

Now our situation was a little bit special, due to the confluence of the large (70,000 attendance) festival and the narrow Forest Service roads, but the above was our experience.

YMMV...

I appreciate your thoughts. I’ve considered the possibility of car sleeping. I think my daughter could just about stretch out in the back seat, I might get a few hours at most. If we end up taking my 82 year old mother on law I think we can rule that out. Better to leave at 3 am than to try to sleep four in a little crossover. Knowing her though, she’d probably sleep better in the car than I would. Good luck in your travels!