Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Wawayanda Shelter

Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories from here?

Future hikers - any questions?

The Wawayanda Hilton as it is called another fairly new shelter but a small one.This shelter also has an out door privy,decent table to eat at for the night and very good spots for tenting out.You will have to walk down the A.T. and then a bue blaze conecting trail to the rangers office for your water and when the office is closed there is a maintenice bld.with a water faucet to get your water so you won't need to treat your water for the night.This shelter also has a bear box for storing your food for the night. :p :p

I stayed there on 5/6/04 and it was fine. Can't add much to the above, but the privy is nothing more then a toilet seat over a hole in the woods (there is no above ground enclosure). If you get to the park office when it is open, to get your water, they have inside, clean, flush toilets.:)

Just John

The shelter is nice. Beaware that horseback riders often us the trail on the south side of the shelter. -- I had 2 women who were stopped on the trail with their horses, smoking and got pissed when I asked if they could move off to the side. -- Later they passed me and then one of the horses "butt" was directly in front of me. This made me nervouse as I was afraid he might kick. Then he decided to "dump". When they stopped for their next cigarette, I mentioned that the AT was a foot trail. I won't bother to print some of the foul comments they spewed! -- The shelter however was very nice. Sue/HH

The walk to get water wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. You walk south 1/10 mile on the AT, turn right and follow a fairly level blue blazed trail 3/10th mile to the Maintenace Bldg at the state park entrance. This was the shortest 4/10 of a mile walk for water I've ever taken and the best part was I didn't have to walk half way back down the mtn to get it. The pay phone wasn't working at the ranger's office bldg. I was there on Tuesday night 6/8 and the mosquitos were out in full force. Tented it for a good night rest.
Cin

Stopped by this week after deciding to drive up from Montvale after a business meeting. The shelter was in good shape, although the bear box was broken (and I seem to recall that it was when I passed through over a year ago). There don't seem to be a lot of tent sites, but there is a nice open field less than a mile north and a level flat woods road a little ways beyond that.

A few SOBO thru-hikers had passed through in recent weeks.

The bear box is still broken--no lid. Had to hang my food bag. Didn't see any bears. Lots of dirt bike noise until it got dark then extremely load cicada noise until about midnight.

About a half mile SOBO there were barricades across the trail as it leaves the dirt Wawayanda Road and enters the woods saying "Trail Closed" with arrows pointing south down the road as an "alternate route". This was on 10/2/05. After taking the alternate route, which seemed to be a 2 mile detour, I found out from a weekend jogger who I met coming and going on the detour that the route was passable as he had just jogged across it. An old iron bridge was being re-decked with wood planks. The construction was essentially done, but the trail closed signs were still up in each direction. Fear of lawsuits, I guess. Compared to some other parts of the trail, such as the climb on the west side of Wawayanda Mt, a bridge-under-repair is relatively safe.

Ate lunch at this shelter during a blustery day hike yesterday. Very nice shelter. During lunch two large tom turkeys ran past in a hurry, I think a hunter was calling them in but I never heard a shot.

Oh yeah....the bear box is fixed....

Sam "the Pug" & I took a walk there today. Met a runner and saw a felllow walking his dog on the quiet woodland ramble that I took. I guess i missed Fireball by a day. New bear box and place nice & clean. Saw that Dan Chazin from the NY/NJ Trail Conference stopped by there over the weekend. I am out hiking on the AT in NJ & NY a good bit for the next two months on short rambles near my house. Then doing my annual section hike in Maine - 6/4 thru 6/12. Then I will start my trail angel activity to bring water and other goodies to Wildcat Shelter on a regular weekly basis thru Labor Day. So northbounders look for Sam the Pug & I starting in June.

Good news I was there on 4/24/06. They have installed a new bear box.

I spent the night at the Wawayanda shelter on 1/14/07. The shelter was clean and in good shape. There's a picnic table around back, 2 "like new" bear boxes to the left and up a small hill, and an open air privey about 100 feet past the bear boxes. It rained for several days and the floor was dry so the roof is in good condition too. Also, room for a number of tents on each side of the shelter. Water is available from park buildings or on the AT from a stream not far south of the shelter blue blazed trail.

Spent a night there (alone) Sept. '06. No problems. It's just off the trail. I got water from the pond about 1/4 mile north (east) -- between shelter and the park HQ. It rained the night I was there. I used the bear box (it was fine) but took no notice of the picnic table or privy.

The Thru Hiker Handbook by Bob Mc Caw and Wingfoot have this shelter as a Right Hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO. I was up there last fall and I could swear it was a Left hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO.

Can anyone clear this up T]hanks

T BIRD:banana

It's a right turn for a nobo. The shelter can't be more than 25 yards from the trail.

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.

Something doesn't sound right with that report. I was there Sept. '06, heading SOBO. I remember walking past the park HQ, then this swamp (http://www.terrapinphoto.com/cpg143/displayimage.php?album=6&pos=26), on the way to the shelter. HQ, swamp, shelter all to my left. Maybe I wasn't on the trail? It's been known to happen... ;)

Something doesn't sound right with that report. I was there Sept. '06, heading SOBO. I remember walking past the park HQ, then this swamp (http://www.terrapinphoto.com/cpg143/displayimage.php?album=6&pos=26), on the way to the shelter. HQ, swamp, shelter all to my left. Maybe I wasn't on the trail? It's been known to happen... ;)Were you walking backwards again?

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.


When was the relo finished? I was there in July and the shelter was on the right-hand side of the trail. Didn't notice any signs of a relo either.

I know that in that specific area the trail travels East/West (almost perfectly so as it crosses Warwick rd) so this might add to some of the confusion.

The Thru Hiker Handbook by Bob Mc Caw and Wingfoot have this shelter as a Right Hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO. I was up there last fall and I could swear it was a Left hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO.
Can anyone clear this up T]hanks
T BIRD

I believe it is on the right hand side for a NOBO.

And the mosquito's are very bad there in the summer because of the pond that is there.

Panzer
ps if you were going NOBO and realized you just passed the shelter and then turned around, it would be on your left..

I know that in that specific area the trail travels East/West...

Yes, that's how I recall it from 2006, even without referring to the maps. So the shelter is south of the trail, though not by much.

BobS has it right. The relo completed early last fall 2007 (going southbound) is from the junction on the left of a blue trail going to the Waywayanda Park HQ and for approximately 1/2 mile beyond where the AT makes a left turn on a dirt road. It has been moved off an old eroded woods road to a parallel route in the woods to the left going southbound. As a result when going northbound, where the shelter was once to the right of the AT on a 100 yard spur path uphill it is now when going northbound about 50 yards to the left on a spur which is mostly level. The shelter has not been moved, the AT and its spur has!

So the AT is no longer the dirt road just N of the shelter... How does the relo deal with that swamp? Seems it would have to pass south of it, and loop back up to the shelter.

I am heading north for a backpacking trip later this week. I need a place to stay on Thursday night in/around northern NJ. I remember that the Wawayanda shelter is really close to the ranger station; but it has been about 3 years since I was there. Thanks to all who posted about the trail rerouting.
My question is whether the road into the ranger station is gated off at night during weekdays (especially now when the campgrounds probably aren't open yet). I would just like to drive in sometime in the evening, walk the short distance into the shelter and stay for the night, then walk out in the morning. I figure it won't be very crowded at this time of year. If you know anything about the parking / gate situation there, please let me know.
Thanks!
daveo

I grew up near Wawayanda, and I believe the main park gate closes to vehicles after dark and the ranger station gate is closed after working hours. Sorry I can't be of more help, but here's a picture of the shelter instead!

http://people.alfred.edu/~rwt2/3.JPG (http://people.alfred.edu/%7Erwt2/3.JPG)

I have some more pictures from Wawayanda if you are interested.

Be warned, the rangers won't let you park overnight, or at least they wouldn't let me and the wife a couple of years ago, around this time of year. We drove around and found a different road that that dead-ended at the park land and left our car there. A day and a half later when we got back to the car the rangers were there checking out the car and getting ready to leave a summons on our windshield. I got a 30 minute lecture about why I shouldn't have parked there and they never did write the summons. As it turns out one of them was the same ranger that told us we couldn't leave the car in the parking lot, oh well.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/9/0/8/7/wawayanda.jpg


Stayed at the Wawayanda Hilton overnight into 10/13/2008.

Northbounders do hang a right onto the Shelter Trail.

The ranger station has a 2-way butterfly-valve spigot right outside of the visitor center. The bathroom next to it generally opens at 8am. It was closed by 6:30pm.

Privy is a poop box about 100 feet from the Picnic Table. I got to wave hello to my still-eating friends while doing #2. I guess when there's more leaves on the tree it's less visible.

2 bear boxes still in good condition near the picnic table. Some good tenting sites down behind the shelter.

Cut my leg up on that rock right out front goin out to pee at night.

In mid-october, there were plenty of Cicadas, distant ATVs and off-season shotgun blasts to lull me to sleep.

..... I was there on Tuesday night 6/8 and the mosquitos were out in full force. Tented it for a good night rest.
Cin

I was there 8 days after you (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=69297)and had the exact same experience. Along with the 'squitos, the humidity was overpowering - my bandana had dried in the sun but after leaving it hanging in the shelter rafters overnight, it was wet the next morning. Laying on top of my sleeping bag, I never stopped sweating all night.

The following day produced a drenching thunderstorm after which I decided to come back to hike at a nicer time of year.

I liked the shelter though and I didn't find the walk to the water inconvenient.

Hammocked behind this shelter over the weekend. Walk to the water was no problem. I parked on Warwick Turnpike at the AT crossing and my car's rear window got smashed by a drive-by rock throw. $800 - sucks.

BEWARE - DON'T PARK HERE OVERNIGHT!!!

Happy hiking!!

TTF

Northbounders do NOT hang a right onto the Shelter Trail, despite what I just said.

Crap, I need to Donate so I can edit my post!

Northbounders turn Left.
Soutbounders turn Right.

I NoBo 95% of the time... The one time I came by this I was going SoBo.

Camped here in early May while doing a weekend section from State Line Trail (Greenwood Lake) to NJ94 in Vernon. Please note that this is the only legal camping spot on the trail between Wildcat Shelter (first shelter in NY NOBO) and Pochuck Mountain Shelter, which are 23.6 miles apart; people doing long hikes in the area should plan accordingly. Shelter was nice, although small; probably sleeps about 5 max. Has a good picnic table out front and a shelf around the outside for parking stuff. The walk to the park office for water is a bit long, but flat, so not too much of a problem. Be careful with the spigot outside the bathrooms; it goes from trickle to torrent in a short distance. The privy is uncovered and within a fairly short distance of the shelter. I was fortunate and was able to sneak in #2 early in the morning before most of the Boy Scouts who were sharing the place with us woke up. If you go to the office for water, try to go there if the bathrooms are open. Speaking of Boy Scouts, the available tent spaces around the shelter fill up pretty quick if there are a lot of people. We got pretty much the last reasonable one close to the shelter, and had to place the tent carefully to avoid both rocks and being too close to a bush to get out. If the area around the shelter is full, you might want to check alongside the access path closer to the main trail; it seemed like there were some more spots back there. There are two bear boxes. The one was secured with a "clip" much like those people use to attach key chains to their belts; that seemed OK. The other one was closed only with a hairpin-like thing, which frankly, a bear probably could dislodge if it whacked at it with its paw for a while. Since the Boy Scouts had already taken up most of the first box, I had to stick some stuff in the second; fortunately, we didn't have any incidents during the night. For being fairly close to the road and other civilized areas, it was a pretty quiet night. The relocation of the trail in the area of the shelter is quite a nice path through the hemlocks, and probably an improvement over the old road.

[quote=Totem;710196]http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/9/0/8/7/wawayanda.jpg

...Cut my leg up on that rock right out front goin out to pee at night. .../quote]

I hate that rock.

Panzer