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View Full Version : Favorite Shelter On The AT



Josh Calhoun
05-23-2014, 15:24
I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT

Gambit McCrae
05-23-2014, 15:42
Met some good folks at rocky run in MD last Oct.
I enjoy the meadow by Overmountain
Mountaineer shelter up by Mountaineer falls and 19e
Roan high knob is cold lol

atmilkman
05-23-2014, 15:43
Blood Mountain. Gonna be a lot who don't understand but me and that shelter go way, way back. Long before the time of entitlement.

flemdawg1
05-23-2014, 15:53
Chestnut Knob Shelter, great cabin, beautiful views atop a ridgetop meadow and a great spring-fed pond nearby. Great place for a dip on a warm day.

RED-DOG
05-23-2014, 16:06
1 Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To in ME, it has an Awesome swiming hole, a view, just an all around great location.
2 Birch Run Shelter in PA.

rafe
05-23-2014, 16:11
Coolest structure: Bryant Ridge Shelter, VA. My favorite for siting (view, ambience): Pearce Pond Shelter, ME.

Oddly enough, I can't abide enclosed stone shelters like Blood Mtn. and Chestnut Knob.

LIhikers
05-23-2014, 18:18
I've only hiked 900+ miles from Harper's Ferry to the first shelter in ME so far, so I haven't seen all the shelters yet. Of the ones I've seen I like the Stratton Pond shelter in Vermont best. Nice location and a nice design.

Cookerhiker
05-23-2014, 18:20
Pierce Pond in Maine because of the setting very close to the lake (pond).

Sarcasm the elf
05-23-2014, 18:46
Favorite shelter on the trail? Tarptent Double rainbow. ;)

Watching the sunrise from Riga Shelter and the tent platform near Tom Leonard leanto is impressive as well

MuddyWaters
05-23-2014, 19:25
I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT

Its still a nasty little shelter, with 2 person table, and wet area in front cause thats where the spring is. Much better to camp on the hill above. To top it off, its basically in the trail, you have to walk around it.

Cookerhiker
05-23-2014, 20:20
Its still a nasty little shelter, with 2 person table, and wet area in front cause thats where the spring is. Much better to camp on the hill above. To top it off, its basically in the trail, you have to walk around it.

At least it's a very short walk to the water source - perhaps the second-shortest on the AT after Rausch Gap in PA. Some of the ones in Maine are also close.

daddytwosticks
05-25-2014, 13:20
I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT
Not my favorite, but a nice little shelter. I stopped there yesterday for a mid-morning break and boy was it buggy! I know what you mean about that climb up to Cold Springs Shelter from Burningtown Gap. It's not steep, but seems to go on forever until you literally bump into the back wall of that shelter. My favorite shelter, south of the Smoky's, has to be Plumborchard Gap! Cool 3 level structure, good water source even in drought, and plenty of tenting spots behind the shelter. :)

coach lou
05-25-2014, 13:49
Favorite shelter on the trail? Tarptent Double rainbow. ;)

Watching the sunrise from Riga Shelter and the tent platform near Tom Leonard leanto is impressive as well
Riga and Beaver Brook.......The Sunrise:)

Ricky&Jack
05-25-2014, 14:11
ive only been to 1 shelter so far.

So I guess "Black Gap Shelter" near Springer wins by default.

27123

since it was my first shelter, I had no idea that the water source was a solid 10minte (round trip) down/up hill.

But luckily I ran into another water source just 5minutes before I found the shelter that was only a few seconds from the trail.

ChinMusic
05-25-2014, 14:16
Pierce Pond

I was not forced to sleep in it and I had a great view from my tent.

Ricky&Jack
05-25-2014, 14:25
I wish shelters had numbers on them so I could easily recognize their location by the number.

I keep looking up everyones replies to this tread so i could mark the shelter location in my guide.

(if there was a universal numbering system, that would be nifty for shelters.... such as shelter 1,237 would be "1,237 miles from springer"....... or "GA01 would mean its the first shelter in georiga".

But I like looking up all the shelters everybody recommends, and finding the locations so I can mark them. Ive been looking up photos of them.

coach lou
05-25-2014, 14:37
I wish shelters had numbers on them so I could easily recognize their location by the number.

I keep looking up everyones replies to this tread so i could mark the shelter location in my guide.

(if there was a universal numbering system, that would be nifty for shelters.... such as shelter 1,237 would be "1,237 miles from springer"....... or "GA01 would mean its the first shelter in georiga".

But I like looking up all the shelters everybody recommends, and finding the locations so I can mark them. Ive been looking up photos of them.


Google them.....you will get a view.

Ricky&Jack
05-25-2014, 15:41
yeah, i started doing that last night. comes in handy/fun

jimmyjam
05-25-2014, 17:05
So far Bryant Ridge Shelter

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

ChinMusic
05-25-2014, 17:15
So far Bryant Ridge Shelter

I thru-hiked last year and had to look that one up. What is special about it?

rafe
05-25-2014, 17:22
I thru-hiked last year and had to look that one up. What is special about it?

Very modern structure, two floors, tons of room (probably sleeps 20+ easily) and a big covered deck. Nice flowing stream right in front. The view is nothing special though.

Kerosene
05-25-2014, 23:23
Very modern structure, two floors, tons of room (probably sleeps 20+ easily) and a big covered deck. Nice flowing stream right in front. The view is nothing special though.The shelter sits in a shallow valley between two ridges, so there isn't a view other than the woods. Still, it's a pretty cool structure.

jeffmeh
05-26-2014, 12:33
If you want the locations of all the shelters try the AT Overlay for Google Earth.

bflorac
05-28-2014, 00:52
Only commenting on the southern half of the trial I have done so far..

Best view: Overmountian
Most appreciated: Fontana Hilton
Best Pizza (when you really need one): Partnership
Unique construction: Bryant Ridge

illabelle
05-28-2014, 07:43
Nicest we've seen in 825 AT miles: Quarry Gap Shelter in PA. Nice little fence and gate, daffodils blooming in the "yard", baskets of pansies hanging from the eaves. Very well taken care of!

Coffee
05-28-2014, 07:56
Nicest we've seen in 825 AT miles: Quarry Gap Shelter in PA. Nice little fence and gate, daffodils blooming in the "yard", baskets of pansies hanging from the eaves. Very well taken care of!
Someone clearly takes a lot of pride in that shelter and there is a nice water source in front of it. Had a nice afternoon break there last month.

rafe
05-28-2014, 08:22
Someone clearly takes a lot of pride in that shelter and there is a nice water source in front of it. Had a nice afternoon break there last month.

[Re: Quarry Gap shelter]

Yes, the pride is apparent. Though the flower boxes are a bit much. But IMO it's a horribly inefficient design -- for the lumber involved, it should have a lot more usable room than it does. I found the setting claustrophobic and gloomy. I was there toward the end of a gray gloomy day though. Might be different in better weather, I dunno.

Kingbee
05-28-2014, 23:38
+1 on Quarry Gap. I met the Overseer and he really takes pride in the shelter. The bear box is another plus.

vic_doom69
05-30-2014, 12:25
Thomas knob shelter by far is my fav.

stillatit
05-31-2014, 20:02
Yeah, it's been asked before. Two stick out: Partnership in S VA when it was new b/c of the shower and that it hadn't been run down yet, and---the opposite---a really old dilapidated, even dry, one that's 1.5 mi. off the trail, in Harriman State Park in NY that leaks terribly in any long rain, West Mtn. Shelter, due to the superb views of (1) the Hudson River Valley and (2) on the horizon, Manhattan.

Grampie
06-01-2014, 09:40
I just have to put in a plug for Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It's not a traditional AT type shelter but a fully inclosed cabin. It offers indoor sleeping for 16 hikers on bunks with materesses. It's located on a very nice pond with swimming and a canoe. It comes with a caretaker who provides springwater and a pancake breakfast. All for the cost of a donation, if you choose.
If you are a thru-hiker and don't stop at least for a visit, you are missing one of the great AT experiences.

1234
06-01-2014, 10:48
Thomas knob shelter by far is my fav.

Thomas Knob Shelter at Grayson Highlands, always a good crowd, always wildlife, most always a storm! Plenty of tent sites on flat grass, nice privy and wow what a great place.