View Full Version : What is your favorite shelter on the AT?
I am sure this has been talked about before, but this is a new day and a new year.....
I have seen a few recent posts about William Brien Shelter in NY, and a quick google search reminded me what it looks like and what my stay was like. The back wall of this shelter is a natural rock outcrop (is this the only natural wall of a shelter on the AT?) This might be my favorite shelter.
Vandeventer Shelter just north of the Watauga Lake dam had one of my most memorable views (because I have hiked many of the surrounding mountains) but the water source there was one of the WORST!
The Fontana Hilton has a hot, REAL, shower, which is amazing.
I recently visited Long Branch Shelter just north of Albert Mountain and it is beautiful and has a nice view in the winter.
I loved Overmountain Shelter until I woke up with a half inch of snow on me and everything I owned, then almost died hiking over Hump Mountain leaving that place....
What is your favorite shelter?
Quarry Gap Shelter in PA. Well maintained, beautiful spot!
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SteelCut
01-30-2016, 07:26
I was going to say Quarry Gap Shelter as well.
Gambit McCrae
01-30-2016, 08:59
Overmountain for sure
Quarry Gap Shelter in PA. Well maintained, beautiful spot!
I was there alone on a gloomy night and didn't care for it at all. No doubt, very well maintained, I'll give you that. The flower boxes were a bit over-the-top, IMO.
But the design is not efficient in terms of occupancy. And the view is essentially nil.
I vote Pearce Pond as the best shelter site (views). And Bryant Ridge as the nicest shelter (architecture, design).
johnnybgood
01-30-2016, 10:54
+1 on Quarry Gap. Caretaker takes pride in upkeep of that shelter.
ALLEGHENY
01-30-2016, 11:25
The one I carried. Hammock and tarp
Harrison Bergeron
01-30-2016, 19:05
Well, I've only done GA/NC but my favorite to sleep in was Long Branch. NO MICE! It was practically new and someone had thought to caulk the corners and seal the ceiling gaps so that the mice couldn't get up in there and make nests.
Cold Spring was pretty neat because it was right on the trail and came up just in time for lunch, and just in time for a thunderstorm. Very convenient! It was also pretty like a real log cabin and the spring was right there instead of the usual quarter mile down and back up. I don't think I'd want to spend the night there, though. It was small and you would have all the critters that use the trails at night scampering through (and shining their headlamps in your face).
I didn't stay at the Fontana Hilton but I spent a lot of time marveling at it and taking pictures. The wallpaper on my phone is the view of the lake out the back door. If that's not the best shelter on the trail, the best one must have a valet and pizza delivery.
Is Quarry Gap Shelter the one with a Snorers shelter and a Non-Snoring shelter? I remember one of the double shelters has signs of this sort...
I was sick as a dog at when i stayed at Cold Spring shelter! Great memories
OverMountain was a great place. However Upper Goose Pond shelter was awesome (that's the one with pancakes iirc). Pancakes are a big bonus to a thru hiker. I also have fond memories of the shelter just north of Watauga lake. not because it was a great shelter but because a few high school seniors decided to go into school late that day and brought in Egg McMuffins and coffee. Really nice kids who wanted to thru hike after graduation (I hope they did). Stuff like that really sticks in your mind after the hike is over. Pierce Pond was good as was Ethan Pond (great caretaker there when I passed through). Other than those, i tried to stay away from the shelters, as someone above said, I was more comfortable in the one I carried.
I haven't stayed at a shelter but do like the design of Quarry Gap where I once ate lunch. The Denton shelter and the Garvey shelter are also both interesting structures that seem a cut above others I've seen. However. I've only seen about 15% of the AT so far
Cookerhiker
01-30-2016, 22:56
Pierce Pond because the shelter is so close to the pond.
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Sarcasm the elf
01-30-2016, 23:19
I am sure this has been talked about before, but this is a new day and a new year.....
I have seen a few recent posts about William Brien Shelter in NY, and a quick google search reminded me what it looks like and what my stay was like. The back wall of this shelter is a natural rock outcrop (is this the only natural wall of a shelter on the AT?) This might be my favorite shelter.
Vandeventer Shelter just north of the Watauga Lake dam had one of my most memorable views (because I have hiked many of the surrounding mountains) but the water source there was one of the WORST!
The Fontana Hilton has a hot, REAL, shower, which is amazing.
I recently visited Long Branch Shelter just north of Albert Mountain and it is beautiful and has a nice view in the winter.
I loved Overmountain Shelter until I woke up with a half inch of snow on me and everything I owned, then almost died hiking over Hump Mountain leaving that place....
What is your favorite shelter?
Please understand that I don't mean this insultingly but I think that William O'Brien shelter is the most disgusting shelter in the tri-state area. It has a very cool history and and construction and it's very cool that it is one of the few remaining shelters that predates the actual A.T., but it's filthy, mouse infested (more than usual) and like all shelters in Harriman park it is terribly overused and beaten up by city folk who show up at the park for their big wilderness adventure.
Funny enough for me, it was the first shelter I ever stayed in. I'm an avowed tenter and had been sectioning for years, but when I passed by William O'Brien it was during five days of rain and the first time that my tent and bag were both wet enough that a shelter looked appealing. My guidebook warned of a "resident rattlesnake" which I took as a comforting reassurance that there would be no mouse problem. Unfortunately we awoke the next morning to find a mouse had chewed up one of my hiking buddy's journals and we learned later that some jackwagon had killed the rattlesnake a few months earlier.
Sarcasm the elf
01-30-2016, 23:23
My favorites so far are Upper Goose pond cabin because it's amazing in every way and Riga lean-To because it is angled in a way that makes for an amazing sunrise.
But is upper Goose pond really a shelter? It's more akin to an AMC Hut. Heck, it is an AMC hut.
LittleRock
02-01-2016, 09:49
Definitely Overmountain in TN. Converted from an old barn with enough room for an entire Boy Scout troop to sleep, and a beautiful view from the kitchen area.
I have to give a plug for Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It was my favorite stop when I thru-hiked. I am now a yearly caretaker at the cabin because I love it so. It's more than the usual AT shelter. It's a enclosed building. Nice room down stares with a fireplace and a small library. The up-stairs has a bunk room with mattresses on the bunks. The caretaker usually makes pancakes and coffee for breakfast. Spring water is provided for the hikers. The cabin is on a beautiful pond that offers swimming a a canoe for thru-hiker use.
There is no set charge to stay. Donations help to defray the cost of breakfast supply's.
full conditions
02-01-2016, 13:08
I don't really stay in shelters anymore but my favorite from my thru hike was the Rausch Gap shelter - felt like a private retreat with the patio, table and skylight - really one of a kind.
I am sure this has been talked about before, but this is a new day and a new year.....
I have seen a few recent posts about William Brien Shelter in NY, and a quick google search reminded me what it looks like and what my stay was like. The back wall of this shelter is a natural rock outcrop (is this the only natural wall of a shelter on the AT?) This might be my favorite shelter.
Vandeventer Shelter just north of the Watauga Lake dam had one of my most memorable views (because I have hiked many of the surrounding mountains) but the water source there was one of the WORST!
The Fontana Hilton has a hot, REAL, shower, which is amazing.
I recently visited Long Branch Shelter just north of Albert Mountain and it is beautiful and has a nice view in the winter.
I loved Overmountain Shelter until I woke up with a half inch of snow on me and everything I owned, then almost died hiking over Hump Mountain leaving that place....
What is your favorite shelter?
Nosew,
This is Buck of BucknFuzz. It is great to hear from you and see that you landed your job in NC. We crossed tracks many times during our 2015 hike and I think the last time was at Tom Levardi's house in Mass. Hope all is well. My favorite shelter was Tumbling Run probably because of the water source. We generally did not stay in shelters but pitched our tent each night.
Is Quarry Gap Shelter the one with a Snorers shelter and a Non-Snoring shelter? I remember one of the double shelters has signs of this sort...
That is the Tumbling Run Shelter. A beautiful area, immaculately maintained by the caretakers who visit almost daily in season.
LIhikers
02-01-2016, 21:05
Please understand that I don't mean this insultingly but I think that William O'Brien shelter is the most disgusting shelter in the tri-state area. It has a very cool history and and construction and it's very cool that it is one of the few remaining shelters that predates the actual A.T., but it's filthy, mouse infested (more than usual) and like all shelters in Harriman park it is terribly overused and beaten up by city folk who show up at the park for their big wilderness adventure.
My wife Kathy and I spent Sunday night of MLK weekend at the William O'Brien shelter.
It's got a new roof, there was some fresh rock work to close up the fire place, and was the cleanest I've seen it in years.
That plus the cistern had plenty of water available.
Sarcasm the elf
02-01-2016, 21:13
My wife Kathy and I spent Sunday night of MLK weekend at the William O'Brien shelter.
It's got a new roof, there was some fresh rock work to close up the fire place, and was the cleanest I've seen it in years.
That plus the cistern had plenty of water available.
Very glad to hear it, it was definitely worthy of some TLC.
Nosew,
This is Buck of BucknFuzz. It is great to hear from you and see that you landed your job in NC. We crossed tracks many times during our 2015 hike and I think the last time was at Tom Levardi's house in Mass. Hope all is well. My favorite shelter was Tumbling Run probably because of the water source. We generally did not stay in shelters but pitched our tent each night.
Great to hear from you two! It was a pleasure getting to know you on the trail, hope all is well!
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Jack Tarlin
03-06-2016, 14:40
In the South, Old Orchard just North of Damascus, and Overmountain.
In the North, Goddard Shelter in Vermont and Pierce Pond in Maine.
rocketsocks
03-06-2016, 16:45
I enjoy the self sufficiency and alone time my tent provides.
Pottsalot
03-06-2016, 16:51
I like Thomas knob shelter in mt Rogers.
kolokolo
03-06-2016, 19:19
Vandeventer shelter is my favorite, for the fantastic view of Watauga Lake from behind the shelter. Didn't sleep in the shelter, though. Just set up our tent where we had the great view.
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TJ aka Teej
03-06-2016, 19:54
Lean-to #12 at Katahdin Stream in Baxter Park - the first, or last, shelter on the A.T.
Right on the trail, faces Katahdin Stream, quiet with only foot traffic past the campsite.
In just the last three seasons: bear (far bank), moose, pine martens (far bank), raccoon kits, deer, flying squirrels, snowshoe hares, porcupine (in tree), and pileated woodpeckers.
middle to middle
03-06-2016, 23:07
On a cold rainy day any shelter.
Chestnut Knob. Maybe not my favorite shelter, but for sure my favorite place.
Auto Draft
03-07-2016, 11:52
Beaver Brook Shelter has a nice window through the trees of the mountains in NH.
It might not be a shelter, but the warming hut on Bromley Mtn was amazing. Beautiful sunset and great place for star watching just out the door. That was one of my favorite nights.
dudeijuststarted
03-07-2016, 12:20
Birch Run, PA. Its got a big yard. Sabbath Day Pond a close 2nd.
Seatbelt
03-07-2016, 17:24
Partnership is nice, but too close to the road.
Not sure if it's my absolute favorite, but West Mountain Shelter in Harriman State Park in NY is right near the top. On a clear night you can see all the way to NYC from it, looking straight down the Hudson River. It's pretty epic, and worth the short side trail to get to it.
Mr. Bumpy
03-07-2016, 22:24
uhh..Mt. Cammerer fire tower... ?:-?
The view and the privy at Rice Field shelter are memorable.
peakbagger
03-08-2016, 08:05
The old summit building at Sugarloaf was nice place complete with a raised 3d map of the region and 360 views. Unfortunately it didn't have sanitary facilities and the ski area let it deteriorate and I think finally torn down.
But is upper Goose pond really a shelter? It's more akin to an AMC Hut. Heck, it is an AMC hut.
Hell it is, Rafe--t's free to stay there. It's also run by volunteers. But I don't think it qualifies as a shelter either.
You figure out where to retire yet?
Cosmo