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View Full Version : Dick's Dome in bad shape



Newb
02-27-2006, 10:18
Hey all:
I hiked into Dicks Dome shelter here in Northern Virginia this weekend. I have to say, the shelter looks rough. It seems to have been the victim of a windstorm...the tar-paper is peeling off of it and the siding is coming away.

Also, I guess somebody put food into the MailBox that was functioning as a receptacle for the ledger. I found the mailbox about 10 yards from the shelter and it looked like it had been opened with 3 or 4 sharp can openers.

For those of you who have never been there, Dick's Dome shelter is a in a beautiful ravine with a creek just feet in front of it. It's one of my favorite spots on the NoVa trail.

there is good news. The privvy was functioning well within design parameters. :)

The Solemates
02-27-2006, 11:55
that shelter was in rough shape 2 years ago when we saw it.

Newb
02-27-2006, 12:05
Well then, maybe it's designed to have that "lived in" look.

jackiebolen
02-27-2006, 16:01
It sucked in 2004 and I was happy to only be stopping in for a lunch break and not the night. It's poor design is not really condusive to people actually sleeping in it. However, it is a beautiful location.

icemanat95
02-27-2006, 16:21
I'd like to see it rebuilt as a proper geodesic dome on a low kneewall. Build the shelter that Dick originally wished to build, in a size that makes it possible to sleep a fair number of people.

It was a well intended effort and it should be HONORED as such, not denigrated at every mention.

The Solemates
02-27-2006, 17:23
didnt mean to put it down, just that it isnt that nice. we were certainly glad to have it when we arrived there in the rain on Easter Day on our thru. We had hiked the 6 miles in from Linden in the dark and arrived around 10pm soaking wet.

Hikerhead
02-27-2006, 18:59
I'd like to see it rebuilt as a proper geodesic dome on a low kneewall. Build the shelter that Dick originally wished to build, in a size that makes it possible to sleep a fair number of people.

It was a well intended effort and it should be HONORED as such, not denigrated at every mention.

Lets ask the DOHC to come down and build another Hexacuba Shelter in it's place.

digger51
02-27-2006, 20:18
It was in bad shape in 2001 when i stayed there, but in a great location.

stranger
07-28-2006, 23:59
What about the rats? They're fun!

Ridge
07-29-2006, 00:10
Turn the shelter into "Fire Starter". Doesn't need a replacement either.

Blue Jay
07-29-2006, 08:07
I'd like to see it rebuilt as a proper geodesic dome on a low kneewall. Build the shelter that Dick originally wished to build, in a size that makes it possible to sleep a fair number of people.

It was a well intended effort and it should be HONORED as such, not denigrated at every mention.

Yet again you are correct. I don't see any of you pathetic whiners breaking your legs running down there to fix or replace it.

Grampie
07-29-2006, 11:28
During my "01" thru, after reading the hype in Wingfoot's book I decided to visit the shelter. I was sort of disipointed in the crude construction of it. Another hiker with me made the comment "It lookes like it was built by a couple of 12 year old kids using scrap lumber."

neo
07-29-2006, 19:25
the shelter is not needed and should be torn down,the AT would be nicer without shelters,then people would have to camp the way you should be,
they attract crowds,animals,mice,:cool: neo

Skyline
07-29-2006, 19:43
It is 12.8 miles between Manassas Gap Shelter and Rod Hollow Shelter according to the '06 Data Book. Not sure if this takes into consideration the '05 Ovaka relo west of Sky Meadows State Park, but if it doesn't, then it's even a bit less between shelters.

There is a spring roughly halfway in between MGS and RHS. If the PATC decided to take Dick's Dome out of the system it wouldn't be missed. For a club that takes a lot of pride in its trails and shelters, this one's embarrassing. Not only is the shelter poorly designed and in bad repair, but its privy sits on a sidehill directly above a stream that is the water source.