View Full Version : For our whiteblaze romantics . . a mystery?
somers515
01-14-2023, 16:01
In the AT Trailway news there was a link to this story about a couple who first met near NY's Brien shelter:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/chance-encounters-appalachian-trail/index.html
In the story there is a picture of a map showing a "W" mark near the Brien shelter but there was no water near the mark on the map for the couple in the story. I've hiked by Brien shelter myself a while back and I also don't recall there being water, not that I was looking for it. On whiteblaze there is some mention of an unreliable spring near Brien shelter, just curious if anyone who looks at the map in this article can confirm if that "W" mark is where the unreliable spring is for that shelter.
No worries either way just read the story and thought I bet someone on whiteblaze can tell us a story about that "W" mark!
gpburdelljr
01-17-2023, 15:55
In the AT Trailway news there was a link to this story about a couple who first met near NY's Brien shelter:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/chance-encounters-appalachian-trail/index.html
In the story there is a picture of a map showing a "W" mark near the Brien shelter but there was no water near the mark on the map for the couple in the story. I've hiked by Brien shelter myself a while back and I also don't recall there being water, not that I was looking for it. On whiteblaze there is some mention of an unreliable spring near Brien shelter, just curious if anyone who looks at the map in this article can confirm if that "W" mark is where the unreliable spring is for that shelter.
No worries either way just read the story and thought I bet someone on whiteblaze can tell us a story about that "W" mark!
In the White Blaze Pages the water source is described as an unreliable spring fed well 80 yards down the blue blazed trail. Maybe the “W” stands for well.
Seatbelt
01-17-2023, 17:28
Very nice story, but...did he come back with water or ??
What an awesome story good for them :)
Like Travis said the "W" on the map is where he found his wife.
Gives lonely people like me hope!
If I could delete the wife remark I would sorry didn't mean to be a spoiler.
wornoutboots
01-18-2023, 12:07
Maybe the “W” stands for well.
I believe you may be correct.
Strange controversy about those wells. I just hiked through there in November and saw many wells near the shelters, but all the wells I passed had their handles removed and it is said that that ATC and the USFS were the one who had the handle removed?
I ran into an ATC board member on that hike and he confirmed this and he then said he resigned from the board after they did this with no reasoning behind it. Water was sparse and for them to remove the well handel made no sense at all?
Could it be the Wells dried up? Sometimes them underground creeks dry up or devert. Or maybe to much to maintain?
I know the hand pumps on the c&o canal are treated with iodine and super nasty tasting.
hikermiker
01-22-2023, 15:19
I went through there some 10 years ago. There was supposed to be water but no signage. I ended up using my Spidey sense telling myself if I was water where would I be. I ended up and found the water. It was well hidden. The issue of the pump handles being removed is a whole other story an
d only adds to my contempt for the ATC.
Traveler
01-23-2023, 10:04
Usually well pump handles are removed for one of three reasons; Vandalism issues, if water in the pump pump and/or piping will freeze unless fully drained (seasonal removal is common), or when the water quality of the well is compromised by ground pollution, direct introduction of pollutants into the well, and/or high bacterial counts that fall outside of State standards of water quality.
A good example would be the Ten Mile River shelter in CT which had to close the well pump as water yield did not meet Safe Drinking Water Standards. Not surprising since the well is located near the Ten Mile and Housatonic Rivers, which have long had advisories regarding pollutants in the water make it inadvisable to drink or eat fish from both due to industrial pollutants including heavy metals and PCB contamination. Costs, resources, and logistics of water quality monitoring and potential well remediation along with liability exposures are considerable and likely part of the decision process to remove a potential health threat when it cannot pass the standards test.
The ATC typically posts these closures on their website as they occur which typically have the closure cause listed along with (https://appalachiantrail.org/news/six-wells-on-at-closed/).