View Full Version : Wapiti Shelter ????
MedicineMan
03-01-2003, 23:53
The map shows a body of water-big pond sized- close to the Wapiti Shelter....anyone explored this body of water? place to swim? rinse off? etc.???
Lone Wolf
03-02-2003, 00:18
The double murder occured in the shelter there in 1984. Don't know about no pond.
MedicineMan
03-02-2003, 00:21
that reminds me of hiking by the Vandenter shelter-spooky!
yep, def. a big pond on the map...also the Woodshole Hostel, is it in the area?
Yeah, Woodshole is just a few miles north of Wapiti Shelter.
MedicineMan
03-02-2003, 03:55
Still trying to find Woodshole on the map, how close is it to the trail? We have a long enough day getting to Wapiti, wondering how much effort to get to Woodshole? Would be nice to get a shower there too!
Woodshole is 0.5 mi. E of trail via Sugar Run Road, Road is 6.2mi. N of Wapiti Shelter.
MedicineMan
03-02-2003, 08:22
Thanks Groucho!!!!
Originally posted by Simva2020
The map shows a body of water-big pond sized- close to the Wapiti Shelter....anyone explored this body of water? place to swim? rinse off? etc.???
I recall the pond. It was too cold that day to swim (early May), but I imagine it would be nice later in the season. I walked around the periphery looking for amphibians. Saw a few Newts and a few frogs. Nice place.
The shelter itself actually creeped me out a bit thinking about the murders that occurred in the area. I didn't stay there overnight however. Just had lunch there.
Funny thing.. I got the same creepy feeling near the Shelter in PA where another double-murder occurred. Only thing is... I didn't know that a murder had occurred there. Learned about it later, but man, I got the chills in that creepy old shelter. Understand its since been torn down and replaced by a new shelter.
holy $#!t
Since I started typing this thread, I have since done some research on the ATC website and found the following info about the PA murders;
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about/history/background.html
September 1990—Thru-hikers Molly LaRue, 25, from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and her boyfriend, Geoffrey Hood, 26, from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, were killed as they woke up at a shelter just off the Trail south of Duncannon, Pa., by fugitive P. David Crews (now under death sentence in Pennsylvania). She was stabbed to death; he was shot. Crews, carrying some of their gear, was arrested eight days later by National Park Service rangers on the A.T. bridge above the Potomac River from Maryland into West Virginia.
Compare that to my new address.. Geez. Goosebumps galore!!!
TNJED
Did you get the same feeling at the Vandeventer Shelter? It's N of Watauga Lake. One of the earlier ones here.
Grouch0: Not that I recall, but Man, Signal Mountain, TN is a small place! The fact that that murdered hiker was from there is kinda eerie, don't ya think?
I think the circumstances of the crime make it totally weird for anybody from anywhere. I try not to think about these things too much; might tempt me to start carrying a 2+ lb. Glock. Signal Mt.? Know the Morrows?
? for our viewers: There is a geographic feature on the map in VA, near Dragon's Tooth and/or McAfee Knob known as the Murder Hole. Anyone know the origin of this name? No one seems to know. Not trying to be morbid; just curious.
Groucho, I'm new to Signal Mtn, so no, I don't know the Morrows - yet.
Funny thing... I feel safer on the trail than any other place in the world. As it is said in the song "Ain't no place I'd rather be..." (Tennessee Jed)
No need to pack the 9MM in my opinion. But then again, I have no need for a gun, and don't own one. Just a personal preference.
Well, I've been in a few situations when the feel of a powerful weapon would have been comforting, but I survived without. Guess I'll keep on going without a weapon. Too much weight and probably too much paranoia about being caught with a gun.
Slightly humerous story: When young and foolish carried a large knife (for protection, of course) lashed in a holster on my side. My wife and I were taking a break just S of Stecoah gap (near the Smokies). I saw a party of several women and a man on the trail below us; they seemed hesitant to come up. Finally they did come up and pleasantries were exchanged, but I noticed that the man had his pen knife out and had his hand over all but the tip of the blade. This was a little intimidating. It took a little while to realize that he was a bit leery of my knife. I think I quit wearing it soon after.
Simva, enjoy Woodshole. Say "Hi" for me :)
And the pond is nice and big with a good squishy bottom - perfect for summer (assuming the drought is over and there's water in the pond.)
As for the murders, well: I've had eerie feelings at each of the places listed - as well as a few others. It's not just us either - PATC took out an old shelter and put in a new one just south of Duncannon for this very reason.
I remember in '96, I was just south of the Shennies getting a hamburger at some Greasy Spoon when the attendant said, "It's no wonder you're having trouble hitch-hikin' today since the murders."
I replied, "What murders," with a stone-cold sinking feeling.
"The two they found this morning at ... blah blah blah." A couple days later, when I got to the trail crossing near to where the girls were found, that feeling returned - stronger.
I can't help but feel that the Trail is almost a living thing sometimes - capable of pain. As thruhikers, we get tuned with the trail to the degree that certain places evoke strong reactions from us.
Blue Jay
03-02-2003, 11:56
The Trail is a beautiful living thing, hikers are it's blood, trail towns are it's organs. Each inch is sacred space.
Hikerhead
03-02-2003, 12:35
The Murder Hole:
It's a cave system that has a collasped roof leaving a huge hole at it's entrance. Supposely back in the 1800's (I believe) some bandits jumped someone riding a wagon, killed them and threw them down into the hole.
It's privately owned by a local spelunker.
The local paper (The Roanoke Times) did a great 2 or 3 page story on it not long ago with pics, history and a diagram of the cave system.
When your on McAfee's Knob, look west, the next big ridge is North Mtn. There's a small ridge running between the two. The Murder Hole is on that ridge line.
You may be able to find the story in the archives at Roanoke.com.
Also, that's a great place to find some stories and pcs of the AT around here(Roanoke).
Originally posted by Hikerhead
The Murder Hole:
The local paper (The Roanoke Times) did a great 2 or 3 page story on it not long ago with pics, history and a diagram of the cave system.
Here's a link to the story ==> http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story137647.html
Thanks a lot to both of you, TNJED and Hikerhead. Gave up asking when hiking in area. Seemed any question, however benign, with the m word would make some people a little uneasy.
Very interesting. Just browsed the article briefly; have to see if maybe I could hike in there.
Jumpstart
03-02-2003, 20:23
Back to the issue of the pond: there is definetly one there, but it was sorta stagnant when we went by in 2002, not a place I would swim or get water from. The shelter was a little unsettling, but we made it out alive and on to Pearisburg! :)
Originally posted by Hikerhead
The Murder Hole:
It's a cave system that has a collasped roof leaving a huge hole at it's entrance. Supposely back in the 1800's (I believe) some bandits jumped someone riding a wagon, killed them and threw them down into the hole.
I just read the book "8 Bullets" by Claudia Brenner about the attempted double murder - one died, one survived - of a lesbian couple near the trail in Pennsylvania in 1988. Before the shooting, the women had parked their car on Dead Woman's Hollow Road. Weird, huh? The woman who survived had 5 gunshot wounds, one in the arm, 4 in the head and neck, and walked out 4 miles to a road and flagged down a car. The murderer was captured 11 days later. Dead Woman's Hollow Road was named in 1917 after a woman was bitten by a rattlesnake and died there.
MedicineMan
03-02-2003, 23:02
This thread turned into a good one, much learning. My last section 2 weeks ago took me from Unicoi to Neals, and somwhere on it supposedly an ambush and death occurred a long time ago. I tried to get a feel for where it was but was focused more on staying upright in the snow/ice.
We will probably be too early in the season to do the pond swim since it will be first of May, but who knows-may be stinking enough to just jump in by then!
We went by the Vandeventer many years ago, have done that section 3 times and I never did get he hebeejeebies there, maybe it will be different at Wapiti...SassiCat doesnt know anything about the murders so I will probably spring it on her when we get there.
Hikerhead
03-02-2003, 23:42
DebW, that gives me the weebie geebies....
I was up in the SNP a week after the two girls got killed and it was a strange feeling to drive past close to where they got killed.
Now, who do we blame for getting off subject...Simva2020? You'll going to get us in trouble with the Subject Police.
MedicineMan
03-03-2003, 00:50
sorry! but a lot of the talk here is like talk on the trail, something i do like about whiteblaze
Hikerhead
03-03-2003, 00:58
I wasn't being serious, just kiddin' around. Smiley Face:)
With all this talk of murder on the trail, I think it's a good idea to remind any newcomewrs that the AT is a VERY safe place. Far safer than walking around on the streets of NYC, which by the way, is a VERY safe thing despite what most non-New Yorkers believe. I'm a lifelong NYer, so I feel pretty confident making that claim.