View Full Version : Bryant Ridge Shelter
Info, questions, comments, experiences regarding - Bryant Ridge Shelter
Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories from here?
Future hikers - any questions?
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There is a bronze plaque dedicating this shelter; the dedication is from sister to her brother who died in 1991. It may take some searching to find the plaque.
Scroll down on gallery picture to read dedication.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=892
Kerosene
11-08-2003, 14:35
This is a great shelter in a great location with a unique design. I wish I had stayed here. Fantastic dual-level design with tons of built-in wooden pegs to hang things, covered picnic table, wrap-around seating, plywood flooring, skylight, etc. Water available from creek just out front. Privy to left of shelter about 100 feet. Lovely wooded valley. Great place to tarry, although not a whole lot of direct sunlight.
anneandbenhike
09-13-2004, 09:07
My husband and I and his cousin stayed in this shelter last week for one night, the night that Hurricane Frances began dumping its rain. It is beautiful, spacious, and THE place to be in nasty weather. Lots of room to walk around without being on the sleeping platforms, which are separate. (one is reached by a ladder) There were no mice!! There is a picnic table under cover, and lots of "counter" space for cooking on the front and sides of the porch. Plus, there are numerous hooks and pegs for all manner of wet gear. Water is only a stone's throw away from the shelter. The only bad thing to say about the place is that the roof of the privy leaks like a sieve, and right on your head as you do your thing! Be sure to put this one on your list to overnight, in, or at least stop for lunch. It is right on the trail, so you can't miss it. Enjoy.:)
BlackCloud
11-18-2004, 20:02
This shelter catapulted itself into my top 5 all time list. Although it has no view to speak of, & is situated in a rather deep valley w/ minimal November sunlight, its design is absolutely ingenius. If one in ten shelters looked anything like this, I'd thruhike over & over again.
It's huge, comfortable, spacious, clean, incredibly designed, & impeccably built. The materials are second to none. Rain? Who cares. You aint gettin wet here. And not only does it have skylights, it has window lights (not open windows).
Oh, & read about the local history in the AT guidebook. From J. Robert Oppenheimer to train crashes to the hanging of a couple of runaway slaves, history happened in this section of the AT......:-?
Lone Wolf
11-18-2004, 20:11
Another example of a ridiculously huge shelter that has no place on the AT.
Rain? Who cares. You aint gettin wet here.
Well then, they fixed the roof since 2000. It leaked like a seive back then. BTW, I stayed down by Jennings Creek, but met Stormcrow & Fapoo at the shelter. They said the roof leaked in 5-6 places.
Another example of a ridiculously huge shelter that has no place on the AT.
I second that emotion.
The Solemates
11-19-2004, 10:15
Definitely on the top 5 list for nicest shelters along the trail. We actually opted to hike out to the campground that night since friends were coming to join us that weekend on our thru, but would have loved to stay at this great shelter.
Quite a bit of work went into this shelter, so out of respect for the volunteers, no criticism. Except: There doesn't seem to be any decent tentsites in the immediate area. Some of us will choose a tent over even the Taj Mahal shelters, though all the other amenities of a shelter (place to cook/eat, privy, water source, comaraderie) will draw us to one.
Quite a bit of work went into this shelter, so out of respect for the volunteers, no criticism.
I would agree that the Natural Bridge AT Club does one of the finest jobs along the entire length of the trail. In 2000, the segment that they maintain was in outstanding shape from end to end. FWIW, my comments are in no way intended to denigrate the contibution of volunteers.
I think that the movement towards building luxurious shelters along the AT is misguided. While some might like the Partnership Shelter (VA), the Ed Garvey Shelter (MD), the Bryant Ridge Shelter (VA), and the William Penn Shelter (PA), personally, I am more in favor of a simple lean-to with some scattered tent pads.
My favorite shelter design is the Nantahala style which can be found at Woods Hole (GA) and Standing Indian (NC). I also like the old style shelters in Maine. I'll take a covered picnic table over a loft anyday. YMMV
BlackCloud
11-20-2004, 21:54
It's interesting how polarizing this shelter is; I had no idea.
I think it's fair to say that you either love it, or hate, no in-between area.
This year, at least, the shelter was completely infested with fleas. Everyone who stayed there came out covered in bites. I recommend staying on the trail for another quarter mile or so. You'll find some excellent campsites there. I wish I had known about them. I would have spared myself the itching.
Big Daddy D
11-07-2006, 17:26
I was fortunate enough to have the entire place to myself on 17 Apr 05, an except from my TJ:
The overall day was a good hiking day. I'm solo at the "Taj Mahal"
Bryant Shelter, it's 58 degrees at 10 PM, and the creek sounds wonderful
as it flows along just down a ten-foot hill from the shelter. This hike is dedicated to Boy Scout Troop 770 from Winston-Salem NC!!
They left three food bags at the shelter that contained: PB&J, honey, cocoa, salami, cheese, mustard, two pans of rolls, rice, brown gravy, juice mix, hard candy, oatmeal, soup mix, and toiletries!!
It was a great evening there for me.
BDD
Jack Tarlin
11-08-2006, 15:09
I agree 100% with Thor; Bryant Ridge is a showplace but most of the times I've been there it was lousy with little gnat-like bugs, and I mean zillions of them. He is also correct about the fine campsites just North of the shelter.
This is a great shelter. Unfortunately, the storm that came thru the night I stayed blew a fine mist into the shelter. Even up against the farthest wall it was still wet. Finally put my ground cloth over me and my bag to get to sleep.
It is interesting to read the different oppinions of the Bryant Ridge Shelter. I have not been their since just after it was built, but very fimiliar with the area. The land that the shelter is on was my great-grandmothers home place, so i grew up hiking around those hills and trails.
The old house used to sit over the ridge from the shelter and (after her passing) was used as a ranger outpost untill unfortunatlly it was burnt to the ground (arson). :mad:
Well this is not what i expected for my first post but oh well just had to when i came across this.:)
P.S. If you can find where the old house was, there is a Natural spring house about 100yrds down from the house that is as clear and clean as you'll ever find. ;)
Footslogger
02-07-2008, 22:07
Great place to sit out a day long downpour ...then again, that could apply to a lot of shelters.
I remember that afternoon in 2003 like it was yesterday. Biggest game of Poker (cheating agreed to in advance) I have ever witnessed. There was Tipperary, Happy Feet, BadAss Turtle ...just to name a few - - cheating their a$$es off and loving every minute of it.
'Slogger
Welcome to WhiteBlaze cflippe :welcome
Hey Cflippe,
We live not far from there. Do you remember a Sam Williams who was the game manager (Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries) who lived on Middle Creek right there at your old home place or very near it?
Frau
Beautiful, huge shelter. Had it to myself this summer.
Frau, No sorry don't recall the name, but that doesn't mean much i do good to remimber mine. LOL But really it has been a long time since i was there on a regular basis and i was just a kid when we would go stay in the summer.
Cflippe,
Interesting history; I'll have to go back and explore.
For whatever reason the photo of the shelter did not show when clicking on the link in the first post-error message instead. The link below works.
If a mod/admin could fix the original post, #1, it would be appreciated.
There is a bronze plaque dedicating this shelter; the dedication is from sister to her brother who died in 1991. It may take some searching to find the plaque.
Scroll down on gallery picture to read dedication.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=892&catid=member&imageuser=497
Mountain Dog
07-14-2008, 18:11
Outstanding shelter and probably the best designed I have ever seen. The water in the creek was plentiful although low. The water pooled several places but none of the pools were deep enough to fill without dipping or sucking. There was plenty of camping places.( 10 July 2008)
I heard an interesting story about this shelter. The brother, to whom it is dedicated to, was an architecture student. In his memory, the family contracted his fellow architecture students to design a shelter for the trail. (I suppose he must have had some ties to the trail.) This has to be one of my favorite shelters on the trail. I rolled into this shelter during my thru after a long 20+ mile day. The proportions of this shelter were a feast for the eyes and soul. The contrast of wide and thin wood, dark and light. The breezeway on the second floor created wonderful ventilation. It reminded me that even out in the woods, good design is very soothing. I believe the hiker V8 said "reminds me of a Zen Temple." I cannot agree with him more. A shelter I will return to soon.
Rain Man
12-30-2011, 15:37
I heard an interesting story about this shelter. The brother, to whom it is dedicated to, was an architecture student. In his memory, the family contracted his fellow architecture students to design a shelter for the trail. (I suppose he must have had some ties to the trail.) This has to be one of my favorite shelters on the trail. I rolled into this shelter during my thru after a long 20+ mile day. The proportions of this shelter were a feast for the eyes and soul. The contrast of wide and thin wood, dark and light. The breezeway on the second floor created wonderful ventilation. It reminded me that even out in the woods, good design is very soothing. I believe the hiker V8 said "reminds me of a Zen Temple." I cannot agree with him more. A shelter I will return to soon.
I want to agree. I've only hiked half the trail, but so far this has to be one of the best, if not the best, shelters I've seen. Happily, got to stay a night in this one. Strung my hammock in the top level/loft.
Thanks for sharing the story about its design!
Rain:sunMan
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Slow n' Steady
01-21-2012, 11:38
This beautiful shelter was a welcomed relief after a long, hot day. The water source was excellent, the shelter was huge--my hiking partner could even put her hammock up between posts for the shelter. I could get cell service at the privy so I was able to talk to my husband, which was a nice treat. The covered picnic table in the shelter also made life easy. One of my favorite shelters...
TrekkerJeff
06-19-2012, 08:09
This was a great shelter for us back in early May. We had been hiking in rain/snow and were wet and cold when we arrived at Bryant Ridge Shelter. We don't usually stay in shelters but this was a welcome site to dry out and warm up at. It ended up quite full that night and was appreciated by everyone.
Mushroom Mouse
09-05-2012, 09:01
My grandson and I stopped at this shelter yesterday for lunch and were really impressed with the size and layout compared to other shelters along the trail. The only drawback is that the loft was taken over by huge spiders (think a scene from Arachnophobia). Oh yeah, the shelter register mentioned that several days ago, a four-foot rattler was living under the picnic table.
Berserker
11-19-2012, 13:46
This is a neat shelter. I will reiterate what a previous poster said in that there are no decent tent spots in the area around the shelter. There is one crappy spot, and that's it.
This year, at least, the shelter was completely infested with fleas. Everyone who stayed there came out covered in bites. I recommend staying on the trail for another quarter mile or so. You'll find some excellent campsites there. I wish I had known about them. I would have spared myself the itching.
I dought that they were fleas biting you. The bites you were getting were probably from Black Flys. I spent the night there in 01 and the Black Flys were the worst I had experienced on my whole thru-hike.
It's one of the biggest single shelters on the trail that's for sure, the Fall, Winter and early spring is the best times to stay there, the No-see ums, Mosquitoes, and black flies will eat you up. but i prefer my tent.
Christus Cowboy
11-23-2012, 05:00
Stayed there when I did a 77 mile section in May with Summit and it appeared to be infested then as well (mainly no-seeums & mosquitoes)... Beautiful shelter though but we stayed in tents and allowed the thrus to take residence in the shelter. Water source is close by as well.....
bamboo bob
11-23-2012, 14:18
I ate lunch there in 2012 but I recall in 2000 it had nasty roof leaks.
coolness
12-14-2012, 22:00
My grandson and I stopped at this shelter yesterday for lunch and were really impressed with the size and layout compared to other shelters along the trail. The only drawback is that the loft was taken over by huge spiders (think a scene from Arachnophobia). Oh yeah, the shelter register mentioned that several days ago, a four-foot rattler was living under the picnic table.
I killed a HUGE spider when I stayed there in May of 2011. Scared the crap out of me......
Enjoyed the privy in 2004 and moved on. My thought at the time was, if they must have shelters along the trail, they should be like this. That way more people, mice, etc. will stay there, leaving more empty space, in the woods for those of us who prefer sleeping "out".
HikerMom58
12-14-2012, 22:36
Enjoyed the privy in 2004 and moved on. My thought at the time was, if they must have shelters along the trail, they should be like this. That way more people, mice, etc. will stay there, leaving more empty space, in the woods for those of us who prefer sleeping "out".
Ha ha!! I like shelters but I hear what you are sayin! :) I like to sleep near the shelters but not IN them. :)
coolness
12-16-2012, 15:39
I killed a big nasty spider when I was trying to sleep there one night..... It's a popular destination. Fire pit needs work and the privy needs to be replaced. Not much room for tents. The climb out is very strenuous.
Gambit McCrae
04-19-2017, 12:36
Was there 4-9-17 - Probably 24 empty crushed beer cans. Fire pit full of trash. water was flowing well all around the shelter (2 streams intersect at the shelter. Climb out nobo is a steady up and strenuous all the way to Apple Orchard Summit. Cornelius shelter ( next shelter north) had water at the trail but shallow.