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Former Admin
09-10-2002, 05:53
Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Wintturi 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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Kerosene
09-10-2002, 09:45
Overnighted at Winturri Shelter the second night of my September 2000 section hike. The shelter is about a quarter mile to the left of the Trail for NOBOs. The shelter was clean and sleeps 8 comfortably. There is also a seat/shelf at the rear of the shelter. The spring was just a trickle coming out of a stone face which gradually turned into a small creek. It was difficult to capture water directly from the spring and some of the pools were somewhat stagnant.

Deadeye
01-08-2005, 13:48
I haven't been there yet, but Winturri shelter is one of a few named after people I've actually met. Mauri Winturri was a legend - almost like Bilbo Baggins in that he had (apparently) inexhaustible wealth, yet lived very modestly. When I met him, he gave me a beer (I might have been 16), and we sat in his Volkswagon. He had a VW bug, with all seats but the driver's removed, a plywood bunk taking up the passenger side (he wasn't a tall guy), and a cooler behind the driver's seat. The bunk was removable, as were most of his teeth.

The Solemates
01-10-2005, 10:32
Isnt this the shelter near Pearisburg where someone was murdered a few years back? Yea, Id love to stay there...

Footslogger
01-10-2005, 12:48
My only vivid memory of this shelter is that you need to look out for falling branches. Two of us set up tents a little ways away from the shelter in 2003. It was a wet/windy night and we heard a lot of crashing/thumping sounds all night. When we woke up there was a 5 - 6 ft branch sticking out of the ground like a javelin. The point of contact with the ground was about 1 foot from my head.

Point being ...look up when you're about to pitch your tent and check for potential "widow makers", Course ...I guess that's true for any campsite !!

'Slogger
AT 2003

poison_ivy
01-10-2005, 14:00
Isnt this the shelter near Pearisburg

No, Wintturi Shelter is in Vermont.

- Ivy

The Solemates
01-10-2005, 14:34
ok, which one was it near Pearisburg? didnt it start with a W?

The Solemates
01-10-2005, 14:35
....Wipiti?

Footslogger
01-10-2005, 14:35
ok, which one was it near Pearisburg? didnt it start with a W?================
Yeah ...I think it's Wappatiti or something close to that.

'Slogger
AT 2003

A-Train
01-10-2005, 14:47
Wapiti, 17 miles south of Pearisburg. Belive there was a double murder there in 1984. Winturri, in Vermont is just south of the road to Woodstock

The Old Fhart
01-10-2005, 14:54
I belive Wapiti II, about 15 miles south of Pearisburg, is the shelter you are thinking of. I stayed there in '87 and also stopped for lunch in 1998 and 2001. it is east of the A.T. on a short side trail. The book "Murder on the Appalachian Trail" by Jess Carr is about the couple that were killed there.

Rough
08-12-2005, 18:29
Photo of Wintturi shelter attached, taken August 7, 2005. Shelter is same size as Stony Brook shelter and can easily accomodate more than 6. Tent spots located in front and behind shelter. New privy. Water is almost gone in early August as only a very small pool remains.

Rough
LT end-to-end 2003

wjosler
02-16-2006, 13:24
I would like to spend a night winter camping at Wintturi with a small group. My dad, who through hiked the AT last year, has a little info on the cabin but we don't know how reliable it is. He heard it is a privately owned four sided cabin with a fire place that was about two miles from the nearest AT shelter and 6 miles from the nearest access point in/near Barnard, VT. Does anyone know if we need to register before the trip and who to contact for permission? Any more details would be very helpful - Thanks!

The Solemates
02-16-2006, 14:29
winturri is a shelter on the AT, not a private cabin. no reservations required.

Kerosene
02-16-2006, 16:50
As The Solemates note, Winturri is a shelter (meaning 3-sided lean-to), not an enclosed cabin.

Rough
02-16-2006, 17:04
I think you're referring to a place called "The Lookout", a 4-sided cabin located 2 tenths of a mile off the AT and 2.4 miles before (hiking north on the A, though you're actually going east in this section in Vermont) of Wintturi Shelter. It is located on private property but is open to hikers (the owner could change his mind at some point) and has a ladder to the roof where there is a view. As far as I know there is no water near the cabin.

wjosler
02-17-2006, 09:40
That must be it. Thanks! If someone knows how to get in contact with the owner of Lookout, we'd like to get the information to receive permission to camp for the night. Appreciate the help.

swift
02-17-2006, 21:23
If you arent paying attention you end up at the shelter even if you didnt want to! the AT hooks a sharp right at the shelter path. Daydream, keep walking straight and you are there. All downhill too if I recall

Rough
02-18-2006, 11:33
I hiked the AT section (NOBO) in Vermont this past summer. The Appalachian Trail junctions with Lookout Road and then heads downhill on the road. There is a sign at the junction pointing left to the "Lookout." If you go left it's uphill to the cabin, at least two-tenths of a mile (although the sign says one-tenth). Very quickly you'll encounter another sign that reads "Private Property. All persons entering do so at their own risk." The cabin is just past this sign.

Rough
02-18-2006, 11:40
I checked my photo library - here's a pic of the sign to the Lookout.

Tin Man
02-18-2006, 12:27
We stopped at Lookout during our section this past October. I don't think you need permission to stay there although I seem to recall they had a no fires warning. I suspect it wouldn't be safe anyway as the structure looks like it would go up with a single match. Winter might be a good time to visit as the place was literally crawling with flies when we peeked inside.

Tin Man
02-18-2006, 12:29
p.s. Views North and East toward the Whites were grand. I bet the view in the winter would be totally awesome. Post a trip report after.

Jack Tarlin
02-18-2006, 17:40
The crimes discussed earlier took place in the spring of 1981, not 1984.

* * *

Winturri Shelter is perfectly OK, but I suggest that Northbounders continue a few miles (3.8 actuallY) and stay over with Dan Quinn on Rt. 12. He's a wonderful guy, his barn is a very cool place, and this will be one of the highlights of your trip.

veteran
02-19-2006, 00:09
Here are a couple Photos (http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/at-vt-2002/aau.jpg) of the lookout cabin. Photo (http://www.anotherzero.com/tj/photos/592/lookout%20barncabin.jpg)

wilconow
07-08-2007, 19:35
I think you're referring to a place called "The Lookout", a 4-sided cabin located 2 tenths of a mile off the AT and 2.4 miles before (hiking north on the A, though you're actually going east in this section in Vermont) of Wintturi Shelter. It is located on private property but is open to hikers (the owner could change his mind at some point) and has a ladder to the roof where there is a view. As far as I know there is no water near the cabin.

I stayed at the lookout on July 5th 2007. Great sunset.. I'll add the photos soon to my gallery. Probably the highlight of my section hike to have this all to myself. There's signs saying that hikers are welcome to stay, just clean up and respect the fact that if the owners are staying there, you have to move on.

Probably could sleep like 15 or so. No water around.

As far as the winturri shelter, water source was okay, considering it was kind of dry around there. very clean privy.

Cosmo
07-18-2010, 13:20
A nice stop to dry out gear. Lots of sun in the AM. As of July 2010, the place has lost about half of it's roof shingles. Not too dry inside, I would imagine. Use caution on the porch, the boards are getting a bit soft. W/o some TLC, this place will be unusable within a few years. Too bad.

Cosmo