View Full Version : Smarts Mountain Cabin
hikerat2002
04-22-2003, 06:23
Is this cabin for hiker use or is it just for forest ranger? There used to be a shelter on Smarts but I think a tent platform remains.
max patch
04-22-2003, 07:43
Hikers
MadRiver
04-22-2003, 08:12
My White Mountain Guide says that there are platforms near the summit.
This is the Mtn in the Southern WHites with the fire tower? People used to set up camp in the tower.
MadRiver
04-22-2003, 09:11
Yes. According to the guide, there is an abandoned fire tower and a firewarden's cabin (locked).
The tower and cabin are no longer used for any fire spotting activities so there is no firewarden. The Cabin is not locked, it is maintained by the DOC as a hiker shelter (its listed in the A.T. Data Book) and it recieved a face lift a few years ago, a new porch most noticably. The tower is frequently used by hikers for sleeping but I hear the roof leaks so avoid rainy nights. There are tent platforms near a spring south of the tower, not too far from the summit. The platform's spring, like the cabin's spring can be unrealiable in the summer. Here is a picture of the cabin.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=962&papass=&sort=1
MadRiver
04-23-2003, 08:47
I stand corrected!
hikerat2002
04-23-2003, 18:39
I checked a 2003 Data book and the cabin is listed under shelter status. Pretty good as an enclosed space in inclement weather is something to look forward to. Smarts Mountain is a hard hike from what I remember. Maybe not as hard as WildCat and Carter Notch sections, but the Whites leave alot of surprises to a thru-hiker seasoned by 1600+ miles. So what ever happened to the old shelter on Smarts? Did it get blown off the top literally?
I'd not heard of the shelter so I did some quick research: It was listed in the AMC White Mtn Guide 24th edition (1987); in the 25th edition (1992) it was just the Smarts Mountain Tent Platform. Google revealed two journals from the 1980's that mention the shelter, the latest being in 1988. Can anyone remember when between '88 and '92 it was removed? It sounded like a nice spot with a great easterly view, the shelter had a ladder to the roof for sunrise views. I found two descriptions of the privy: one was of a structure with the fewest possible walls for viewing the sunrise and the other went like this: "The outhouse was designed like a Delorian, with angel-wing doors, a steering wheel and seat belt. It had a horn, speedometer, windshield wiper and footpedals. On the back was a sign which read, The Ultimate Driving Machine." -(http://www.angelfire.com/al/freshnet/1001Talesp16.html)
Was this two different privies? I know how the DOC likes to build interesting privys.:banana
max patch
04-23-2003, 21:55
This should answer the historical questions about the shelter:
1989 Philosophers Guide: "Smarts Mtn is one of finest views on the entire A.T. At summit, firetower, shelter, and firewardens cabin. Neither the shelter nor the cabin are the ritz and both leak in heavy rain."
1990 Philosophers Guide: " Smarts Mtn is one of finest views on the entire A.T. At summit, firewardens cabin got a new roof. Firetower for witnessing spectacular sunsets/sunrises. Smarts Mtn Shelter removed, now just a tent platform with the Ultimate Driving Machine privy nearby, with steering wheel, speedometer, tail lights, safety belts, ignition, gas pedal."
Wingfoots 1991 Thru-hikers Handbook offers more clarification: "Smarts Mtn: topped by firetower, tent platform (the floor of the old Smarts Mountain shelter), and old firewardens cabin, which has a new roof and is water tight on even the stormiest nights."
Go to the on line version of the Companion at www.aldha.org and read the details. The cabin is there.
Peaks, the cabin is still there. Six replys above I posted a link to a photo I took in November 2001. There was once a shelter where the tent platform is today. Some details of its life and death were posted by Max Patch and myself just above your reply.
hikerat2002
04-29-2003, 06:42
That Smarts Mountain is something. Why ask why. It is something though. Has anyone seen Winnapessauke Lake from it?
Dudeboard
01-25-2004, 00:29
Was this two different privies? I know how the DOC likes to build interesting privys.:bananaIn Then The Hail Came, written about his 1983 thru hike, George Steffanos writes:
"When I arrived at the Smarts Mountain Shelter, I flipped through the register, finding comment after comment about the magnificent view from the fabled Smarts Mountain privy. I admit that I was becoming concerned about my fellow thru-hikers' sudden fixation on bodily functions, but once again I shrugged my shoulders and sauntered up to check out the outhouse."
"What can I say? The view from that crapper is so compelling that the D.O.C. has completely removed its walls and ceiling in order to enable the grateful user to enjoy it to the fullest extent possible. Considering the climate in northern New England at this altitude, I found the open-air concept a little . . . well . . . *****ing deranged, but I must admit that the views did absolutely blow away those from any other toilet at which I have ever been. The magnificent sweep of that lake country eastward to the foothills of the White Mountains could make a man feel himself to be the lord of all he surveyed and compel him to leave his newspaper unread."