View Full Version : Walnut Mt Shelter
Just 1.8 miles past Roaring fork Shelter for north bounders. Real nice Privy, water is a bit of a walk, looks to be fairly reliable. Shelter is tiny, (5 person?) but I detected no signs of leaking. On the signs at Roaring Fork Shelter and at Deer Park shelter, "Next shelter 11 miles" not mentioning the Walnut Mt shelter. I spent a comfortable, quiet night there alone, possibly due to the signs :D
I saw a few nice tent sites a few 100 yards South of the shelter, and a real good stream in that same distance.
mikecordes
01-12-2005, 22:38
Very small shelter . We hiked further north and found great campsites about 1/4 mile from the summit of Bluff Mtn. There are plenty of good tent sites from Bluff Mtn Derr Park Mtn Shelter.
grrickar
01-12-2005, 23:28
We passed it up. We left Hot Spring that morning and if my estimations were correct it was 13 miles from Hot Springs. We pushed another 7 or so miles to the summit of Max Patch, determined to make it there to see the sunset. I'd do it again, just to see that sunset, then the stars, then the sunrise the next morning.
It was a very small shelter compared ot the others we saw on our section hike (except maybe Cable Gap, which was also small and in nowhere near as decent shape). It did have a shiny new roof though.
Rain Man
11-15-2005, 18:32
I just heard from the ATC that a new Roaring Fork Shelter has been completed and the old one either has been or is slated for being torn down.
The new Roaring Fork Shelter is 8.2 miles from the Groundhog Creek Shelter.
I'll take pics next week on our hike and post 'em.
Rain:sunMan
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This shelter was supposed to have been torn down long age. Don't know why it escaped, but glad it did. I didn't stay there though. I went on to Deer Park.
Whistler
11-16-2005, 09:13
Yes, a small one for only 5 or 6, but there is some camping room around. The roof is solid, but the walls and floors have cracks that will let breezes through, especially with all the wind that comes swooping up the valley nearby.
-Mark
I just finished a hike past walnut shelter. Just when Ineeded water! The water supply there has been dried up. They are clearing the entire area! I read in the log that its to restore part of the bluff...does anyone know more about this?.
Rain Man
04-12-2006, 16:06
... They are clearing the entire area! I read in the log that its to restore part of the bluff...does anyone know more about this?.
There's a whole thread on WhiteBlaze discussing the clear-cutting on Walnut Mountain. Can't say where the thread is off the top of my head, but perhaps a search will turn it up for you. It was about a month or two ago.
Rain:sunMan
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Just got back from a three day hike. Stayed at Walnut Mtn shelter first nite. Great tentsites just a short walk just behind the shelter with good views. Water is available down a blue blazed trail at the edge of the clear cut area. Have to climb over some downed trees to get to it and it was a muddy walk but plenty of water. It had just rained so maybe not so good in dry times.
The Alethiometrists
07-07-2006, 14:13
So, they're leaving Walnut Mountain Shelter up? That's excellent if so - I've stayed there before, and would like to again on a trip later this month.
Very small shelter . We hiked further north and found great campsites about 1/4 mile from the summit of Bluff Mtn. There are plenty of good tent sites from Bluff Mtn Derr Park Mtn Shelter.
:D yeah but most hikers are to dependent on shelters,they are afraid of getting their tent wet:cool: neo
Rain Man
07-07-2006, 16:59
So, they're leaving Walnut Mountain Shelter up? That's excellent if so - I've stayed there before, and would like to again on a trip later this month.
I'm re-reading Walking With Spring and Earl Shaffer writes that he stayed at Walnut Mountain Shelter and was glad to see it. I wonder if it's the same structure today. When my wife and I stopped there briefly last Thanksgiving, it looked as if it might be 60 years old!
Rain:sunMan
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Cove Rebel
07-28-2006, 12:55
I am planning a hike and need to know if this shelter is still there and how's the water flowing this time of year?
I know down here in 'bama it has been miserably dry.
The Alethiometrists
08-02-2006, 16:20
I stayed at Walnut Mountain Shelter last week - It's in fine shape, with a new roof courtesy of the local AT club. (Thanks for that!) The weather was wonderful - so cool we needed flannel shirts first thing in the morning. Vastly cooler than back home on the Piedmont.
There's a clearcut very close to the shelter that the AT goes right through. It's supposed to be part of some sort of bald restoration, but so far it just looks like a clearcut.
3 of us stayed at Walnut Mtn shelter on Aug. 9th during a Max Patch to Hot Springs hike. It kept us dry during a storm, but the sleeping platform has big gaps in it and is not level. There are several nice campsites on a side trail that leads up the hill behind the shelter.
The privy was fine, but the spring wasn't so good.
Two of us got stung by yellowjackets while hiking across the clearcut area. The flowers were blooming then and were covered with more bees and yellowjackets than I've ever seen in one place.
Was there this weekend on a section hike - Allen Gap to Davenport Gap. The water source was non exisitient where you are directed to look for it. If you go further down the bulldozer path 1/4mile you will hear the stream on your left. Bushwhack through the briars and fallen timber (this was at night) and there was a trickle enough to fill my water bag. If you continue down the trail for a 1/2 mile there is a good water source from a stream that is easier to access.
Picasso ( ! )
11-18-2006, 11:18
Still there, but water wasn't.http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y234/ghl1405/AT%20Hikes/DSCN7212.jpg
Brushy Sage
11-18-2006, 12:10
Great photo of the shelter. I helped put the new roof on. Two of us were crawling around on those ancient rafters (poles) because we were skinny and lightweight do so. Good to know it is holding up!
Brushy Sage
11-18-2006, 12:11
that's "lightweight enough to do so."
wilconow
06-05-2007, 10:51
I just finished a section hike south from Sam's Gap to Standing Bear. Pretty much everyone we passed within 30 miles of this shelter either told or asked us about the bear situation @ Walnut Mountain Shelter (and the lack of water between Little Laurel and Jerry's Cabin)
Apparently many people have had their stuff yanked by bears. We met a couple a few days before at the Little Laurel Shelter who told us they had a lot of their food and supplies taken away. However, we saw how they were hanging their food, and it was rather low.
When we finally got to the shelter, the register had many entries from people losing their stuff (food, jetboils, etc), but there were some more recent ones that said they hung correctly and didn't have a problem.
Also, we heard stories about someone who was hammocking around here, and got bothered by a bear. He had to yell for an hour or something before the bear finally realized there was no food there.
white rabbit
06-05-2007, 11:57
I was through there last week. The hikers in the shelter said they had their food bags hung in the tree beside the shelter. They woke up to a bear in the tree that had partially broken the limb trying to get to the food bags. They ran the bear off and moved the food bags to a larger limb in an Oak tree that was about 15 feet off the ground. This limb was about three inches in diameter. The bear returned and broke that limb and chewed it through until it fell from the tree, then he took all the food bags. I also talked to the guy in the hammock for a good while. He didn't say anything about screaming, just that the bear was all around him and he was afraid to move. He was a little freaked out. There was a note in the register from a couple of days later saying that someone may have shot the bear.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17016&c=565http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17017&c=565
Lone Wolf
06-05-2007, 11:59
i always sleep with my food. bears never get to it
Tennessee Viking
06-05-2007, 23:10
I just got word from a scout troop that a bear just visited Walnut Mtn Shelter. Paid no attention to the hikers in the shelter. But was trying to climb the trees to grad the nearby food packs. The bear also mistook a hiker in a hamock as a food pack, and played around with him for a scary minute.
Just keep food & trash a good distance from the shelter.
Flyingfishman
07-09-2007, 12:06
Stayed there June 30th. Water was scarce and the sleeping platform uneven. I don't know how a tall person could sleep in this shelter. The platform is not very deep. There was however no mouse problem.
When I stayed there in Sept last year, I was the only one in the shelter. At 6' 3", I did have to sleep across the width of the shelter. No bears, no mice, and water was a HAUL. nice privy though
swampfox1
08-28-2007, 09:34
We stayed there August 24. Just me and my Pug. Cozy little shelter. We enjoyed it. Most of the platforms are uneven but since we were the only ones there it was no problem. It is a haul to get the water, probably 1/4 mile round trip up and down side of mountain behind shelter. No mice problems.
Caution, there is a known bear at this shelter who will visit you and take your food. we had our food hung up on the cable at the shelter and he got to it somehow. The journal indicated that the bear had been there everyu night there was a journal entry. We saw several folks on the tril who inidcated the same. One report said that he had sat on a tent with people in it and he did not leave even after they thriough rocks at it. He is getting bolder and just a matter of time before someone gets hurt. Got reports that a bear had taken foor from folks at the Roaring Fork and Deer Park shelter. Suggest camping somewhere other than at the shelters in this area and carry bear spray and hang your food high and between trees.
Tennessee Viking
04-27-2008, 20:27
I heard last year that a bear was visiting Walnut Mtn and started playing with a hiker like pinata while he sleeped in his hamock.
What's the current status of the bear problem at Walnut Mountain Shelter? Any recent serious problems?
Pedaling Fool
09-15-2008, 16:12
I'd say, let the bears have that shelter.
sheepdog
09-15-2008, 21:42
What's the current status of the bear problem at Walnut Mountain Shelter? Any recent serious problems?
Yeah, I'm hiking it in a couple weeks. How is the water? Is the bear still a problem?
Pedaling Fool
09-15-2008, 21:48
Yeah, I'm hiking it in a couple weeks. How is the water? Is the bear still a problem?
I don't know how the water is doing in that area, but the water source at Walnut Mountain Shelter sucks.
I'm back from Walnut Mountain Shelter.
The water source is not great--a stagnant puddle. If you're coming from Max Patch, there's a decent stream a mile before you get to the shelter that I should have filled up at.
No bear problem now. There's a new-looking set of bear cables for hanging food, both there and at Roaring Fork Shelter. Saw quite a bit of bear scat, but no actual bears. One guy tented next to the shelter and left a shirt hanging up there. Some critter apparently carried the shirt a few yards away before dropping it. He didn't see the animal, but thinks it was probably a raccoon.
The Carolina Mountain Club has been doing some heavy-duty privy work this summer. The privies at Walnut Mountain Shelter and Deer Park Mountain Shelter are set over new holes now.
The spring near Deer Park Mountain Shelter was dry today, even after all the rain we had this week. I didn't check the water source on the other side of the trail.
Pedaling Fool
09-29-2008, 08:27
There's no substitute for having boots on the ground.:)
sheepdog
10-01-2008, 20:50
I Just hiked from just north of Hot Springs to Uncle Johnies in Erwin. It rained all day Friday Sept. 26th and off and on Saturday. Water is good now with the possible exception of Jerry's Cabin. Met a fellow WBer Oldgame.
Tennessee Viking
10-02-2008, 00:02
I Just hiked from just north of Hot Springs to Uncle Johnies in Erwin. It rained all day Friday Sept. 26th and off and on Saturday. Water is good now with the possible exception of Laurel Mountain Shelter. Met a fellow WBer Oldgame.
Glad to hear that you went ahead and hiked it.
sheepdog
10-02-2008, 02:46
Glad to hear that you went ahead and hiked it.
Thanks, It is a nice section to hike. We were very blessed to have a great veiw from big bald also.
I edited my first post, I think it was Jerry's Cabin that was low on water. I'll have to pull my notes out to be sure.
Berserker
06-24-2009, 12:41
Just curious, is there still a problem bear in this area? Also, how's the area for tenting (some of the previous posts suggest there is ample room at or near the shelter to tent)?
There's a new-looking set of bear cables for hanging food, both there and at Roaring Fork Shelter.
So there are bear cables at Walnut Mtn and Roaring Fork? Just want to confirm because cables are not mentioned in the 2009 ALDHA Companion.
Tennessee Viking
06-24-2009, 13:22
There is still a bear around Walnut Mtn Shelter I heard. A couple hikers played tug-a-war with the bear using food bags. I-40 to Hot Springs is big bear country.
Hawkeye P
06-24-2009, 13:53
I stayed at Walnut Mt. shelter on June 13th and back on May 2 of this year. Had no problem at all. There are cables and plenty of tent sites. Water is a pretty good hike downhill from the shelter so I would recommend grabbing some on the way up to the shelter.
TwoForty
11-09-2009, 00:11
I stayed here back in May of 2007. Shared it with another nice couple. Hung my food in the tree just to the left of the shelter (look at the shelter) and had no problems at all. Never saw any bear sign from Hot Springs to Standaing Bear and back.
I'm 6'1" and shelter was too short for me. Still cool to sleep in a really old shelter though.
Kerosene
11-09-2009, 10:26
I ended up setting up my tent in the cleared field below the shelter, looking out toward the lights of Hot Springs on a warm night in late October. I was glad that I was wearing long nylon pants when trying to break a trail through all those prickers, but I wasn't the first to tent in that field as evidenced by a small cookfire next to the large pile of logs in the middle of the field.
The shelter was built in 1933 and would be a tight fit for 6. The floor has been duct-taped in a few places to cover holes, but the walls and roof looked solid. However, you won't get much sunlight except at mid-day.
I got a few decent shots of the sunset by climbing up a little rock on the trail south side of the field above the shelter.
Postings are still out about bear activity at the Walnut Mountain and Roaring Forks shelters, so I used the cables by the shelter. The spring is still a big puddle despite all the rain that I had to clear of leaves to be able to effectively dip a 20-ounce bottle. Northbounders might do better to get water at the Lemon Gap tentsite, while SOBOs could try Big Rock Spring halfway up Bluff Mountain, or, if it's wet, a nice trickle in the vicinity of Cat Pen Gap during the descent.
BlindFaith
03-03-2010, 00:35
Hello Everyone!
Can someone confirm that Walnut Mtn. Shelter still exists? I've heard rumors that it and Roaring Fork Shelter were removed. Is this true?
Tennessee Viking
03-03-2010, 00:48
Roaring Fork was rebuilt and relocated closer to Max Patch a couple years ago. Walnut is still there. Be sure to bear bag far from the shelter during the warmer months.
grumpy&happy
09-06-2010, 16:22
Spent night in tent approx 100 yds North of Walnut Shelter. there are about 3 to 4 camp sites. Bear Cables were good, water is kind of far away (waaah) and a little drooopy pool with a pipe. But! We got all we wanted, filtered it, and it was GREAT! Cold Front Sat night brought brrrrr temps in the tent. No Bears in sight. Moved on to Hot Springs next morning about 12 mi away.