View Full Version : Kephart Shelter
NINpigNIN
02-07-2007, 12:24
Anyone ever stayed at Kephart Shelter? It is probably a bit far off the trail to be considered a valid option for a thru-hiker (or section-hiker) but I may be planning a stay there soon and can't find out anything about it other than location.
Does it have cables or a fence (or both)? I assume the water source is good since is is near Kephart Prong. Is there a privy?
Any information is good information. Thanks!
photo from 2003: http://thumb7.webshots.net/s/thumb2/6/34/6/123863406hOjVhk_th.jpg (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1123863406053232647hOjVhk)
photo from 2006 : http://www.pbase.com/thughes/image/58473301
Little larger photo from Webshots.com
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1123863406053232647hOjVhk
I've never hiked in the Smokies, but when I finally do make it down there to hike I plan on staying at this shelter at least one night. Why you ask? Well the shelter (and the mountain) are both named after my great-great grandfather Horace Kephart.
Figure I'll pay homage by staying the night at the shelter....
max patch
02-07-2007, 17:29
Little larger photo from Webshots.net
How old is that picture?
The chain link should be gone by now.
Brushy Sage
02-07-2007, 17:29
That's great, Chemist. Are you planning to visit his gravesite in Bryson City, and maybe spill a wee toast of "mountain dew" while you are in the area?
How old is that picture?
The chain link should be gone by now.
as you can see from the time stamp the picture is from 2003 - the newer picture I posted from 2006 does show the fence gone
Hikerhead
02-07-2007, 19:13
Looks like it now has a nice new overhanging roof above a picnic table.
NINpigNIN
02-07-2007, 23:46
Great news. And perhaps more importantly, did they add a privy?
Renovated Kephart Shelter
http://www.troop8bsa.com/P8110120.JPG
I stayed there in `91, isnt that far off trail (not steep either) and has good water or did then. I seen nothing wrong with it.
RAT
Baum Trigger
02-18-2007, 01:29
I recently stayed at Kephart in Jan. '07. Good Shelter. No ugly chain link fence and there are "picnic style" seating and table areas under the outstretched roof. Sorry no privy at this place, dig a hole and squat. If coming down Dry Sluice Gap Trail be cautious, a nasty rock slide has caused approx. 20-30ft. of trail to disappear and a misstep could have you fall 50 or so ft. into the stream below. Hope this was helpful.
Fannypack
02-18-2007, 11:31
I recently stayed at Kephart in Jan. '07. Good Shelter. No ugly chain link fence and there are "picnic style" seating and table areas under the outstretched roof. Sorry no privy at this place, dig a hole and squat. If coming down Dry Sluice Gap Trail be cautious, a nasty rock slide has caused approx. 20-30ft. of trail to disappear and a misstep could have you fall 50 or so ft. into the stream below. Hope this was helpful.
This loop hike report, 8-27-05, mentions the Kephart Shelter (fence is still there then) as well as many sidetrails used during the hike.
http://www.mtleconte.com/JFOL.htm
sliderule
02-18-2007, 16:25
I've never hiked in the Smokies, but when I finally do make it down there to hike I plan on staying at this shelter at least one night. Why you ask? Well the shelter (and the mountain) are both named after my great-great grandfather Horace Kephart.
Figure I'll pay homage by staying the night at the shelter....
You also don't want to miss campsite #57 on the Deep Creek Trail. There is a small monument there, commemorating Mr. Kephart's last "permanent" campsite.
sliderule
02-18-2007, 16:27
I stayed there in `91, isnt that far off trail (not steep either) and has good water or did then. I seen nothing wrong with it.
RAT
I stayed there in '75. The shelter had those terrible wire mesh bunks back then.
NINpigNIN
03-14-2007, 11:37
Eeyore and I stayed the night there on 3/3. The Kephart Prong Trail coming up from the road is probably one of the easiest trails I've hiked in the smokies (wide and in some spots you can actually see chunks of the pavement; this used to be a jeep road I believe). The old walls, chimey and sign make for some great pictures, and the shelter itself was great.
That day we expected (according to weather.com) highs in the low 50s and an overnight low of 26 or so. With a mostly clear to partly cloudy outlook ("we don't want to guarantee anything so say there's a 10% chance of precipitation").
What we found was temperatures in the low 40s (with winds up to 50mph or so making it feel much colder), and an overnight low of around 15 (thank goodness the wind was blocked by the shelter otherwise my 0 degree bag may not have been sufficient). And by 7am on Sunday there was 2.5 inches of snow on the ground. Eeyore and I agreed that the hike out on Sunday would quite possibly be the best hike we've ever done. Simply amazing!
We shared the shelter with six others; four older gentlemen from all over and a really nice couple from Asheville. Hopefully our snoring didn't keep 'em up all night. :)
Eightiesguy and I are leading in two n00bs at the end of the month using the same route, and I've got plans to take some of my fellow cub scout leaders who have never backpacked on this same trip later in the year. This seems like a great route for a "backpacking for beginner's" trip.
NINpigNIN
03-14-2007, 11:45
[quote=NINpigNIN;338806]Eeyore and I stayed the night there on 3/3./quote]
Oops, I meant rsle, not Eeyore.
NINpigNIN
12-15-2008, 13:12
It appears I will be visiting this shelter again twice at the end of the month. My 8-year old son and I, and possibly WB user rsle, are planning on a short 3-night, 4-day excursion. Hiking in from Newfound Gap Road along Kephart Prong Trail to the shelter on day 1. Then up Seat Heifer Creek Trail to the AT and over to Icewater Spring shelter for night 2. Further on the AT past Charlies Bunion and back down Dry Sluice Gap and Kephart Prong trails back to Kephart Shelter for day 3 and hike out on the 4th day the way we came in. Shouldn't be too terribly challenging so long as there isn't a major ice storm or anything like that. Hike in on 12/27 and out on 12/30.
bloodmountainman
12-15-2008, 14:27
I've never hiked in the Smokies, but when I finally do make it down there to hike I plan on staying at this shelter at least one night. Why you ask? Well the shelter (and the mountain) are both named after my great-great grandfather Horace Kephart.
Figure I'll pay homage by staying the night at the shelter....
Horace Kephart is a hero of mine. I have read his biography and his two most famous works, "Our Southern Highlanders" and "Camping and Woodcraft".
Glad to know his family is still out there in "the back of beyound".
Here is a quote from his boigraphy, written by Jim Casada.
"Another cause for which Kephart crusaded in the 1920's was the establishment of the Appalachian Trail. Writing virtually anyone who would possibly wield any influence in making the trail a reality, he personally delineated the route it should follow through his beloved Smokies."
OldStormcrow
12-16-2008, 10:39
photo from 2006 : http://www.pbase.com/thughes/image/58473301
Geez, what a crowd! Almost as bad as the AT shelters around Hot Springs after Trail Days. Glad I only hike in the Smokies in the winter!
Plodderman
12-16-2008, 11:17
Stayed there in the early 90's. Removing all the fence in the Smokies at the shelters and doing some improving. Glad to see that it has improved.
NINpigNIN
01-02-2009, 14:50
Stayed here 3 nights earlier this week with my son and WB user rsle. This shelter is a great one.
(We had planned on being there on night 1 & 3 of our trip, with a stop at Icewater on night 2. However, heavy rains both prior to our trip and during day 2 made the crossing of Sweat Heifer Creek about halfway up Sweat Heifer Creek Trail to the AT unsafe to attempt with an 8-year-old, so we had to turn back and crash at Kephart Shelter.)
Had lots of bear activity on Sweat Heifer above Kephart Shelter this summer.
SoggySoxSaga
09-10-2011, 10:41
I spent a night there after about a 10 mile hike up from Smokemont. Very nice hike along Bradley Fork and up Richland Mountain. I saw 3 bears about a mile out from the shelter while I was coming down Grassy Branch trail. One was a cub who climbed up a tree like a cat with it's tail on fire! The shelter was in great shape and fairly clean. I guess it has been updated in the last few years and now has a porch/overhang. The wood around the camp was wet so I had a time making a fire to heat some water. Watersource is approx. 50 feet away in the Kephart Prong. There are six food storage cables between two set ups. No privy. I had the shelter to myself and was able to sleep good in the low 50's temps. The next morning I left via the Kephart Prong trail. This is a very easy hike with lots of interesting remains from a CCC camp. I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd give an update to anyone heading to Kephart Shelter.
(I also wanted to stay in the Laurel Gap Shelter but it is closed for renovations.)
Dave
Mr. Bumpy
09-10-2011, 11:27
That shelter is sweet and is a touchstone for us because that is the first overnight we took our son on when he was three. Make sure you hit it in the summer when you can enjoy the creek. I was there a year ago and have a dim memory of a moldering toilet there now, but I might be mistaken.
Tenderheart
09-10-2011, 17:05
Horace Kephart also had a large hand in the establishment of the GSMNP. You have reason to be proud. Somewhere on this site are the GPS coordinates of his cabin on Hazel Creek. You could search and find it. Enjoy your hike.
Pudwoogie
02-23-2012, 13:40
I just stayed at this shelter this past weekend. It is a very nice place. They have cables and it is right next to a water source. We did encounter two bears but they were a ways off and didn't bother us. Overall I enjoyed our stay here
NINpigNIN
05-06-2013, 17:13
So because I love this shelter and the park that much, I stayed there again on a 4-nighter the weekend before and week of Thanksgiving 2012, along with Bear Bait (my then 12-year old son) and Eeyore (WB username rsle). Beautiful as always, and never hurting for a water source!