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Former Admin
09-29-2002, 22:40
Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Tray Mountain 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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Stats: ?

Hammock Hanger
09-30-2002, 08:39
Nice piped water in back. Plenty of places for tents. Nice spot to walk out a bit and watch the sunset. -- However, during my April 01 hike when I got there, belly full from Boy Scout Feed the Hiker Day it was infested with gnats. I was given a different name but can't pronounce it. Supposedly GA's rendition of the BLACK FLY!!! I had hoped for a little afternoon siesta but was almost driven insane with the buzzy and biting. Left my sticker in the journal and RAN away. -- I stayed there during Nov with my family and it was very pleasant. Hammock Hanger

chris
09-30-2002, 08:51
The water source is much closer than the 800 yards that the Companion lists. Maybe 200.

Jumpstart
09-30-2002, 13:19
What I rememebr about Tray mountain was an incredible sunset, and an amazing amount of wind that funnels directly into the shelter, 4 of us hung our tents over the shelter opening to keep the wind at bay most of the night....

bjackw
03-17-2003, 12:45
Q: How many thru-hikers can you put into a shelter?
A: How many you got?

I spent Saturday night at the Tray Mountain Shelter with 11 others (all thru-hikers) packed in like sardines. Amazingly, there was very little mouse activity. (I imagine all the bodily noises created by the mass a people scared the rodents away.) BTW, Sunday morning dawned with a stunning sunrise. Very good water source too.

Youngblood
06-22-2003, 11:16
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=348&papass=&sort=1

Chip
05-14-2004, 21:09
We stayed in our tent. This shelter was dirty compared to other shelters in GA. Mice poop everywhere. ;)

Tha Wookie
05-14-2004, 23:33
It gets very cold on a cold night. It's wet on a humid night. There's wild boars that make it a regular stop. There'a a constant amount of trash in the firepit. Great sunrises. It's my favorite area on the trail.

Lilred
05-15-2004, 10:50
It gets very cold on a cold night. It's wet on a humid night. There's wild boars that make it a regular stop. There'a a constant amount of trash in the firepit. Great sunrises. It's my favorite area on the trail.


Stayed there on a very cold Nov. night. The wind came up over that mountain and straight into the shelter. Gorgeous views in that area.

Rain Man
05-15-2004, 12:37
Stayed there on a very cold Nov. night. The wind came up over that mountain and straight into the shelter. Gorgeous views in that area.

ALSO..... great views of the lights of towns in north Georgia at night.

This shelter isn't far from one of the forest service roads, so it's easy for locals and city folk to frequent the shelter and area.

Tha Wookie
05-17-2004, 21:46
This shelter isn't far from one of the forest service roads, so it's easy for locals and city folk to frequent the shelter and area.[/QUOTE]
Have you seen the locals in that area? From my experience, it seems most of them never leave that road. I think the uphill to the peak keeps most locals away from the shelter area. But I guess I'm a semi-local (60 miles), and I go up there all the time. I always see this guy in his jeep with the same woman. Then again, he always sees some crazy hippie-looking redhead dude. Locals are alright... it's the boars we should be wary of.

windwalker
07-29-2004, 18:06
Nice shelter. It can get very dirty at times. Mice have been quests every time I have been there. Awesome views if you camp near rocky area. Saw 2 bears on the way up. Wow! No boars though.

English Stu
04-30-2005, 16:21
I was there in late October last year southbound to Springer ,there was heavy rain all afternoon and it got dark earlier than I thought and I was wary of missing the shelter sign and having to tent in the rain.Very relieved to see the Shelter and got even wetter going for the water .The rain was so hard it was reaching half way into the shelter so had to sleep parallel to the opening which I am not keen on as you cannot see out as much and the register mentioned bears-I was alone -I thought surely its too wet even for the bears.The Georgia lights looked great ,next morning was dry and there are super views.

jackiebolen
05-01-2005, 17:06
I had my worst night on the AT at this shelter...just picture me and 2 other girls with a bunch of redneck, pot-smoking, drinking, snoring 40 year old men. Mix in that with a 50 or so boyscouts and that equals a bad, bad time. My advice is to avoid on weekends.

Brushy Sage
05-01-2005, 18:24
Four or five "local" people were there, along with their dogs. They had put plastic sheets over the front of the shelter to keep the wind from blowing in so hard. I believe they might have welcomed me, but I elected to hike on.

walkin' wally
05-01-2005, 19:13
So what is up with these boars? I was wondering what threat they present, if any? Will they take a run at someone? I haven't read that much here at Whiteblaze except that they are destructive.

Happypappy
05-01-2005, 20:40
So what is up with these boars? I was wondering what threat they present, if any? Will they take a run at someone? I haven't read that much here at Whiteblaze except that they are destructive.


Wild boars can be VERY dangerous at times, and yes, they have been known to charge at people. They grow tusks (large canines) that rub on each other and stay quite sharp. Fortunately, here in Pa. they are found only on large fenced in hunting preserves.

Footslogger
05-01-2005, 22:51
My favorite story regarding Tray Mountain shelter is from my wife's (BadAss Turtle) 2001 AT hike. I was hiking along with her from Springer to Franklin that year. We got into the Tray Mtn Shelter area about 4 in the afternoon and joined about a dozen or so other thru hikers ...among whom was a hiker named Texas Jack. After pitching our tents and having a little dinner I headed off for water and stumbled into a rather sizable pile of bear dung. I asked around if anyone had heard of or seen any bears in the area and Texas Jack came over to personally inspect the dung heap. After carefully studying the pile of waste, he proclaimed that the bear who had left that deposit was a 300 pounder. I stood there in amazement ...totally shocked that anyone could pinpoint the size/weight of a bear based on the excrement.

No realy point to this story ...but it gave everyone at Tray Mtn Shelter that night good cause for laughter and I have never forgotten it.

'Slogger
AT 2003

fiddlehead
05-01-2005, 23:32
A few thoughts on this shelter:

1/ i have fond memories here because i met 2 great friends who i hiked many miles with one night when i got in after dark after some folks at Blue Mt Shelter ( i think that's the name of the next one south) told me i'd never make it to Tray that night. (i love a challenge like that)
2/ the weather is more bad than good. Of the 5 or 6 times i've hiked that part of the AT, i've had more bad weather experiences than good. but that doesn't mean they were bad experiences (see #1)
3/ Slept in my homeade tent (the wedge ) in front of the shelter in '95 and had a horrendous storm that night. (i got wet and had to make a few changes in the design the next day)
4/ Played the "Dead's" version of "Dark Hollow" there for a bunch of locals one time and one of them later told me it was his favorite song.
5/ It's all downhill in the mornin!

RockyTrail
05-02-2005, 09:23
A few thoughts on this shelter:

5/ It's all downhill in the mornin!...Kelly Knob:eek:

max patch
05-02-2005, 11:51
In 1984 a hiker died of hypothermia at the shelter. Some people -- not me, unfortunately -- claim to sense the presence of a ghost here.

tech30528
05-13-2006, 19:59
I hike this section quite a bit in the summer. Unicoi Gap is less than 20 miles frrom my house. I don't camp there much, it is usually my turn around for the in and out. I'll remember to leave a broom up there next time. I occaisonally gather wood and put it under the shelter to dry for the campers, and sometimes leave a roll of toilet paper in a Ziploc, sometimes tea light candles and disposable lighters. The real local crowd rarely climbs the mountain. I've lived here going on 5 years, and have never driven to that parking area at the base of the mountain.

The elevations on this in and out are challenging, with three big climbs and three long drops. I've done in with a day pack in 4 hours. Last time I was there (seeing a friend off for a week with his son), I was coming down Rocky to Unicoi Gap so fast my ears were popping. And yes, the boars will charge you. They are very territorial, but will not persue you for long if you run. They just want you out of their space. Be sure to hang your bag, a boar can seriously mess you up. If you get in an area you can't run away from one, get a tree between you and the boar. They attack on the run, and are not very agile. It will get frustrated shortly and leave you alone.

tech30528
05-13-2006, 20:12
ALSO..... great views of the lights of towns in north Georgia at night.

This shelter isn't far from one of the forest service roads, so it's easy for locals and city folk to frequent the shelter and area.

The town you see off to the west is Helen. It's about 8-10 miles south of Unicoi Gap. Actually, you have to go thru Robertstown first, but that's really just a village, and doesn't throw much light. The town to the south west is Cleveland, where I live. If anyone is in the area and wants to take a night off, let me know. My wife works at a hotel in Helen, and can get discounted rates for hikers. Helen is a cool little Bavarian village tucked away in a valley, and is really something to see. Lot's of great places to eat and drink, lot's of little shops, during the summer and thru Oktoberfest it's a biker's paradise. Check out the International Cafe. The best Reuben you ever had, 24 ounce drafts, and a covered deck overlooking the Chattahoochie river. You can catch a 2 hour tube ride down the river for $3, including the bus ride up the river to your starting point. I love living here.:sun

Tha Wookie
05-13-2006, 20:34
The town you see off to the west is Helen.

Helen is mostly due south of Tray. "South-southwest" approx. 200 degrees.

It is Blairsville that is due west.

Cleveland is more west than Helen from Tray Mt., approx 215 degrees.

here's a map http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=helen,+GA&ll=34.703235,-83.653336&spn=0.254025,0.688019&om=1

Tray Mt. is just north of the junction of Tray Mt. Rd. and Indian Grave Gap rd.

Mountain Man
05-13-2006, 22:37
In 1984 a hiker died of hypothermia at the shelter. Some people -- not me, unfortunately -- claim to sense the presence of a ghost here.

I've never sensed the presence of a ghost in the shelter but one night as I tented close by I was awakened by someone hollering pretty loud. I got up to see what was going on and a hiker sleeping in the shelter got bit on the finger by a mouse. I told him before he went to sleep that the mice had been bad and he might want to tent, but he said the mice didn't bother him. Maybe it was the ghost that bit him. :) One hiker i know of was run in the shelter by a wild hog. I use to maintain this section from Tray Gap to the shelter and all the times I've been there I haven't incountered a hog, although seen lots of places where they had been rooting. Also the GATC will soon be redoing the shelter and I believe a picnic table and a new moldering privy.

bulldog49
11-02-2006, 14:55
Whoever made the decision to face this shelter in the direction it faces, is an idiot. This place is totally useless in wind and rain.

bigmontana
11-02-2006, 15:10
My highest dangerous wildlife count in a mile comes from this area: 2 very large rattlesnakes and 1 copperhead all directly on the trail within 3/4 of a mile of each other (spotted Aug '06).

drdewrag
11-02-2006, 22:26
...Kelly Knob:eek:

You're not kidding! Kelly Knob is a butt kicker at the end of a day's hike!

freefall
11-02-2006, 22:52
You're not kidding! Kelly Knob is a butt kicker at the end of a day's hike!


I love how it is not even mentioned in the Data book! one heck of a climb but love the shelter location for hammocking.
The wind does cut into this shelter- one of the reasons I didn't stay in there (besides using a hammock).

Oddjob
11-03-2006, 10:09
Beautiful Views from Tray. You aren't kidding about Kelly Knob. That is a difficult climb, it comes out of nowhere (with no warning from the data book).

RAT
11-03-2006, 17:49
I remember my first time at Tray Mtn. Shelter. `91.There was this weird middle aged dude called himself The Pilgrim , it was obvious he had been living there for several days, was very ecentric, had a HUGE Goblet for a drinking apparatus for ex., and I made the mistake of asking him about his trail name, that ended up into a 30 minute conversation where it became clear he was suffering some sort of mid-life crisis and wasnt the sharpest knife in the drawer, and was very paranoid about the weather. It was a lovely sunny day with onyl a few wispy white clouds, but he looked at those clouds with fear and did not want to leave. Granted it had been raining for two weeks straight already, but we eventually crowded in (5 of us in our gnarley family) and he apparently couldnt handle being around people so he moved on. Nice views indeed, pretty area to camp in. Climb up was fun. (of course I was 50 lbs lighter then lol)

RAT

springerfever
11-03-2006, 20:33
Definately an interesting shelter with a good location. I remember a few years back, hiking out of Unicoi in April with a pretty good snowfall going on. Passed an old-timer in Frogg-Toggs huffing it up over Tray mountain. He finally pulled in the shelter about an hour later and proceeded to pull out his cooking gear. He pulled out the biggest canister of propane I have ever seen, must have weighed 15 pounds easy.

He was quite a character, believe he was from Massachusetts. Kinda hunchbacked and knomeish looking and quite a conversationalist. One of the ridgerunners out of Walasi-Yi had to catch up with him cause he had forgotten to sign his travelers checks for gear he had purchased.

Characters on the trail, really add to the enjoyment !

RAT
11-03-2006, 20:53
That is so true, from that day on we have always said "looks like a Pilgrim day, lets hike" !!! (in ref. to his having to be perfectly clear before he would hike !)

RAT

danbsc
05-26-2007, 23:17
I was just up there the other day. I have slept there about a year back. There are some good improvements, moldering privy(wheelchair accessable), The shelter was painted gray and the floor had been replaced. (no more holes) Also the sides have picnic table style seats. So its better than it was, not like the old set up was that bad.

Monkeyboy
07-10-2007, 22:06
Ate lunch there 7-5-07.

Good water source. Lots of trash that we hiked out. Lots of flies and bumblebees during the day.

Walkingdude
09-19-2007, 14:17
My first trip to the Tray Mountain Shelter wasn't that great. We were young, inexperienced section hikers and had planned to stay exclusively in shelters and only took ponchos in case we could't get into a shelter. We arrived at Tray Mountain to find it packed with "Rainbow People". I talked to one of them, and was informed that they'd been living there for two weeks! I kept hoping for a ranger to stop by so that he could clear them out, but of course that didn't happen. So I ended up sleeping on the ground under my poncho in a light rain.

In those days (early 70s) the shelter was new and was referred to as the Mont Tray Shelter.

I've stayed there since, and had it all to myself on one occasion.

Crazy_Al
10-25-2007, 13:30
In 1984 a hiker died of hypothermia at the shelter. Some people -- not me, unfortunately -- claim to sense the presence of a ghost here.

I do not think there are ghosts there, but I saw a family of bigfoots.
They hogged the shelter, so I had to tent camp nearby.

whitefoot_hp
10-25-2007, 16:36
Whoever made the decision to face this shelter in the direction it faces, is an idiot. This place is totally useless in wind and rain.
keep in mind the shelters are designed to be cool during the summer....

not exactly ideal camping locations in cold/windy/wet weather.

pitdog
11-30-2007, 15:53
On my first thru hike I met a man trying to stick his hand in his mouth.I watched him for a while than I started acting as crazy as him.Soon he left and some other hikers seen him on the ground stairing at the ground,and the hikers asked me what was up with that dude.I said he didnt like my company.

mbanja
12-07-2007, 22:56
Stayed there last weekend 12-2. I took my neice for her first backpacking trip. I wanted to give her a pretty good taste of how the trail could be and I certainly remembered the climbs up Rocky and Tray so I figured it would be good. There were a ton of people out, including some who drove an RV to the parking lot at the base of the Mtn and proceeded to drink themselves sick. Thankfully, they dared not venture up the hill.
Met a late teen-early twenties male with a giant red beard. Looked a little tweaked out and was dashing off to be picked up by friends at Indian Grave Gap to go to a party. As he turned to walk off, I noticed he had a 3-4 foot shiny metal sword strapped to the outside of his pack. He had signed the register "Sugar Blade". Kinda reminded me of the hare from Alice in Wonderland on drugs.
The shelter was too cold for my neice, who at 2am decided to join my other friend in her tent. The shelter was just fine for me. The bear cables are great and saved a ton of time hanging. Had a nice toasty fire courtesy of a giant dry dead tree about 20 feet from the shelter. easy pickins, and suprisingly no one else had thought to go for it.
There was about three gallon size ziplock bags of plastic and foil trash in the firepit that I packed out.
The spring was great. I was really worried about water levels but it was flowing just fine and the spring box under the pipe was about a foot deep.
Someone told me once that the concrete platform next to the spring was an old ranger's cabin. Found a glass jar not too far away from there with a rusted metal screw top that said "grapefruit TANG". Wonder how long that was there - but decided that it needed to be removed...
Big downside for me was the city lights from Blairsville and Helen. Clear skies were good for stars despite tree cover, but the lights just kinda took away from the great shelter location. Lots of good level campsites nearby. Good times. I asked the neice if she would be interested in hiking again - and she said yes, but would !like to stay out longer next time!

briarpatch
12-11-2007, 18:53
... Had a nice toasty fire courtesy of a giant dry dead tree about 20 feet from the shelter. easy pickins, and suprisingly no one else had thought to go for it.
There was about three gallon size ziplock bags of plastic and foil trash in the firepit that I packed out. ...


You do know there is a fire ban for all of the AT in Georgia due to the drought? :eek: Should make the upcoming through hiker season interesting, if it doesn't get lifted.

Thanks for packing out the trash, we really appreciate it!

Briarpatch
GATC Volunteer

BlackCloud
05-27-2008, 18:31
I would like to say that this shelter probably had the finest grassy camping area with a view to it that I've seen yet. Very nice.

The bear cables were convenient. The tarp to block the wind was stupid, if not noisy. Of the 12 people there on 5/24/08, only one stayed in the shelter.

Of the other 11, 3 were Neanderthals, and 2 were Crow Magnon.

The latter opted to camp ON the water source, as in 5 feet away. They cooked & ate on the cement piling over the spring. Their dog ran absolutely loose & didn't get along well w/ the Neanderthals' dog at all. Oh, & they started a firepit down there where previosly there was none. When I broached the subject of their violations, it didn't go well.

The Neanderthals were little better. They used a saw & ax to chop, cut, tear down, and otherwise collect firewood. Then, @ 10:00pm, and in the dark, they decided to try to hang a bear bag. Instead of informing them that they were absolute Fing morons, I told them of the bear cables, 20' distant.

"Yea, we know", they said. Then they went & used the bear cables. They left food & pots out anyway. What was IN their bear bags I'll never know. But I would guess about as much as is in their heads.

bloodmountainman
05-27-2008, 18:51
Tray Mountain Shelter..... Applachian Opium Den.

MOWGLI
05-27-2008, 18:57
I would like to say that this shelter probably had the finest grassy camping area with a view to it that I've seen yet. Very nice.

The bear cables were convenient. The tarp to block the wind was stupid, if not noisy. Of the 12 people there on 5/24/08, only one stayed in the shelter.

Of the other 11, 3 were Neanderthals, and 2 were Crow Magnon.

The latter opted to camp ON the water source, as in 5 feet away. They cooked & ate on the cement piling over the spring. Their dog ran absolutely loose & didn't get along well w/ the Neanderthals' dog at all. Oh, & they started a firepit down there where previosly there was none. When I broached the subject of their violations, it didn't go well.

The Neanderthals were little better. They used a saw & ax to chop, cut, tear down, and otherwise collect firewood. Then, @ 10:00pm, and in the dark, they decided to try to hang a bear bag. Instead of informing them that they were absolute Fing morons, I told them of the bear cables, 20' distant.

"Yea, we know", they said. Then they went & used the bear cables. They left food & pots out anyway. What was IN their bear bags I'll never know. But I would guess about as much as is in their heads.

Exhibit A for avoiding shelters.

bigmac_in
05-27-2008, 19:01
Exhibit A for avoiding shelters.

Agreed - and there are an infinite number of exhibits.

Bulldawg
05-27-2008, 19:41
You're not kidding! Kelly Knob is a butt kicker at the end of a day's hike!

I stopped just short of Kelly Knob the other week simply to avoid climbing that beast late in the day.

Bulldawg
05-27-2008, 19:42
Tray Mountain Shelter..... Applachian Opium Den.

Elaborate please?

Dances with Mice
05-27-2008, 20:18
A couple week.... ok, over a month ago I spent 2 nights there as a staging area for maintenance of my trail section (...and all y'all know how I never miss a chance to oh-so-casually drop that bit of info into a thread, any thread...) when two older, way over-the-hill ( ... about my age ...) couples arrived right after sunset and proceeded to fuss at each other as only long-married couples can. My co-maintainer and I tried to shush them because the shelter was full of already asleep hikers. The couples were, to be nice, kinda oblivious and continued their loud talking and general rudeness as they set up their tents nearby and prepared their suppers.

The next morning I'm up early as usual and took a walk over to the other, more scenic, summit to watch the sun rise. On the way back to the shelter, right beside the two couples' campsite, was a huge pile of noodles dumped on the ground. I was P.O.'d.

Back at the shelter the hikers were stirring so I sat down with a big cup of coffee and bitched about those two rude couples, how they had no sense of wilderness ethics, how could anybody be so STUPID to dump an entire pot of noodles out on the ground next to their tentsite didn't they know this would attract animals, how could anybody be so clueless, so stupid, so totally freakin' ignorant?!!! I went on and on about this as everyone packed up and headed out.

The couples were late to awake. The hikers had mostly cleared the area. But when I saw movement I stomped over to confront them about the noodles. I got blank looks back in response. "But we all had rice for supper last night."

Oh. So whoever did the dumping was among the crowd at the shelter where I'd spent all morning venting about the noodles. Come to think of it, some of them were being awful quiet about the whole situation.

On my way back to the shelter I noticed that somebody had already scraped up the noodle pile.

Bulldawg
05-27-2008, 20:25
I picked up a few handfuls of trash out of the shelter during my lunch there a few weeks back BTW Dances. I can send you my REI wish list if you need it.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::D:D

hopefulhiker
05-27-2008, 21:49
Trail marking


http://209.200.85.146/trailjournals/photos/trailjournals/3005/tj3005_051105_211226.jpg

Mrs Baggins
05-28-2008, 05:55
We were there in March 2007. Wouldn't know how good the tent sites were because a huge boyscout troop had covered every inch of the area. Then they picked up every piece of downed wood for their own fires. Five of us slept in the shelter (after the adults with the troop stopped using it as their personal lounging area). We had no mice problems at all and no wind.

Egads
05-28-2008, 06:48
I suppose that someone in the shelter was trying to even the score with the obnoxious couples:D


A couple week.... ok, over a month ago I spent 2 nights there as a staging area for maintenance of my trail section (...and all y'all know how I never miss a chance to oh-so-casually drop that bit of info into a thread, any thread...) when two older, way over-the-hill ( ... about my age ...) couples arrived right after sunset and proceeded to fuss at each other as only long-married couples can. My co-maintainer and I tried to shush them because the shelter was full of already asleep hikers. The couples were, to be nice, kinda oblivious and continued their loud talking and general rudeness as they set up their tents nearby and prepared their suppers.

The next morning I'm up early as usual and took a walk over to the other, more scenic, summit to watch the sun rise. On the way back to the shelter, right beside the two couples' campsite, was a huge pile of noodles dumped on the ground. I was P.O.'d.

Back at the shelter the hikers were stirring so I sat down with a big cup of coffee and bitched about those two rude couples, how they had no sense of wilderness ethics, how could anybody be so STUPID to dump an entire pot of noodles out on the ground next to their tentsite didn't they know this would attract animals, how could anybody be so clueless, so stupid, so totally freakin' ignorant?!!! I went on and on about this as everyone packed up and headed out.

The couples were late to awake. The hikers had mostly cleared the area. But when I saw movement I stomped over to confront them about the noodles. I got blank looks back in response. "But we all had rice for supper last night."

Oh. So whoever did the dumping was among the crowd at the shelter where I'd spent all morning venting about the noodles. Come to think of it, some of them were being awful quiet about the whole situation.

On my way back to the shelter I noticed that somebody had already scraped up the noodle pile.

Roots
05-28-2008, 07:28
I had the best night when I camped at Tray in April. There were about 6 in the shelter, and about 9 tents set up. We had a great time. We sat by the fire and told stories. It was the same day I met Colonel Chaco and he and I had trail magic in the form of BEER (thanks to a guy named Peanut) at Tray Gap. It was a good day.

KG4FAM
05-28-2008, 08:10
When I was there this April there was a guy that is attempting a thru that went into Helen and picked up a 12 pack of PBR and a bottle of rum and carried it from Unicoi Gap up to Tray Mtn shelter. He ended up drinking 6 of them on the way up with another guy and passing the rest of them out to everyone who wanted one and shared a little bit of the rum as well.

Bulldawg
05-28-2008, 11:48
When I was there this April there was a guy that is attempting a thru that went into Helen and picked up a 12 pack of PBR and a bottle of rum and carried it from Unicoi Gap up to Tray Mtn shelter. He ended up drinking 6 of them on the way up with another guy and passing the rest of them out to everyone who wanted one and shared a little bit of the rum as well.
I read about that guy in the shelter register when I was there earlier this month!!;)

minnesotasmith
05-28-2008, 12:08
When I was there this April there was a guy that is attempting a thru that went into Helen and picked up a 12 pack of PBR and a bottle of rum and carried it from Unicoi Gap up to Tray Mtn shelter. He ended up drinking 6 of them on the way up with another guy and passing the rest of them out to everyone who wanted one and shared a little bit of the rum as well.

It was one that was half a mile or so off the AT, so almost nobody else was going there.

I saw this terse, yet eloquent, entry in the register:

Name, date, "I have decided that packing in a six-pack and a carrot cake was one of my better ideas". Ah, the sheer hedonism (not to mention open envy) that picture brings to mind... :D

Newb
05-28-2008, 15:16
When I was there this April there was a guy that is attempting a thru that went into Helen and picked up a 12 pack of PBR and a bottle of rum and carried it from Unicoi Gap up to Tray Mtn shelter. He ended up drinking 6 of them on the way up with another guy and passing the rest of them out to everyone who wanted one and shared a little bit of the rum as well.

I was there that night, lol. I ran into him at Trail Days and can't for the life of me remember his name. Grizzly was also there. That was a good night on the AT. Got cold that night. I fell face first into the trail the next morning because I couldn't feel my toes. My big toe-nail is still black.

Oh, to prove my case of actual presences at the shelter that night I will confirm that it was "Sailors' Rum"

daddytwosticks
04-18-2009, 15:44
Overnighted here last night. The location is as beautiful as ever. Stars were amazing. As usual, it was very crowded and was glad that I tented. There are still a number of thru-hikers in this general area. Spring was flowing great and water all along the trail from Unicoi to Tray Mtn shelter was plentiful. :)

gungho
04-18-2009, 19:13
Hey Ray........****ters full

Dances with Mice
04-18-2009, 20:33
Hey Ray........****ters fullI ain't got one on my section.

Ridge runner mentioned a blowdown on my section so she's passed through the area. I ass-ume the appropriate authorities are going to get to the bottom of this with the proper paperwork and they'll keep us filled in.

daddytwosticks
04-19-2009, 13:32
Speaking of ****ters...the privy at Tray Mtn shelter has some counter gizmo you step on when using the Throne. It's supposted to be used in determining how many hikers it takes to fill 'er up. I had a double-helping of tortellini the night before and did my part in this highly scientific study. :)

Dances with Mice
04-20-2009, 23:02
Speaking of ****ters...the privy at Tray Mtn shelter has some counter gizmo you step on when using the Throne. It's supposted to be used in determining how many hikers it takes to fill 'er up. I had a double-helping of tortellini the night before and did my part in this highly scientific study. Well, you should have stepped on the gizmo twice then.

briarpatch
04-21-2009, 11:03
Well, you should have stepped on the gizmo twice then.

Ah yes, the crapper counter. Its set to only record one "deposit" in a given time period (I think its 4 minutes?). Otherwise the typical scout troup that jumps on the matt 50 times would seriously skew the results.

star
04-30-2011, 23:07
Stopped by shelter for lunch yesterday. Clean and well taken care of. No trash. Tent site here have a gorgeous view! I plan on going back in a few weeks and camping there.

Patrickjd9
05-10-2014, 08:42
Swatted and killed a mouse that ran over my back while sleeping in this shelter last week. Agree with earlier posters that the tarps over the front are obnoxious.

blazercoach
03-27-2016, 10:59
Spent a night here last week. Tent instead of shelter. The bear-bag lines are not 10 yards from the shelter.......weird. Best part was the rock outcropping facing east in the morning. Great place to eat breakfast and warm up.

rafe
03-27-2016, 13:11
Tray Mtn. shelter 4/9/1990.

cneill13
03-28-2016, 14:34
I hiked up Tray Mountain two weeks ago for an overnight campout parking in Indian Grave Gap at the base of the mountain.

The hike from the parking lot was 3 miles, 2 1/2 to the top of the mountain and then 1/2 mile down the north side to the Tray Mountain Shelter.

The actual peak of the mountain is fairly small but with a very nice view. (Sorry no pics of view.)

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Then an easy stroll down to the shelter area.


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There were many thru-hikers at the shelter with a nice water source to the right of the shelter down a trail. A platform, supposedly from an old Ranger station, is by the water source.

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There is a cliff right by the shelter to watch the sunset. One of the best shelter spots in Georgia. However, a few people were throwing up the next day. Rumor has it that the Norovirus is present at this shelter so be careful. I camped in a hammock and luckily stayed away from the shelter.


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I did cook my dinner on the side of the shelter area. This mouse somehow got inside my Doritos bag that I was careful to keep upright. No idea how he got in. He sat right next to me the whole time I cooked my dinner not scared at all. He must be used to getting fed from the hikers. Once I wouldn't give him my food, he went back up the wall to his house.


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A great time in the woods.

Carl

box
07-11-2016, 10:14
Me and a buddy were there about a week and a half ago and really enjoyed the area. The views were amazing the sunset, the night views and the sunrise. The tent camped and we were the only people in the area so we were able to spread out. The only thing we didn't like were the amount of Gnats and bees around, but eventually i started a fire and the smoke really helped keep the bugs at bay. The water source is good.

fghester
07-24-2016, 20:15
Was just there last week on my Springer to Bly Gap section hike. Nice enough shelter, lots of tent sites around it, close to AT, good water source about 0.2 miles down hill behind the shelter. I was joined by three other hikers and we all tented / hammocked about 30 yards in front of the shelter but used the shelter to hang and dry wet gear out of the rain.

JC13
07-24-2016, 20:34
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Tray Mountain Shelter 7/12/2016

JC13
07-24-2016, 20:38
Bah, that's Blue Mountain... Got my pics mixed up. Tray is the home of the legendary 6 foot rattlesnake. Found where he had shed his skin under a log we had been sitting on. Apparently I didn't take any pics of the 5 of us setup in the shelter. Just pics of the views.

The Roaming Gnome
10-03-2016, 15:41
ALSO..... great views of the lights of towns in north Georgia at night.

This shelter isn't far from one of the forest service roads, so it's easy for locals and city folk to frequent the shelter and area.

I agree. There is an additional clearing away from the shelter and near the ridge that I hung my hammock and had a beautiful view of the town lights below. If I recall there was also an additional fire pit there too.