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Bonehead
01-09-2004, 10:47
How is this shelter. Mount Collins and Double Spring sound like dumps, is it worth it to push on to this one (sobo)?

gunner
01-09-2004, 14:18
How is this shelter. Mount Collins and Double Spring sound like dumps, is it worth it to push on to this one (sobo)?


I found it to be in great shape. Water point was fine. Double Spring is in terrible shape and access to water was equally bad. Except for the new M. Ridge shelter, Siler is the best of the string of shelters on the southern end of the Park.

chris
01-12-2004, 09:32
I'm not a real big fan of Silar Bald. Although renovated, it still has the bear fence up. The water source is puddle, albeit spring fed, next to the shelter. If you haven't been there before, or someone isn't around to point it out, it won't be obvious that it is the actual water source. It is a popular shelter for people hiking from Clingman's or Newfound Gap southbound, which means it attracts a high percentage of idiots. I actually prefer to stay at Double Spring, which has two good water sources, a really nice mouldering privy, and doesn't get as many visitors as Silar. It does have a bear cage and does not have a fancy porch, but it seems to be more quiet as most people are heading to Silar. In the winter, even in 0 degree temps, the water was still flowing well. Plus, in the winter, you get nice views as well.

Mount Collins is okay, with a reasonable water source a bit down the Sugarland Mountain trail. Privy is good. But, as it is a half mile walk from the road and close to Clingmans, it gets a lot of traffic. This shelter qualifies as the one having the highest percentage of lackwits staying at it. Granted, I was only there one night. My favorite one of the bunch was the middle aged fat guy wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a yellow rain slicker who berated me for not being prepared for the outdoors when I told him I was too lazy to start a fire and didn't know how (my favorite excuse for not starting a fire). It was in the low 40s and I was nice and warm and in to stay. I figured he was just out for a look, as he had no pack or anything. Then he pulled out a snickers bar and settled in for the night as well.

Note that if you are heading north and do not want to stay at Double Springs or Mount Collins, then Icewater is the next shelter and is a bit of a walk. Although a good shelter with a nice location, it suffers from seeing far, far too many tourists. Pecks, the next shelter, is one of my favorites.

NINpigNIN
06-13-2006, 10:57
Stopped by on Friday (6-9-2006) coming from Double Spring and heading for Derricks Knob. The shelter itself has been renovated and is in nice shape, and the fence has been removed (though the metal poles are still there). Still no privy however, and I don't know about the water source since we didn't need to get any. There was a young buck hanging out nearby that is pretty curious and not very scared of people that we encountered on our way out (and from reading the register and talking to others on the trail that day we weren't the only ones to come across him).