View Full Version : Shelter Registers
FritztheCat
08-05-2008, 20:51
In reading about adventures on the AT, I started wondering about shelter registers. What happens to these? I imagine the various AT clubs along the trail replace them when they're full (don't know for sure but this makes sense to me) but what do they do with them? I would think they would be great reading.
Lone Wolf
08-05-2008, 21:03
In reading about adventures on the AT, I started wondering about shelter registers. What happens to these? I imagine the various AT clubs along the trail replace them when they're full (don't know for sure but this makes sense to me) but what do they do with them? I would think they would be great reading.
used to be individual hikers would place them in there with an address to send to when full. now clubs hoard them for no reason. actually shelter registers belong no more than bibles or other stuff
used to be individual hikers would place them in there with an address to send to when full. now clubs hoard them for no reason. actually shelter registers belong no more than bibles or other stuff
I find a broom to be particularly offensive.
Lone Wolf
08-05-2008, 21:16
and LNT posters
Signs pointing to the spring can be rather off putting too.
minnesotasmith
08-06-2008, 08:44
actually shelter registers belong no more than bibles or other stuff
They're arguably a safety device, not to mention if an LD hiker has a family emergency back home, they can speed up the hiker getting notified. I can see a LOT more use to a register being left in a trail shelter than I do someone's spare copy of "Earth in the Balance", "Das Kapital", or the like. ;)
Lone Wolf
08-06-2008, 08:46
They're arguably a safety device, not to mention if an LD hiker has a family emergency back home, they can speed up the hiker getting notified. I can see a LOT more use to a register being left in a trail shelter than I do someone's spare copy of "Earth in the Balance", "Das Kapital", or the like. ;)
i disagree. they're there for entertainment and gossip
minnesotasmith
08-06-2008, 08:58
i disagree. they're there for entertainment and gossip
Highly useful info on trail angels, shuttlers, hostels, motels, outfitters, restaurants, etc. to go to or NOT to go to. An entry in a shelter register is arguably a lot more discreet than business cards or flyers posted to the wall of a shelter. Would you rather more hikers brought electronics (cell phones, gizmos that can access the Internet, etc.) to trail campsites & shelters to access the same information instead? I think that shelter/campsite registers are the best possible compromise between being low-key (keeping the woods experience), and making useful experience available to those who want it.
Lone Wolf
08-06-2008, 09:01
registers don't belong in shelters
minnesotasmith
08-06-2008, 09:03
registers don't belong in shelters
Please defend your position, taking into account the functions they serve (that many or most hikers consider legitimate), and the relative desirability of any substitutes.
Kerosene
08-06-2008, 09:25
registers don't belong in sheltersCareful, LW, this is perilously close to agreeing that shelters belong on the trail! :D
Cabin Fever
08-06-2008, 09:28
Our club uses them primarily as a safety device. We would not put them in shelters if not for that.
max patch
08-06-2008, 09:37
I have a couple registers that I left in GA shelters from the early 90's that are signed by LW (and WF and some other names you'd all recognize from forums.)
So I guess that means that (a) LW reads registers, and (b) LW goes into shelters to get said registers.
Tipi Walter
08-06-2008, 09:55
registers don't belong in shelters
OR: Shelters don't belong near registers. Here's an idea: Get rid of all of the still-warm teats of Syphilization(shelters), and on the bare spot they once stood place a ziploc bag holding a trail register. Let people cluster around the bag until it rains and then watch them scatter.
Lone Wolf
08-06-2008, 09:56
I have a couple registers that I left in GA shelters from the early 90's that are signed by LW (and WF and some other names you'd all recognize from forums.)
So I guess that means that (a) LW reads registers, and (b) LW goes into shelters to get said registers.
used to read 'em, used to sign 'em
Shelter registers are a number of different things . . .
•Sheer information, about hiker whereabouts, nearby amenities on-trail and in towns, maybe even a warning about something or someone in the area
•Sheer entertainment. Some of our tribe can be quite creative.
•Community. For each year's "class" of thru-hikers (and section hikers, weekenders, etc.) the current register is their "yearbook" at a given shelter.
•Assistance for shelter maintainers. Hikers post notes in the register about issues they perceive (examples: leak in the roof, copperhead living in the rock wall of the firepit, privy floor needing repairs).
•Historical value. Taken as a collection, shelter registers provide a real-life year-to-year, decade-to-decade, generation-to-generation look at the most famous hiking trail on the planet.
Did I leave anything out?
The hiking club I volunteer with, PATC, doesn't "hoard" registers just to be selfish. They archive them at their offices in Vienna, VA. They are in a reasonable state of order, I understand. Anyone who wants or needs to see them needs to merely call PATC and make the proper arrangements. IMHO it serves a greater good to have the filled registers all in one place than scattered throughout the land collecting dust in folks' attics.
max patch
08-06-2008, 10:27
99% of the entries in a register are entertainment. sometimes directions to a hard to find water spot, sometimes bear sightings. its like a comic book. not a fact filled guide to the trail.
LW's comments are much closer to the truth than MS's.
canoehead
08-06-2008, 10:32
I would call them a resouce of information ( good & bad & funny sometimes) nothing more nothing less. Not a big deal, if you want to partake please do if not well then thats OK to.
Lone Wolf
08-06-2008, 10:35
how in the heck can anyone hike the PCT or CDT without registers and shelters every 10 miles? :-? it must be horrifying :eek:
how in the heck can anyone hike the PCT or CDT without registers and shelters every 10 miles? :-? it must be horrifying :eek:
Truly terrible....
Lone Wolf
08-06-2008, 11:13
Truly terrible....
i mean, how are folks gonna know if joe bloe's hostel is closed or if suzy's market is out of ben & jerry's? i would NOT want to be in that situation.
Monkeywrench
08-06-2008, 11:21
I learned a couple of my best jokes reading shelter registers.
buff_jeff
08-06-2008, 13:36
used to be individual hikers would place them in there with an address to send to when full. now clubs hoard them for no reason. actually shelter registers belong no more than bibles or other stuff
Yeah, I was reading a register somewhere just north of Pearisburg and apparently a hiker packed it out and asked that it be sent to him when full, so he added his address to the register. A club member must have come back and crossed out his address and asked that it be redirected to them. I believe it was RATC, but I'm not sure.
My typical register entry (when I bother) "EZ in EZ out"
used to read 'em, used to sign 'em
Used to sleep in 'em too I'd bet and betcha you used to hang your food too! :D
CDT register in Pie Town, NM.... (http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=36&g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=14461)
The best register was one in Lincoln, MT that went back to the late 70s!
IIRC, there were perhaps 6 or so registers I read on the CDT (not counting permit station ones).
Dang. I never considered that all those shelter register entries communicating where to party were for my safety. :-?
Dances with Mice
08-11-2008, 17:00
registers don't belong in sheltersIf shelters didn't have registers people would start writing in all those bibles.
If shelters didn't have registers people would start writing in all those bibles.
What bibles? I have rarely seen a bible in New England shelters. Must be one of them southern babtist things. :confused:
Dances with Mice
08-11-2008, 17:02
What bibles? I have rarely seen a bible in New England shelters. Must be one of them southern babtist things. Heathens! You're all going to hell!
Heathens! You're all going to hell!
With all the other blue blazers. ;)
Dances with Mice
08-11-2008, 17:06
With all the other blue blazers. I bet your athiestic shelters don't even have snakes to handle.
I bet your athiestic shelters don't even have snakes to handle.
Since they are full of mice, I would guess not. I have seen snakes on the trail, plenty of times.
Gray Blazer
08-11-2008, 19:03
The shelters I saw this summer in NC/TN were a mess. Lotz of trash. Really disgusting. I packed a lot out, but, there was too much.
The Hermit of Little Bald maintains the Little Bald shelter log. I'm not sure what he does with it when it's full.
how in the heck can anyone hike the PCT or CDT without registers and shelters every 10 miles? :-? it must be horrifying :eek:
Why not try one of those trails some day and find out for yourself. :rolleyes: For a guy that never stays at shelters, you're awfully well versed in the do's and don'ts of shelter etiquette.
Lone Wolf
08-11-2008, 20:40
Why not try one of those trails some day and find out for yourself. :rolleyes:
:rolleyes: i have :rolleyes: i've hiked quite a bit out west :rolleyes: a LOT more than you ever will :rolleyes: didn't see or use any shelters :rolleyes:
Hoop Time
11-03-2008, 09:48
registers don't belong in shelters
If I recall from another thread, you would also say people don't belong in shelters!
By the way, it is my understanding a collection of registers will be part of the AT Museum when it is completed. If memory serves, they are actually working to acquire as many as they can because they often end up in a box in some storage room.
Stay away from the shelters if you don't like what they have to offer.
Everybody seeks the trail for their own reasons and experience. Some are livid with the presence of shelters. Some (like myself) love staying at some shelters.
I don't use women's restrooms, so who the hell am I to complain about whats in them?
As I recall, its a "hike your own hike" world... i use the AT to get away from people telling me what to do... to preach to others about the way things should be is blasphemy.
Lone Wolf
11-03-2008, 10:22
By the way, it is my understanding a collection of registers will be part of the AT Museum when it is completed. If memory serves, they are actually working to acquire as many as they can because they often end up in a box in some storage room.
back in the day hikers would put them in shelters with an address to send to when full and promise some goodies in exchange. now the clubs have to have them.
BobTheBuilder
11-03-2008, 10:22
It would be great if the various hiking clubs would get them back when full, then scan them and post them on their club websites. It wouldn't take much effort (a half hour per journal, maybe?), and it would be the most interesting thing I could think of to do with them.
You could always delete the occasional obscenities first before posting. Just a suggestion.
Lone Wolf
11-03-2008, 10:27
As I recall, its a "hike your own hike" world... i use the AT to get away from people telling me what to do... to preach to others about the way things should be is blasphemy.
shelters and registers have nothing to do with god
shelters and registers have nothing to do with god
I agree with you... and my use of blasphemy had nothing to do with any god either.
from http://mw1.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/blasphemy
blasphemy:
Function:noun
1 a: the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b: the act of claiming the attributes of deity
2: irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable
How about that? A word with two meanings! Exciting times, I know! I used the 2nd definition by the way. I consider the phrase of "hike your own hike" to be a sacred edict.