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chris
11-06-2002, 09:47
Gorgeous setting with great ammenities, but unfortunately it is less than 3 miles from Newfound Gap, which means it is usually packed. Great views right from the shelter of the mountains. Bear cables, but no bear fencing. Privy of uncertain quality. Water is a piped spring just north on the AT, about 30 yards from the shelter. While this is a very pretty place, I'd stop for lunch and keep pushing north to Pecks or south to Double Spring.

smokymtnsteve
12-30-2002, 12:05
I love Ice h20 shelter and spent two weeks there as caretaker in late may of 2000...as a matter of fact The WEASEL stayed with me there the first night he got back on the trail ...after his daughters graduation(?)..picked him up as he was hitching out of gatlinburg and dropped him at the top of ole smoky.. clingman's dome parking lot..offered to slack pack him down to newfound gap where I was leaving my truck ..was even going to give him a spare key so that he lock his gear in the truck and pick it up on his way thru..but he explanied to me that he was no slacker...WALKING AND PURE AND NEVER SLACK..WATCH OUT MAINE THE WEASEL'S BACK...

in mid may the mrytle blooms just down the trail at charlies bunion...fabulous..spent a lot of time out on the bunion...I once saw a peregrine falcon there..

loved my experience as caretaker that season,,,would love to hear from any hikers that came thru..

Jumpstart
12-30-2002, 19:12
If memory recalls, wasn't this the shelter that had the pieces of the airplane all over the ground this year?

PushingDaisies
12-30-2002, 20:41
I don't know if Icewater did or not as I didn't go into the shelter area, but I saw pieces of a plane at Cosby Knob Shelter.

Maybe it was spread out over a large area.

chris
01-13-2003, 11:31
There isn't a plane wreck at Icewater. Parts of a plane are located at Cosby Knob shelter, though.

halibut15
10-02-2003, 21:47
I was through this summer on a section hike of the smokies. Noticed airplane parts @ cosby knob but also several hundred feet off the trail in the woods a ways before cosby

Mountain climber
11-06-2003, 13:42
I was there in April 2003 when they picked up the airplane and dropped it off via helicopter onto a truck in the Clingman’s Dome Parking lot.
Quite a site to see :eek:

onetake
11-06-2003, 14:26
I also saw pieces of the plane before in the woods before Cosby Knob and a big hunk at the Cosby Knob shelter This was in Oct. 2002.

Onetake

manzana
11-06-2003, 14:54
The piece at Cosby Knob has shrunk consderably in the last year. I dont know if people are burning it or taking pieces as souvenirs. I bet it will be gone in 04. No big deal I guess...

sleepy
11-25-2003, 00:02
Gorgeous setting with great ammenities, but unfortunately it is less than 3 miles from Newfound Gap, which means it is usually packed. Great views right from the shelter of the mountains. Bear cables, but no bear fencing. Privy of uncertain quality. Water is a piped spring just north on the AT, about 30 yards from the shelter. While this is a very pretty place, I'd stop for lunch and keep pushing north to Pecks or south to Double Spring.

I haven't hiked in the Smokies since 1990 and at the time I believe all shelters had bear-fencing. I know Ice Water Springs did. I also don't recall that any of them had bear cables, at least if they did, I didn't use them, just stored my pack in the shelter behind the fencing like most did. I may be mistaken, but that had been my experience since I first hiked the Smokies in 1969.

I understand that no bear fencing = bear cables, but why no fencing? Were bears ripping it out?

steve hiker
11-25-2003, 01:40
why no fencing? Were bears ripping it out?
Rangers took the fencing out in low mast years.

deeddawg
11-25-2003, 08:24
I understand that no bear fencing = bear cables, but why no fencing? Were bears ripping it out?

My understanding, based on something I read somewhere but can't put my finger on it right now, was that since people felt safe behind the fences, there was a tendency to feed/taunt the bears through the fence. Removing the fences is supposed helps encourage proper food practices and reduce the instances of habituating bears to human food.

sleepy
11-25-2003, 22:50
Thanks for your replies.

I suppose the reasons make sense. In the early 70's I was at a shelter somewhere in the south part of GSMNP--Russell Field?--with two experienced hikers who were there two days nursing blisters. They had spent the previous night with a group of kids who had been taunting a bear from behind the fence, feeding it and then poking it. According to them, the bear ended up slamming itself against the fence for a good part of the night. Way to go, kids!

I guess now, it's "you play, you pay"!

bigcat2
11-28-2003, 01:25
I have to agree w/ deeddawg about the cages. I had also read that they (GSMNP) were starting to take down the bear fences in order to promote proper storage for food at night. I suppose the thinking was, smarter ppl = less bears therefore no need for the fences. Just my opinion though. That was interesting though to hear about the kids. I hope they didn't get much sleep that night. :)

Grampie
11-28-2003, 11:01
During my 2001 thru I spent my coldest night at Icewater Shelter. The temp. went down to 8 degrees that night of April 18, 2001. It had snowed 5" the previous day. I froze in my 20 degree bag.
Grampie-N->2001

Baldy
07-24-2004, 13:59
When I was there in '97 there were no bear cables, just ropes inside the shelter with tin cans on them to hang our packs on. The spring was nice, though there isn't much of a pool to put your filter in (at least there wasn't in '97) so we used a collapsible bucket that our scoutmaster had and carried the water back to the shelter and filtered our water in the shade.

TakeABreak
08-21-2004, 00:09
While living in the area before and after my hike (99 - 02) I visited Icewater Spring on various occasions training and just hiking. I still the area sometimes for a hike while visiting friends in the area.

I talked to a couple of rangers about the fences and they said they wanted to remove all of the fences in the park eventually. They said the fence idea good when it came, but there to many stupid people who think that by the fence being there they do not have to use the cables.

And a lot of the stupid people leave the gates open at night or during the day while out exploring the area and bear and other critters wander in eat their and tare up the packs and then they rangers have to go and clean the mess and file a antoher (stupid person) report.

50 5 of the time when I hiked into Icewater, I could smell 100 feet away, if I could smell that far away, I am sure the bears cold to and were waiting to into the shelter.

No lie, I was there last december visiting and hiked out there and my friend is bacon I smell before we see the shelter, we got there was 5lb slab of bacon hanging the shelter, backpack laying around and no one to be seen. When someone appeared I suggested he hang the bacon and other food item from the cable and looked at me stupidly and said what cables?

I had to spend 20 minutes explaining to him the problems he was causing for himself and others. I don't think i liked me very well when I left.

B Thrash
09-18-2006, 18:30
If memory recalls, wasn't this the shelter that had the pieces of the airplane all over the ground this year?

I backpacked through this area in 1993 and and found parts & fragments of a military airplane that had crashed years before. The parts and fragments looked new when I saw them.

Brushy Sage
09-18-2006, 22:00
I hiked past there in March of 2002. Ice covered the trail and the front yard of the shelter, and I thought to myself that the shelter was appropriately named.

Ewker
10-31-2006, 22:53
I was up here this past weekend. Someone had put up a tarp to keep the wind out. It was cold, windy and some rain. The trees and bushes around the shelter were coated in ice.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/5/1/5/6/IMG_0033.JPG

freefall
10-31-2006, 23:21
I was up here this past weekend. Someone had put up a tarp to keep the wind out. It was cold, windy and some rain. The trees and bushes around the shelter were coated in ice.



Looks like the same tarp that was up back in March. It sure came in handy, the temps were in the teens and the wind was blowing!

BlackCloud
11-01-2006, 11:44
As of 10-10-06 the shelter and environs were in good shape. The overall condition, layout, and view from this shelter place it in my top ten.

I think I just got an idea for a new thread.......!

khaynie
11-01-2006, 11:59
As of 10-10-06 the shelter and environs were in good shape. The overall condition, layout, and view from this shelter place it in my top ten.

I think I just got an idea for a new thread.......!

Did you park at Newfound Gap? If so, did you have to get a permit for your car and one for the shelter? I was thinking of doing a loop hike from Newfound with one night definitely at Icewater Springs. That's an awesome shelter...

BlackCloud
11-01-2006, 12:32
Did you park at Newfound Gap? If so, did you have to get a permit for your car and one for the shelter? I was thinking of doing a loop hike from Newfound with one night definitely at Icewater Springs. That's an awesome shelter...

In GSMNP there are no parking permits. But you better have a backcountry permit anytime you backcountry camp in a national park. Fines can be imposed by rangers. In GSMNP reservations are required for shelters along the AT, leaving a few spots for thruhikers in season.

I can't imagine a good scene where permit holders are bumped by the "unpermited"!

Ewker
11-01-2006, 12:48
In GSMNP there are no parking permits. But you better have a backcountry permit anytime you backcountry camp in a national park. Fines can be imposed by rangers. In GSMNP reservations are required for shelters along the AT, leaving a few spots for thruhikers in season.

I can't imagine a good scene where permit holders are bumped by the "unpermited"!


since this shelter is so close to the road it does get people who don't have permits. They will tell you they do. You may have to ask to see it. I have heard of some problems because of this.

As far as thru-hikers, they have a few spots reserved for them yr round. I ran into a guy this past weekend who was section hiking down to Springer so because he was thru-hiking in the park he gets a spot. Now he has to register as a trhu-hiker at the ranger station to get one.

khaynie
11-01-2006, 13:01
In GSMNP there are no parking permits. But you better have a backcountry permit anytime you backcountry camp in a national park. Fines can be imposed by rangers. In GSMNP reservations are required for shelters along the AT, leaving a few spots for thruhikers in season.

I can't imagine a good scene where permit holders are bumped by the "unpermited"!

I meant to say could you p/u permits (backcountry or parking) at Newfound Gap. Thanks for clarifying the parking permits issue.

We p/u our backcountry permits last year just North of Davenport Gap since we forgot to in Hot Springs. Just didn't remember whether or not you could get a backcountry permit at Newfound Gap as this seems to be a good spot to park for many sectioners.

NINpigNIN
02-07-2007, 11:28
Just didn't remember whether or not you could get a backcountry permit at Newfound Gap as this seems to be a good spot to park for many sectioners.

If you called ahead to make reservations and have your confirmation # you can just write it on your backcountry permit. I cannot remember if you can get the permit and drop it off at Newfound Gap, but the backcountry reservation office is at Sugarlands Visitor Center which you'll be driving past if you're coming from the north, and if it is before or after hours you can self register there as well.

If you didn't call ahead for reservations you'll have to stop at the backcountry office to make one for shelters and the few rationed campsites in the park. Good luck getting in at the last minute, if you're going to do that you should have 3 or 4 alternative routes in mind just in case. You can make reservations beginning 30 days out and I've found it's best to try and make them exactly 30 days out for best results.

My understanding of the rule is that thru-hikers don't need permits but if the shelter is full they're reqiured to use their tents at the shelter site. And they are the only people allowed to use tents on the A.T. in GSMNP.

I talked to a park Ranger a couple years ago and he said that on New Year's Eve one year he went up to Mt. LeConte Shelter and found 30 people in it, not one of them with a permit (the shelter only holds 12 I believe). I don't remember what the fine amount was, but it was substantial enough that I wouldn't consider trying to squat w/o a reservation/permit unless it was an emergency.

Chris_Asheville
02-07-2007, 12:30
Is anyone familiar with the shelter S. of Cosby Knob in the Smokys called Laurel Gap? Looks like we're going to spend an evening there this weekend.

NINpigNIN
02-07-2007, 12:42
Looks like we're going to spend an evening there this weekend.

What's your route for this weekend? I was considering a hike out-and-back to this shelter late next month (I'm introducing some friends to backpacking and wanted to give them a short and relatively easy route for their first time), but the shortest routes to this shelter are off of Balsam Mountain Road or Straight Fork Road, both of which are closed for the season (until May I believe).

We may push back the trip to allow for this route anyway, so I'd like to hear about this shelter as well.

Gray Blazer
02-07-2007, 12:43
Is anyone familiar with the shelter S. of Cosby Knob in the Smokys called Laurel Gap? Looks like we're going to spend an evening there this weekend.I could be wrong, but if memory serves me right, tri-corner knob shelter is the next shelter S on AT. Davenport Gap shelter would be next shelter N on AT. I think the shelter south of Camp Creek Bald is Laurel shelter.?.

Chris_Asheville
02-07-2007, 12:46
Gray,
I was mistaken. The shelter is S. of Tri-corner off the AT. It's about 5 miles South down on the way to Cataloochee.
NonPig, we are starting at Newfound on Friday, heading up to Peck's Corner for the night and down to Laurel Gap Sat. night. Sunday we are hiking out to Cataloochee. It's a tough 30 miler. I am, as well, taking a baby who has yet to do more than 6 miles.
I'll let everyone know about the shelter. As far as I know, it has a bear fence around it.

Gray Blazer
02-07-2007, 13:29
Gray,
I was mistaken. The shelter is S. of Tri-corner off the AT. It's about 5 miles South down on the way to Cataloochee.
NonPig, we are starting at Newfound on Friday, heading up to Peck's Corner for the night and down to Laurel Gap Sat. night. Sunday we are hiking out to Cataloochee. It's a tough 30 miler. I am, as well, taking a baby who has yet to do more than 6 miles.
I'll let everyone know about the shelter. As far as I know, it has a bear fence around it.I thought maybe that was what you meant by s of Cosby. I haven't been there. I've been along Sterling Ridge to Cataloochee Balsam and then N to Tri-corner. The Blasam Ridge(?) trail to the AT was pretty overgrown at the time. Have fun. It is a beautiful semi-remote area.

earplug94
05-13-2010, 10:59
Boy- the memories of this place. Used to go up to this shelter in my early 20's all the time. Around the early 90's. I always remember the night hike up to it with ice crystals everywhere and the lights below. That area really speaks to my soul. I've included a drawing I did of the shelter in the early 90's. Boy- did it look different then. Just remember the mice of Icewater! The dreams and possibilities this life affords and that age came together and created many great nights of dreaming beneath the stars. I hope others find it as great as I do. Happy trails.

earplug94
05-13-2010, 11:03
Sorry - here is the drawing in horizontal. :)

Hikes in Rain
05-13-2010, 11:40
Wow! That's snazzy!

TD55
05-13-2010, 11:52
Nice.........

Rain Man
05-13-2010, 13:56
That sketch must be of the "old" version? Are we talking Icewater Springs Shelter? It doesn't look like that for some time now.

Rain Man

.

earplug94
05-13-2010, 14:23
Yeah- I drew it in 1991 after a weekend trip I took in that area. It really was so different then.

RollTide
02-28-2017, 06:22
https://youtu.be/5UbhM94iFQw

Wolfpacker
02-28-2017, 09:35
I was up here this past weekend. Someone had put up a tarp to keep the wind out. It was cold, windy and some rain. The trees and bushes around the shelter were coated in ice.

https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/5/1/5/6/IMG_0033.JPG

Spent my first night on the 64AT, as a Boy Scout, in 1964 in this shelter. It has surely been improved!!!

PGH1NC
02-28-2017, 09:36
Nice! Now if we could dub in "Sunrise" from Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite.