View Full Version : Shelter Journals off-season
When I thru-hiked, shelter journals were a big deal - we had no cell phones or internet so this was the best way for information to travel up and down the trail. I still really love them and wish that they were more common in all the shelters - especially off season - I rarely get to write in one in the winter which would be so cool because folks could see who was actually out in the winter weather - last year, I hiked CT in the snow - very few current registers - or really old. I'm finishing up section hiking Damascus South to Springer and will be in TN /NC this weekend - might take some replacement registerage with me ...
Ox97GaMe
01-11-2012, 00:55
Papa D,
We try to make sure that the shelters in the Smokies have a usable register during the winter. I think most maintainers try to make sure that registers are replaced when they get full, but there arent a lot of maintainers out on their sections from Nov-Mar, as it is difficult to do any actual trail work during this time if there is snow on ground or freezing temps.
I personally use this window of time to hike other trails that I dont have time for between April and October because of my committments to 'in-season' work trips.
I also encounter the problem with hikers using the pages as firestarter in the winter months. Most years, by march I might have half or three quarters of the pages ripped out of a journal.
strollingalong
01-11-2012, 01:13
that sucks about people ripping the pages out
Usually, when I start hiking in early spring the register from last fall is still there and waterlogged and destoryed by the winter.
In Mass, we swap out the registers in November. We use the collected registers to get some sense of the amount of use a particular overnight site gets. Not to useful in terms of absolute numbers, but helpful in spotting year to year trends or comparing use between sites.
Every couple of years we take them to the ATC Biennial and enter them in an auction to benefit the AT Museum. They don't bring more than a couple of dollars, but people like to have them for some reason.
Cosmo
WingedMonkey
01-13-2012, 23:18
In Mass, we swap out the registers in November. We use the collected registers to get some sense of the amount of use a particular overnight site gets. Not to useful in terms of absolute numbers, but helpful in spotting year to year trends or comparing use between sites.
Every couple of years we take them to the ATC Biennial and enter them in an auction to benefit the AT Museum. They don't bring more than a couple of dollars, but people like to have them for some reason.
Cosmo
I have the shelter log from October Mt. Shelter from 1992-93. It was started by Kay Wood. It's a fun read to go back to every few years.
Sarcasm the elf
01-13-2012, 23:19
When I thru-hiked, shelter journals were a big deal - we had no cell phones or internet so this was the best way for information to travel up and down the trail. I still really love them and wish that they were more common in all the shelters - especially off season - I rarely get to write in one in the winter which would be so cool because folks could see who was actually out in the winter weather - last year, I hiked CT in the snow - very few current registers - or really old. I'm finishing up section hiking Damascus South to Springer and will be in TN /NC this weekend - might take some replacement registerage with me ...
I'm a bit surprised to hear that you had trouble finding journals in the CT shelters. In my experience they've always been there. Sometimes they are waterlogged and dogeared, but I've always been able to find them.
Personally I enjoy looking through log books during off season even more than I do when the thru hikers are around. It's great to see who bothers to come around from November to April.
I have the shelter log from October Mt. Shelter from 1992-93. It was started by Kay Wood. It's a fun read to go back to every few years.
haha its like an old high school year book.
As of today, the register at Stover Creek shelter is on the last page.