Printable View
Hi everyone. Any recent information on the Starks Nest warming hut? Specifically water. I've hiked past and stopped on the deck but never stayed the night. The EtoE guide says there's water and a privy down the sky trail. But how far and is it flowing this time of year. It seems like an awsome place to spend the night. Thanks for any thoughts. Mark S
It is certainly a beautiful spot.
There is a privy very close by, almost on the very summit of the little peak behind the chairlift. The LT when it approaches Stark's Nest from the north is on a ski trail; cross the trail, and there's the privy.
Word has it there is water down the mountain, but it's sort of an absurd trip -- .4 and about 600' downhill. You're going to be coming from somewhere, right? You're better off hauling from Theron Dean or from Glen Ellen Lodge, IMO. The Barton Trail down to Glen Ellen is a little bit out of the way too, but it's a pretty walk and not especially steep. It beats slogging down & back up a ski run, from my POV. You might even consider having dinner at one of the aforementioned spots & then going over to SN for the night. That way you haul less H2O.
Hi Miribela. Thanks for the reply. I'll be going south and wanted to skip Theron Dean. It's a bit small and hemmed in. But I can tank up there and bring my water with me. Once up on the ridge, though, I don't recall the water sources on the trail until Battell shelter, unless I walk down to Glen Ellen.
There's the water at Glen Ellen, as we've mentioned.
There's also a really nice little stream in Holt's Hollow, reached by a short side trail running west off the LT right where it emerges (southbound) from the woods onto a ski trail a tenth or two down from the Castlerock warming hut. This is roughly halfway between Mt. Ellen and Mt. Abe.
I fondly remember waking up in Stark's Nest in August 1979 during my SOBO LT thru. The sun was coming up over the Moose(?) Mountains and fog covered much of the valley. I think that the temp was in the high 30's when we started walking in wet (cotton!) T-shirt and shorts, which contributed to a fast pace!
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/file...tarks_nest.jpg
Sorry about the picture quality, but I think it was with one of those old 110-cartridge cameras.
Thanks for the replies. I think I remember passing the the spur/sign leading to water between Mt. Abe and Mt Ellen when I was going north a while back. And I looked in the LT trail this morning guide and it's listed on the route. Glen Ellen is a nice rustic place to stay but a long walk back to the trail first thing in the morning, especially for an old out of shape guy .
Water at Theron Dean, Stark's nest and a marked side route north of Stark's nest is unreliable. I've followed the marked water route north of Stark's nest twice - once (August '07) there was some movement in the water and I filled up, this year (early August) it was stagnant and definitely unappealing.
I personally stayed at starks nest warming hut this summer on my end to end trip and had excellent views of both the sunrise and sunset. We camped out on the top of the single chair lift area and a fellow hiker had actually hung his hammock on the single chair =]! We placed our tent accordingly and caught a great sunrise. If you continue north on the LT down the ski slope, you can catch an excellent view of the sun setting over Lake Champlain as well.Attachment 14575Attachment 14576Attachment 14577Attachment 14578
Can't wait to do it again some day,
happy trails everyone!
Stayed at Stark's Nest last night. It really is an awesome place. Many thanks to the people at Mad River Glen who allow hikers to stay there. As far as water goes, they have placed a rain barrel right on the porch. It's huge and I'd ass
Not sure what I did there........what I meant to say was I'd assume only a long rainless stretch would render it dry.
stayed there a few night ago. there is a water barrel which was almost full.
yep, awesome place to stay. rain barrel is a great service for a pretty dry area. I also suggest staying at Bromley but the water source is further down the mountain.