Favorite Shelter On The AT

[Josh Calhoun]

I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT

[Gambit McCrae]

Met some good folks at rocky run in MD last Oct.
I enjoy the meadow by Overmountain
Mountaineer shelter up by Mountaineer falls and 19e
Roan high knob is cold lol

[atmilkman]

Blood Mountain. Gonna be a lot who don't understand but me and that shelter go way, way back. Long before the time of entitlement.

[flemdawg1]

Chestnut Knob Shelter, great cabin, beautiful views atop a ridgetop meadow and a great spring-fed pond nearby. Great place for a dip on a warm day.

[RED-DOG]

1 Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To in ME, it has an Awesome swiming hole, a view, just an all around great location.
2 Birch Run Shelter in PA.

[rafe]

Coolest structure: Bryant Ridge Shelter, VA. My favorite for siting (view, ambience): Pearce Pond Shelter, ME.

Oddly enough, I can't abide enclosed stone shelters like Blood Mtn. and Chestnut Knob.

[LIhikers]

I've only hiked 900+ miles from Harper's Ferry to the first shelter in ME so far, so I haven't seen all the shelters yet. Of the ones I've seen I like the Stratton Pond shelter in Vermont best. Nice location and a nice design.

[Cookerhiker]

Pierce Pond in Maine because of the setting very close to the lake (pond).

[Sarcasm the elf]

Favorite shelter on the trail? Tarptent Double rainbow.

Watching the sunrise from Riga Shelter and the tent platform near Tom Leonard leanto is impressive as well

[MuddyWaters]

I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT

Its still a nasty little shelter, with 2 person table, and wet area in front cause thats where the spring is. Much better to camp on the hill above. To top it off, its basically in the trail, you have to walk around it.

[Cookerhiker]

Its still a nasty little shelter, with 2 person table, and wet area in front cause thats where the spring is. Much better to camp on the hill above. To top it off, its basically in the trail, you have to walk around it.

At least it's a very short walk to the water source - perhaps the second-shortest on the AT after Rausch Gap in PA. Some of the ones in Maine are also close.

[daddytwosticks]

I am sure this has probably been done a dozen times but im still going to do it again. What is yalls favorite shelter on the AT. I passed by many awesome shelters last year but my favorite might suprise you. Cold Springs shelter just south of Wesser NC and the NOC was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is an old Log style shelter and only sleeps 6. Up until last year it was severly run down and had several large holes in the floor. The Nantahala Hiking Club Renovated it in 2013 with a new floor. "Nantahala is Cherokee for Land Of The Noon Day Sun". Anyway, on on of my very first practice hikes in 2012 i did Winding stair gap to NOC. during that time i got sevearly dehydrated coming out of Burningtown gap. I was trying to push myself way to hard in the middle of summer.i had to lay down in the middle of the trail for well over a hour sipping on water before i had the energy to hike the last 1 mile to the shelter. I spent the night there alone except by the company of 1 small mouse. i was woke up every couple of hours by critters walking around the shelter. The next morning i laid there watching the woods slowly lighten up as the sun creaped over the trees. After that trip the shelter has always stuck out in my mind. It is and always will be my favorite on the AT

Not my favorite, but a nice little shelter. I stopped there yesterday for a mid-morning break and boy was it buggy! I know what you mean about that climb up to Cold Springs Shelter from Burningtown Gap. It's not steep, but seems to go on forever until you literally bump into the back wall of that shelter. My favorite shelter, south of the Smoky's, has to be Plumborchard Gap! Cool 3 level structure, good water source even in drought, and plenty of tenting spots behind the shelter.

[coach lou]

Favorite shelter on the trail? Tarptent Double rainbow.

Watching the sunrise from Riga Shelter and the tent platform near Tom Leonard leanto is impressive as well

Riga and Beaver Brook.......The Sunrise

[Ricky&Jack]

ive only been to 1 shelter so far.

So I guess "Black Gap Shelter" near Springer wins by default.

Photo 611.jpg

since it was my first shelter, I had no idea that the water source was a solid 10minte (round trip) down/up hill.

But luckily I ran into another water source just 5minutes before I found the shelter that was only a few seconds from the trail.

[ChinMusic]

Pierce Pond

I was not forced to sleep in it and I had a great view from my tent.

[Ricky&Jack]

I wish shelters had numbers on them so I could easily recognize their location by the number.

I keep looking up everyones replies to this tread so i could mark the shelter location in my guide.

(if there was a universal numbering system, that would be nifty for shelters.... such as shelter 1,237 would be "1,237 miles from springer"....... or "GA01 would mean its the first shelter in georiga".

But I like looking up all the shelters everybody recommends, and finding the locations so I can mark them. Ive been looking up photos of them.

[coach lou]

I wish shelters had numbers on them so I could easily recognize their location by the number.

I keep looking up everyones replies to this tread so i could mark the shelter location in my guide.

(if there was a universal numbering system, that would be nifty for shelters.... such as shelter 1,237 would be "1,237 miles from springer"....... or "GA01 would mean its the first shelter in georiga".

But I like looking up all the shelters everybody recommends, and finding the locations so I can mark them. Ive been looking up photos of them.

Google them.....you will get a view.

[Ricky&Jack]

yeah, i started doing that last night. comes in handy/fun

[jimmyjam]

So far Bryant Ridge Shelter

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

[ChinMusic]

So far Bryant Ridge Shelter

I thru-hiked last year and had to look that one up. What is special about it?