Fullhardt Knob Shelter (VA)

[Kerosene]

Basic 6-person design with uncovered picnic table and fireplace. Located about 3 miles from road to south (VA-652), but requires an 1,100-foot climb.

Moderate amount of tent space. Limited direct sun. Unsure of privy or water.

[Sleepy the Arab]

It should be added that the water source for this shelter is roof run off from a cistern. Ah, those happy days before the worries of acid rain and uh... roof detritus!This was one of four such shelters on the AT; it is now the only one.

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea, the Fullhardt. I pulled in dar in years ago ...phew...after da 1'000 or so up from Troutville....and der was dis lady dare who looked kinda' strange ya kno....she had a dress (full cotton), looked to be in here 50-60's and was a singin' up a storm...well now me bein a gentleman and wot, I saddles up on da picnic table after stowin da gear to sees whas goin on wid her....And she begins dis big disertation, after an intro an howdy. Shes a goin' on an on bout how she's been usurped by da Royalty in England....says she's da true heir to da Throne of England! Well, now I was all curious by now...an listnin'...she said she was the illigitimate child of George VI and Wallace Simpson. When dey (The Queen and rest of Family) found out Simpson was bornein' a chile, had it delivered, then made contact wid an American couple in Alabama (of all places) and farmed her out for 7,000 dollars. She was raised by a Alabama couple...has a decidedly Southern accent, she does. So, she tells me that bein' the chile o' George VI, makes her da tru Heir! What a story....I guffed 'bout dat one all da way to Maine! The Queen, I met Da Queen Of England on da Trail....ha..ha..ah..ha.........! >>>>------------KZ@----------> AT-Ga-Me-'96

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'Go forth, Oh Warrior Bold, With Death Thou Eye Must Reckon'....H. C. Anderson....The Steadfast Tin Soldier

[ALL DAY]

The lady you were talking about was there August of 2003. I was on a SOBO section hike and was holing up before resupplying in Troutville. Man did that lady have multiple personalities. I got the English story. She also was from Georgia and California. I put on my radio and she kept talking. I was the only one there so I was praying for anybody else to trod up the hill. She was trying to sell a new looking tent already set up that made her allergic. She actually knew a lot of trail talk and was waiting on a check. A big check! Crazy Mary stories filled 3 1/2 pages of my journal. Anyways the shelter is basic and had copperheads all over the place. If I was'nt so tired and wet I wouldn't have stopped

[Toofarafoot]

I spent a night here alone just a few weeks ago; the thru-hiking "herd" hadn't arrived yet. The cistern water was funky tasting (tasted like the roof shingles), but it was welcome after the long 3.6 mile climb in 85 degree heat. Good place to have a pack of Koolaid though.

Toofarafoot

[BlackCloud]

Shelter was clean and uninhabitated for the nite. Truly atop a wooded knob, it had a nice winter-view ambiance to it as well as a unique rainwater roof cistern.

WASN'T DRINKING FROM THAT!

[spike]

Stayed the night on October 30. Cistern working fine -- good supply of water available.

[Mountain Dog]

THERE IS NO, I REPETE "NO", WATER AT THE SHELTER NOW. The cistern had been disabled and the pipe capped as of 10 July 2008. The gutter had been damaged by someone I suspect had planned water there and found the place dry. The gutter was nasty because the screen protecting it from debrie was damaged.

[f8lranger4x4]

Still No water

[d.o.c]

the pipe for water is broken.. u can pull it out of the ground. it seems as if it has become unscrewd and then packd full of mud somting should probly be done.

[Bucherm]

the pipe for water is broken.. u can pull it out of the ground. it seems as if it has become unscrewd and then packd full of mud somting should probly be done.

Good idea.

I see from your location you are a local. Pehaps you should consider volunteering with RATC.

[d.o.c]

ha i might thought about it befor..

[HikerMom58]

Just got back from a hike to Fullhardt Knob Shelter, near Daleville VA. We went up the old AT route- 1.4 miles straight up. We had an elevation change of 1,000 ft. over the 1.4 miles. Great workout. The shelter is looking really good. Brand new green roof, picnic table and privy. The shelter is clean and trash free. Fire ring looks great. The cistern has been cleaned out. We've had rain so it should be pretty full. New register book and working pen- check. The shelter doesn't smell like hiker funk at all...

Blue Ridge Parkway is still closed going North from Blue Ridge, VA.

[Hoofit]

How did it get a name like that?
I know of a fullhart knob but is there is a fullhardt knob out there?
Stayed at the shelter in 2010 and slept good.

[HikerMom58]

How did it get a name like that?
I know of a fullhart knob but is there is a fullhardt knob out there?
Stayed at the shelter in 2010 and slept good.

I know right? I never really paid much attention to the spelling either till recently. It's the same shelter that you are spelling as Fullhart Knob. I don't know where it got it's name.. Glad you slept well ..

[Blissful]

I believe the knob it is on is called Fullhardt Knob.

[Grand Poobah]

One of the coldest nights I had on the trail on my sobo last year. Got there at sunset, all the "firewood" was from some ass who cut down live trees. I found an old stump 100 yards away and got it going. A crazy person was "living" there so I strung up my hammock far away and kept my distance. Bunch of trash in and around the shelter. I personally carried out A full black trash bag full of trash. All the way to the gas station. No one would pick me up with the trash bag. Its a shame to see these people trash shelters.

[HikerMom58]

One of the coldest nights I had on the trail on my sobo last year. Got there at sunset, all the "firewood" was from some ass who cut down live trees. I found an old stump 100 yards away and got it going. A crazy person was "living" there so I strung up my hammock far away and kept my distance. Bunch of trash in and around the shelter. I personally carried out A full black trash bag full of trash. All the way to the gas station. No one would pick me up with the trash bag. Its a shame to see these people trash shelters.

No kidding - Grand Poobah... Man, I wish I had seen you. I would have picked you up. I did see someone mention a black trash bag, in the shelter register. (they were complaining about it attracting mice) Thanks for carrying it out. It looks good up there now, no trash.

As far as the crazy person "living" there.... Yeah, I tried to give everyone a "heads up" about someone living up there last summer. Some other hiker that I met, (Flash) wrote in his trail journal, this past summer, about "moving on" b/c of meeting such a person, up there. I would go up there more often, myself, but I don't hike alone or "check on" shelters by myself.

[WingedMonkey]

How did it get a name like that?
I know of a fullhart knob but is there is a fullhardt knob out there?
Stayed at the shelter in 2010 and slept good.

USGS topographical maps list the area south of the shelter as Fullhart Knob.

Genealogical and historical records of Botetourt County area show a family name spelled either Fullhart or Fulhart in court, marriage, and deed records. I found no spellings of the name as Fulhardt.

Early records would indicate that the family was in Botetourt County form about 1760's to 1840's and what was left of them migrated to Indiana and Ohio.

The earliest named individual was a Henry Fullhart recorded as being born in that county about 1768, so whoever his father was was probably the first of that family to settle the area.

It appears to me that someone named the shelter as Fulhardt (perhaps an original German spelling), probably the club that built it, and that people are attempting to attach that spelling to the knob.

[Southerner]

I did a quick day hike to Fullhardt Knob Shelter this evening, and it appears that there has been a very recent forest fire (there was still ash coming off of the ground where my trekking pole was hitting). The ground is pretty well scorched almost all the way around the shelter on the knob...maybe 1-2 acres. It apparently didn't get hot enough to burn any trees, just brush and the ground cover. Fortunately, the shelter, privy, and cistern system all seemed to have gone unscathed. Does anyone know what happened? I didn't hear about any forest fires in the area over the past week.