Telephone Pioneers Shelter - NY

[Former Admin]

Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Telephone Pioneers Shelter

Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories from here?

Future hikers - any questions?

[DebW]

Stopped here on a day hike May 14, 2003. Shelter was in good shape. Water supply is a good-sized stream crossed by a bridge on the spur trail to the shelter. Privy available, but I didn't check it out. Shelter is on a hillside. Maybe some campsites behind the shelter, but I didn't look too closely. Pleasant spot. Baltimore oriole seen in front of shelter.

[Hikerhead]

My mom is a retired Pioneer. She'll be glad to know her group helped to build this shelter.

[DebW]

What is a Telephone Pioneer? Seems an odd name for a shelter.

[Hikerhead]

It's just a club within the Bell family of phone companies. I don't know exactly what they do, but she sure does go to a lot of birthday dinners and breakfast. It's a social club so to speak.

[2XL]

I stopped by on March 14, 2004. Nice veiw overlooking the farm below, too bad leaves will block this view come spring. Sleter and privy in good shape. Shelter register said privy had a major bee problem last year. 4 tent sites.

Happy Hiking
2XL

[Twofiddy]

What is a Telephone Pioneer? Seems an odd name for a shelter.

YEP!!

My grandfather goes to Pioneer meeting twice a month, once for breakfast and once for lunch, it is a social club of people who used to use a tooth pick to make our telephone connections long before the days of mice running on wheels or computers.

Anyhow I sat at this shelter on one hot sweltering day last year in early JULY and had to eat my lunch under my bug netting!

SKEETERS WERE VISCIOUS!!

Then I got down the road to the AT train station and there was a road side hotdog stand in an old mini travel trailer. No bugs at that location!! SO I decided to have a very quick second lunch that day too!!

[whcobbs]

I visited this shelter 17 January 2005 accompanied by Mark L. A thru hiker headed South, handle "Greenhorn", was in residence with a dome tent pitched within the shelter. He was waiting out MLK day so he could pick up his US mail resupply in Pawling NY; he had started solo in the White Mountains in October. Water supply was a nearby gushing brook.

I LOST MY GLASSES IN A SOFT BLACK CASE in a fall about halfway down the hill below the shelter northbound toward the Pawling Natural area (icy). If you find the glasses please notify me either by private mail on this forum or at [email protected]

Thanks,
Walt

[Footslogger]

Kinda "over the river and through the woods" getting there but the shelter is OK. Not many good tent site however. I hit the shelter about 7 PM on my thru-hike in 2003 and called it quits. If I had known that the descent to the road and the walk/hitch into Pawling was so easy I would probably not have stayed there.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[Monster]

The best tent site is down the hill to the left of the shelter (left as you're facing it).

[sasquatch2014]

There is a new caretaker of the shelter and they have done some work including an new priviy door and getting ready to move the same. Shelter is in good shape. I hike up every few days and bring some wood and water up as often as i can. the stream has been spotty of late and the water is at the bottom of the hill about .5 miles fairly steep to the north. I have been pretty good about keeping 3-4L up there most of the time.

[JAK]

My grandfather was a Telephone Pioneer with New Brunswick Telephone Company. He started before WWI, took time off to get gassed at Passchendaele, then joined again after and stayed with the company until retiring in '62 at 65. I've got one of his early books on telephony showing the old technology including old wiring and batteries and switchboards and even how to erect a telephone pole. Another is on the history of the telephone pioneers. Different world back then for sure, but it seems right and fitting that there would be such a shelter on the AT. It's not like a monument to cell phones. We have plenty of those already.

[2XL]

Last weekend I stopped by the shelter and read the register. There was a crew building water bars down the hill to the north.
The stream is dry.
Sasquatch that posted above has been bringing water to the shelter but has stopped for a while, while he goes out on his own hike.

[The Cheat]

We were there the night of October 27th, 2007. Everything is in good condition. The stream on the blue blaze trail to the shelter was running good, but it was pouring rain during most of our hike (we came from the south, from route 55). Didn't catch any fish at Nuclear Lake, .

There were two other groups there, the Carolina boys heading south, and a family heading north (or maybe coming south to the shelter, then heading back north?)

We headed north in the morning, the trail through the swamp to the trail train station was not flooded.

p.s. my dad was a Telephone Pioneer from White Plains.

[sasquatch2014]

I went by today and the stream is still running and a pretty good flow at that. The Privy for this shelter has just been relocated onto a new moldering crib similar to the one at the Morgan Stewart shelter. Also be aware that there will be a bit of Relo work going on south of the AT and Shelter junction as they move the trail to a route that is less likley to completly washout.

[Cookerhiker]

I went by today and the stream is still running and a pretty good flow at that. The Privy for this shelter has just been relocated onto a new moldering crib similar to the one at the Morgan Stewart shelter. Also be aware that there will be a bit of Relo work going on south of the AT and Shelter junction as they move the trail to a route that is less likley to completly washout.

That relo sounds like a good idea. I recall the Trail running down from West Mt at an angle where it was probably a river during rains.

[sasquatch2014]

There is aplan for a new roof to be installed on the Telephone Pioneer shelter and have the wood at the back overhang of the roof be replaced. Earlier this fall the shelter got a new moldering Priviy. Well the moldering part is new the priviy was the existing one but in good shape. the relo uphill from the shelter is still ongoing as of right now. If anyone wants to help with these projects send me a pm and I'll give you contact info for the lady in charge of this region.

[The Cheat]

Hi all,

Does anybody have any insight into whether the water source at the Pioneer's shelter will be running late June? June 21st to be precise.

Thanks!

[sasquatch2014]

It has been running strong as of late. It is normally only an issue later in the year. So far we have had a lot of rain.

[hammock engineer]

Last fall when I was thru there a house just north of it at the road crossing had a water spicket out for hikers to use. Just go to the road and head East I believe. Wasn't far at all. It was bone dry at the shelter then.

BTW, they have dogs that aren't happy but stay behind the fence.