Overmountain Shelter

[The Weasel]

My fave shelter...almost a "don't miss". A little bit off the trail, but incredibly cool: It's a rehabbed barn, with a massive loft, a nice "stable" area for cooking inside, and an AWESOME "porch". I got stuck there for a day and a half, alone, thanks to big rain, and just watched rain clouds literally role over the mountain like ocean breakers, down the incredibly beautiful valley for miles. It's also a landmark historic place: The Overmountain Trail crosses the AT there, as the AT goes along the ridge. The Overmountain is the trail the "Overmountain Men" used when they rallied in what is now Kentucky - about 2,000 of them - to join the wavering Continental Army in North Carolina for the key Battle of Kings Mountain, where they made the difference in kicking the Brits' butt right out of North Carolina. Damn cool place to spend a night. When those clouds rolled over, I felt like those buckskin heroes' spirits were walking into battle. Eerie, but I loved it.

"Well a promise made, is a debt unpaid, and the Trail has its own stern code." -- Robert Service

[Hammock Hanger]

My partner and I had sworn off shelters for awhile, as we were traveling at a really busy time and the shelters were just so BUSY!! We did hike down to the shelter and took pictures of the wonderful view from it. Got water and hiked about a 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile up the trail. There was a small ridge and we slept out under the stars, it was beautiful. We could look down at the shelter below us and watch the tent city grow. The hike out the next morning was one of my favorite-favorite morning hikes. Can you say: Ricola.... HH

[chris]

Yeah, Overmountain is pretty scenic. One of the best shelters in the South.

[Hillbilly]

Wow, thanks for the information.....my son and I may want to alter our first couple of days on a section to include a 'lounge' at Overmountain....

Hillbilly

[Brushy Sage]

After spending a great night at Overmountain shelter, I hiked north over the bald mountains (and through the long-horned cattle standing along the trail). As I looked back, I saw a red structure that I imagined was the Overmountain shelter. I kept seeing it for a great while, and marvelled that I could see the shelter from so far away. The next year, Patco and I were hiking south across the same mountains, and I pointed out the building. However, when we arrived at the shelter, he informed me that what we had been seeing from afar was not, in fact, the Overmountain shelter. I have gradually accepted the probability that I had been mistaken. Has anyone else had that same illusion -- mistaking another building for the shelter? Does anyone else even know what I'm talking about??

[Groucho]

Does anyone else even know what I'm talking about??

I saw it from a long way off; maybe not as far as you did.
Has anyone seen the house in the copse of trees to the left, downhill from the shelter(hiking S)? Saw the house when I turned to look and rest while walking N.

Great place. Supposedlly filmed "Winter People" here-at least part of it. I was going to stay somewhere else, but a hiker near Carvers Gap told me about it; glad he did. Almost as good as Charlies Bunion for a camping spot.

[Jaybird]

my hike pardner: "TeePee" & i were "truckin'" thru...catchin' our stride @ mid-day when we passed the Overmountain shelter, also known as the Yellow Mountain Barn, (Sept 2003)or the Yellow Mountain Gap Shelter, ....i had seen photos of it (& video of it from Model-T's 1998 thru-hike) & had wanted to visit it & take a few pics of my own....but, "TeePee" & i noticed it was about a 1/4mile off the trail........hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....we decided to not stop!

we did, however, take some looooooooooooong distance photos (see PHOTOS) of us & the shelter over our shoulders from the next mountaintop overlook... as we were heading toward "the Humps."



hope to see ya'll UP the trail in 2004!

[Moon Monster]

I had a drafty night there as a mid-April storm changed to snow--never got to see the views for the fog the next morning.

The Overmountain Victory Trail has only about a dozen miles or so of footpath constructed. It has a few hundred miles of designated driving routes along the byways. Long-range plans will eventually have the OMVT a bona fide long distance trail.

[Frog]

Just a little more on the history of this great shelter.
Just before becoming a shelter me and my brother where up for a new years hike and it was during the time of the filming of the movie The Winter People. This was suppose to be one of the sites that was used. They had a fake log cabin built over to the right of it. This was suppose to be where the Campbells lived for those familar with the movie. The day before we were up there Loyyd Bridges was there for the filming but they wanted snow and of course it didnt. So they eventualy moved the set somewhere else. We were invited by the guard to stay they nite in the barn so we did. Of course he had a camper set up there. But it made for a great added event for our new years hike.

[Patco]

As we walked over Hump and Little hump it rained harder and harder (sobo) so it was still pretty damp (and so were we) upon arriving at Overmountain Shelter. We changed into dry duds and cooked a meal on the front porch. We then laid down to sleep on the porch. The breeze and clouds blew in from the front and within an hour our sleeping bags were moist-to-wet on the outside. We moved into the gravel interior of the barn near the stairs and stayed much dryer there. There were about 25 girls in the loft from an 'outward bound' kind of group. They were friendly and they were very quiet after bedtime. There were 5 or 6 tents along the approach trail.

[A-Train]

Definately a must stay shelter site, no matter how many miles or how few it takes you to get there. I took one of my shortest days (6+ miles) from Roan High Knob to Overmountain. I intended to stay. Most of the other thru-hikers intended to take lunch there. Lunch turned into staying the night once everyone saw the views and the landscape from the "front lawn". The shelter can easily hold 30 or more people so don't worry about finding shelter space. And it is the only shelter between Erwin and Damascus with a privy! I heard Bob Peoples got around the Tennessee Eastman clubs rules by building the privy on the NC side! A must stay IMO

[retread]

Oh my God....I spent the absolute coldest night of my life in this "shelter." I stayed the previous night in Clyde Smith shelter. Tried to hang my tent up to dry but it started raining again. As we left the next morning it started to snow. This was the first week in April. I hiked in snow all day. Went over Roan Mountain with about 4 inches on the ground. When I came off the old carriage trail onto the highway at Carver's Gap I couldn't see the trail. In this section the trail blazes were on rocks on the ground which of course were covered with snow. I just went up. There was a small bald (Jane's Bald?) and when I got to the top of it and looked west the sky was dark grey which meant more snow coming, and soon. Before I got off the bald and back in the woods it was snowing again and totally fogged in. I could see maybe 10 feet. Then, about a mile from the Overmountain shelter the snow stopped. I had seen pictures of this shelter on the net taken from a distance and it had been described as an old barn. I was wet and cold and looking forward to getting in a barn out of the wind. Right. I was so dissapointed to find out that this had been a TOBACCO barn! There were cracks between every board so that the tobacco could dry out. There was no relief from the wind. Floater and his daughter Sprout actually set up their tent inside on the loft. I would have done the same but mine was still wet and I knew that it would freeze. Which it did but it was inside the stuff sack. I slept in all of my clothes inside my bag, kicking my @ss for mailing my down jacket back home from Erwin! The next morning my 4 liter Platypus (Bubba) was frozen solid as were my boots. I learned that night to pour water into my pot if I expect it to freeze. That way I have water ready to thaw out and use. Someone later said that they looked at their small keychain thermometer before they went to sleep and it registered 14 degrees at about 9 o'clock that night. I got very little sleep. My shivering would wake me up. But the next day was wonderful. Hiking over the Humps was one of my favorite days on the trail. But GAWD was it cold the night before.

[ga2me97]

One of my favorite shelters, like A-Train I planned on staying there from its reputation and photos I had seen even though I stayed at Roan Mt the night before.

[SGT Rock]

Went up there on the 13th with my boys. There was still snow around the shelter, but the temperatures were in the 60s. I also found the bathtub - I think by mid April it might be warm enough regularly to look forward to a bath here.

[Sleepy the Arab]

Went up there on the 13th with my boys. There was still snow around the shelter, but the temperatures were in the 60s. I also found the bathtub - I think by mid April it might be warm enough regularly to look forward to a bath here.

Bathtub? Was it full of sodas? Who brought it down from Bland??

[SGT Rock]

Well It looks like it was a part of an old cabin up near the shelter. At the time it was only full of ice, some water, and some old leaves. There is a hose next to it connecting to a pipe from a well, but no water flowing - most likely frozen. It looks like it would be easy to rinse out and fill up for a nice bath.

Also, there was a fire ring right near it, and a bench someone built by affixing a log between two live trees so that the log was being "absorbed" by the trees. I would imagine that if some folks at the shelter teamed up and all used their pots together, they could take turns and heat mass quantities of water in multiple pots to have hot baths.

To find it, you take the old FS road downhill 0.3 miles until you come to a parking lot at the trail hear. As you reach it from the shelter, there is an old trail that goes downhill to the right, follow it down into a clearing near the creek. Once you get there you should see the foundation of the old cabin, the tub, the fire ring, and the bench.

[Brushy Sage]

I have stayed at that shelter twice and had no knowledge of the old cabin & tub. Thanks for the directions!

[Youngblood]

We are going to need bigger alcohol stoves!

[The Biss]

Oh my God....I spent the absolute coldest night of my life in this "shelter."

I quote this for accuracy! I've done quite a bit of winter camping, but DANG! And going through the laurel tunnels and having rime ice fall down the back of your collar... joy of joys!

[shades of blue]

As of 3/11/06, the spring that is close to where the FS road and blue blaze connects is running very well. It had lots of leaves covering the pipe, but I got those out of the way so that the spring could be seen.