Historic Hiking Shelters of the WMNF

[Ear Drum]

Good morning, all. In planning some backpacking for next month, I've been searching around for info on shelters, and info on sites of former shelters in the WMNF. Came across this interesting PDF of a presentation slide show, prepared in 2016 by Sarah Jordan, Heritage Program Manager with USFS. The 53-slide document has a number of photos of types of shelters, and stats about how many existed, and were still standing at that time. She's making a case the shelters are historic and cultural resources, and should be preserved.

https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/documents/jordan.pdf

I couldn't find any mention of this in a search of Views. There was a thread here in 2019 about the proposed removal of the Mt Langdon Shelter, with a link to an article quoting this author. Here's a sample of a slide, with a map of shelter locations:

 

[maineguy]

"She's making a case the shelters are historic and cultural resources, and should be preserved."

She's a little late with that. Most of the great ones , sadly, are long gone.

 

[Ear Drum]

"She's making a case the shelters are historic and cultural resources, and should be preserved."

She's a little late with that. Most of the great ones , sadly, are long gone.

So I'm learning.

Recently I visited the Appalachian Trail Museum at Pine Grove Furnace SP near Carlisle, PA. Across the street is the place where thru hikers attempt the half-gallon ice cream challenge. It's a lovely little museum, with Benton MacKaye's desk, on which he penned the proposal for the AT in 1921; retired Springer and Katahdin signs and more.

They have a nearly complete lean-to, I believe from the 1950s, one of several built by one of the first to through hike the trail. It was cool to see the shelter, and to see it recognized as worthy of preservation.

 

[hikeritz]

I stayed at the Desolation Shelter, near Stillwater Junction in the Pemi, seven times - usually in the winter - before it was removed in 2012. It was small, but it had a ton of history, and was a welcome refuge so deep in the Wilderness. I've asked about the shelter logs that I always made a point of signing, thinking some of the posts would make a neat book (Tales of Desolation), but apparently they were just tossed in the trash each time they were replaced.

 

[hikeritz]

I stayed at the Desolation Shelter, near Stillwater Junction in the Pemi, seven times - usually in the winter - before it was removed in 2012. It was small, but it had a ton of history, and was a welcome refuge so deep in the Wilderness. I've asked about the shelter logs that I always made a point of signing, thinking some of the posts would make a neat book (Tales of Desolation), but apparently they were just tossed in the trash each time they were replaced.View attachment 7136
View attachment 7137

Desolation was removed in 1997 (a year after my final visit), not 2012. I heard there was something of a rush to remove it. It was approaching the point where its age would have qualified it for historic status, and it would have had to be preserved. It was dismantled as part of the effort to clear out structures in the Pemi Wilderness.

 

[peakbagger]

The original shelters rarely had floors, if you read the early AMC guides there are references that shelter users should cut softwood boughs to place underneath them. This led to a browse line around the shelters from cutting boughs. Most folks just added new on top of old and various critters regarded those beds as a good environment to breed. A combination of compaction and erosion created a low spot under shelters placed on soil leading to permanent muddy spot under the shelter. Floors were retrofit to some shelters but standard practice was to put the floors close to the ground as the ceiling heights were quite low. I have seen a few of the original AT shelters and they could not be stood up in, at best someone could sit up vertical. Many shelters in the whites were built in the sixties although "TFC" built many. Gentien Pond, Carlo Col and Guyot were TFC design. They can be identified by the door frames on the front wall.

I have seen WMNF PR "selling" the shelters to visitors in the sixties.

Over the years I have visited former shelter sites, they usually are quite pounded to death with damage evident decades after removal. The Dry River Shelter site at the junction of several trails is still very obvious 30 years from removal. The Dry River trail was rerouted around it to avoid the worse impact. Same with the great gulf shelters, the sites really stick out.

Unless maintained, shelters slowly sink into the ground and rot. MATC has an active program to rehab shelters by replacing sill logs and re-digging and redirecting drainage away from the sills. Folks use the areas under floors t hide trash, the crews typically remove large volumes of old trash under the shelters when they jack them up. WMNF normally would just allow mother nature to let them degrade to the point where they needed major Maintenace and then burn them. The other way they go is when the roof fails and the wood starts getting soaked. Older asphalt shingles are at best 20 year life and by 30 or 40 they are toast

 

[hikeritz]

Here's another former shelter, the Lost River shelter. On the Beaver Brook trail on Moosilauke, just a short distance from the road, which is probably why it was removed. A tiny shelter, it served as an emergency Plan B site when things didn't go as planned on an attempt at the Kinsmans. On the plus side, the next morning we skipped cooking at the shelter and drove into town for breakfast!

 

[skiguy]

"She's making a case the shelters are historic and cultural resources, and should be preserved."

She's a little late with that. Most of the great ones , sadly, are long

Desolation was removed in 1997 (a year after my final visit), not 2012. I heard there was something of a rush to remove it. It was approaching the point where its age would have qualified it for historic status, and it would have had to be preserved. It was dismantled as part of the effort to clear out structures in the Pemi Wilderness.

Spent numerous stays at Desolation back in the late 70’s through the early 90’s. Another reason it was removed and sooner than it being taking out because of The Wilderness Act was the existence of problematic Bears.

 

[maineguy]

Spent numerous stays at Desolation back in the late 70’s through the early 90’s. Another reason it was removed and sooner than it being taking out because of The Wilderness Act was the existence of problematic Bears.

First shelter I ever stayed at (1966). I remember that if you went down to the river next to the shelter you could look up and see the lookout tower.

 

[skiguy]

First shelter I ever stayed at (1966). I remember that if you went down to the river next to the shelter you could look up and see the lookout tower.

I vaguely remember that also. Back then including Carrigain quite a few lookout towers still existed with their cabs which were open to stay in. My first overnight which was in the late 60’s in The Whites we stayed in the Osceola Cab.

 

[maineguy]

I vaguely remember that also. Back then including Carrigain quite a few lookout towers still existed with their cabs which were open to stay in. My first overnight which was in the late 60’s in The Whites we stayed in the Osceola Cab.

Never stayed in the Osceola Cab, but we did stay at this shelter...remember it? Also attached is a shot of the Osceola Tower

 

[skiguy]

Great pics! That’s the shelter by Greeley Ponds? The trail up the East Peak use to go up from there too I think.

 

[maineguy]

Yep, that's the one. It was right in front of the pond with a little sandy beach. Some of us went swimming in it (not me). The water was frigid in July and full of leaches.

 

[SherpaWill]

Not sure if this is an authentic photo but they’re was an emergency shelter in Edmands Col until the late 70’s or early 80’s.

 

[skiguy]

This one got removed because hikers were using it as a destination rather than for just emergency use. It had the same ode de twa as the Dungeon. Also one of the windiest places in The Whites due to the Venturi Effect.

 

[David Metsky]

This one got removed because hikers were using it as a destination rather than for just emergency use. It had the same ode de twa as the Dungeon. Also one of the windiest places in The Whites due to the Venturi Effect.

Same reason the Moosilauke summit shelter was removed. It's the foundation a few 100 yards down the old Gorge Brook trail, not the summit foundations.