Up and down the 2000-mile long Appalachian Trail are a series of three-side shelters constructed for the exclusive use of backpackers using the back country trail system for three or more nights. Shelters are generally spaced 12 to 20 miles apart along the length of the trail. Each shelter, or series of shelters, is maintained by a local hiking or trail club.
We had planned on staying the night at Manassass Gap Shelter. It was about our half way point but when we got there, it was occupied by Boy scouts staying out of the rain. I needed to sit down for 10 minutes so I walked up and invited my crew to rest by their smoky fire for a spell.
We still had plenty of light left so 15 minutes later we said our goodbyes and started south with The Jim and Molly Denton Shelter (5.5 miles away) as our goal for that night. We quickly reassessed our situation...We needed to set up camp...and soon. Walking along a cliff we searched for a reasonably flat place to pitch our tent. We found one amongst some saplings 50 feet off the trail. The area was approximately 20x20 and surround by Young trees. Jeremiah and Robert set up camp as I uselessly watched in a exhausted daze. First they laid down some ground cloth then they set up the tents on top of that. And finally they hung a Ultra-light tarp over both tents. I wearily dug out my leftover MRE (eggs w/ vegetable omelet) put the heating element and an ounce of water in the package. I don't know if you've ever seen these things...but it got hot quickly! I shoved the whole package back into the cardboard box, so as not to scald my hands. It chemically bubbled for 15 minutes. The eggs tasted like crap, but I ate them all. I was so sore I could barely take off my shoes and crawl inside the tent...thats when it stopped showering and the gates of heaven opened up! It was loud in the tent with the rain pounding incessantly. But I was snug as a bug in my down sleeping bag. We ate, listened to shortwave radio, drank a few shots and settle in for a long night of hard rain. I tossed and turned, the ground was extremely hard and I couldn't get comfortable. We where in the tents by 7 pm and we didn't venture forth until 9am the next day. During the night the rain stopped for a short time and I could hear footsteps...approaching the tent. I held my breath, straining to listen, thinking of serial killers or bears...I think it might have been raindrops on the leaves.
List of all AT Shelters
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/index.php
We still had plenty of light left so 15 minutes later we said our goodbyes and started south with The Jim and Molly Denton Shelter (5.5 miles away) as our goal for that night. We quickly reassessed our situation...We needed to set up camp...and soon. Walking along a cliff we searched for a reasonably flat place to pitch our tent. We found one amongst some saplings 50 feet off the trail. The area was approximately 20x20 and surround by Young trees. Jeremiah and Robert set up camp as I uselessly watched in a exhausted daze. First they laid down some ground cloth then they set up the tents on top of that. And finally they hung a Ultra-light tarp over both tents. I wearily dug out my leftover MRE (eggs w/ vegetable omelet) put the heating element and an ounce of water in the package. I don't know if you've ever seen these things...but it got hot quickly! I shoved the whole package back into the cardboard box, so as not to scald my hands. It chemically bubbled for 15 minutes. The eggs tasted like crap, but I ate them all. I was so sore I could barely take off my shoes and crawl inside the tent...thats when it stopped showering and the gates of heaven opened up! It was loud in the tent with the rain pounding incessantly. But I was snug as a bug in my down sleeping bag. We ate, listened to shortwave radio, drank a few shots and settle in for a long night of hard rain. I tossed and turned, the ground was extremely hard and I couldn't get comfortable. We where in the tents by 7 pm and we didn't venture forth until 9am the next day. During the night the rain stopped for a short time and I could hear footsteps...approaching the tent. I held my breath, straining to listen, thinking of serial killers or bears...I think it might have been raindrops on the leaves.
List of all AT Shelters
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/index.php
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