The nine New Zealand Great Walks, with a total of 33 huts among them, are a lightning rod for the national discussion about changing conceptions and practices of human relationship with the wild. Rightly or wrongly, the Great Walks are frequently featured in the discourse when concerns are voiced about DoC’s management of huts generally, its priorities, and where New Zealand is going with its hut system.
Is the nation pandering to tourism at the expense of traditional Kiwi recreational values and birthrights? Are business interests over-riding conservation of and domestic rights of access to the conservation estate? Is DoC enforcing a level of standardization and commercialization that takes diminishes the hut experience and the magic of traditional tramping? How can the government ensure fair and equitable pricing and access policies for Kiwi trampers while dealing with the pressures of mass tourism? These are controversial matters, as much in the realm of opinion as of fact. I don’t have firm opinions or all the facts. See User perceptions of Great Walks Huts and Serviced Hutsfor a summary of user perceptions, which goes deeper into the controversies engendered by these higher amenity huts.
In operating the world’s largest hut system, DoC caters for trampers with vastly different experience and skill levels, from different parts of New Zealand society and from all over the world. DoC is continually trying to balance these disparate needs, abilities, and preferences through an evolving suite of “visitor management” methods. There appears to be widespread public recognition that DoC is continually walking a very difficult tightrope.
While Kiwis recognize that it is not possible to please everyone, DoC has learned that it can count on experienced local trampers to let them know when their visitor management methods are perceived as undermining traditional tramping. So DoC is well aware of the perceptions summarized below, and doubtless much more.
See related postNew Zealand Great Walks: tourism and policies for broader context for these summary perceptions and for discussion of policies designed to address them.
Sources of user perceptions and notes on methodology
There are currently 33 Great Walks Huts and 95 Serviced Huts in the DoC system. This combined total of 128 huts constitutes 13.3% of total DoC huts (963). The user perceptions summarized below are from these two hut categories. While a small percentage of the whole system, these two categories attract the most intensive use and controversy.
This summary of user perceptions is derived from two sources: 1. from discussions that I gathered in three months of interviews and travels in NZ, and 2. from the results of an academic survey reported in the article “Tramper Perspectives on New Zealand’s Great Walks in a time of transition” (in New Zealand Geographer, 2017, p. 1-15, by Joe Fagan and Robin Kearns). [Alas, the link to this article will only get you the full text if you have access through a library with a digital subscription or if you wish to pay. Otherwise you can get a paper copy at your local library or request it on interlibrary loan.]
(photos courtesy Laura Johnston; see related photo galleries for AT and PCT)
Backcountry on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail
I thru-hiked the 2,189.1* mile Appalachian Trail (AT) in 2016 and the 2,650.1* mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2017. The AT and the PCT are two of the country’s oldest, longest and most well-known national scenic trails in the United States (US).
This piece explores the AT’s and PCT’s options for outdoor overnight infrastructure (shelters, huts, lean tos, etc.) on the trail. Included are my observations from walking and camping on both trails for a collective 10.5 months — six months on the AT and four and half months on the PCT. It also incorporates data and information from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), the National Park Service, and interviews I conducted with fellow hikers for Sounds of the Trail (SOT) podcast while hiking both trails.
Thru-hiking a long distance trail like the AT or PCT is a profound experience where nearly aspect of daily life is about and on the trail–your front yard, your backyard, your neighborhood, your job, your weekend plans and your community is on the trail (while keeping in touch with friends/family off trail, too). The day-in-day-out of life as a thru-hiker offers experience and learning about the history, community, structures and dynamics of these trails.
Mount Katahdin, pictured, in central Maine is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (AT) and one of the most iconic spots of the trail. The Katahdin sign is one that nearly all hikers, especially thru-hikers, take a photo with when reaching the top of the mountain. On a clear day, hikers atop Katahdin enjoy views of the surrounding wilderness in Baxter State Park. Pictured are author Laura Johnston (center back) at the end of her AT thru-hike with fellow thru-hiking friends.
What Hut 2 Hut Wants to Know
Hut2hut.info explores options for people spending the night outdoors while hiking, walking, skiing, or biking (human powered travel) for extended periods. Hut2hut has two goals: 1) to paint a broad picture of what outdoor overnight infrastructure accommodations exists in the US (e.g. shelters, huts, camper cabins, platform tents, yurts, etc.) for long distance human-powered travelers (hike, bike, ski, etc.), and 2) to determine the optimal role(s) of each accommodation type.
Staying overnight on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is possible by camping either in a tent/hammock or cowboy camping (sleeping without a tent/hammock but under the stars). There are no shelters or cabins on the PCT like those on the AT.
Outdoor Camping Options on the AT and PCT
The AT and PCT are choc full of areas for tenting or hammocking along the trail at established or designated sites, improvised “stealth” sites and shelters, cabins or huts in some cases.
In the 315 days (10.5 months) that I lived out of a backpack on the AT and PCT as a thru-hiker, I camped outdoors on trail 98% of the time, including at or in shelters on the AT. The other 2% of the time I stayed indoors in town at hostels, churches, hotels and homes of trail angels.
Camping on the AT is possible at established tent sites, stealth or improvised tent sites, near a shelter or in open space or at/in shelters along the trail. This site in Vermont is a shelter’s official tent site even though it is a quarter mile north of the shelter (due to limited open space around the shelter itself).
On the AT, which stretches from Georgia to Maine, there are 250+ shelters (sometimes called a “lean-to”), or three-sided stone or wood, open air structures with an overhanging roof, where hikers can camp, stop for a break or to socialize or find refuge from the weather. AT shelters occur every 8-15 miles along the trail (some are slightly off trail, but still considered “on trail”), most which were originally built in the 1930s and 40s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and later by trail volunteers and trail crews.
The shelters are free** (no cost to camp), open to anyone and as many people as can fit inside. (There are also almost always tent sites around the shelter, too). Also, on the AT, two of the trail’s largest clubs — the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) and The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) — maintain cabins and huts that are rustic stone or wood structures available for cost or reservation; however, these are rarely used by thru-hikers whose daily schedule requires them to keep moving forward and making miles each day. Thru-hikers primarily camp outdoors at free tent sites or shelters along the trails (due to budget, timing and the trail experience itself).
On the (PCT), however, stretching from Mexico to Canada, there are no official shelters on the trail. Occasionally there are cabins or shelters accessible off the PCT down connecting or side trails. And there is at least one emergency shelter, Muir Hut, atop Muir Pass (11,000+ feet) in the Sierra.
Whether camping at an established or improvised campsite or in a shelter, backpackers/campers are always advised to follow Leave No Trace (LNT) principles on the AT and PCT.
The Muir Hut , pictured, atop Muir Pass (11,000+ feet) on the PCT (and John Muir Trail) in the Kings Canyon section of the Sierra was built by the Sierra Club as an emergency shelter and memorial to naturalist John Muir. It is an impressive architectural feat and can be visited while hiking but is only to be used for sleeping only in the event of emergencies, severe weather.
The Shelter Effect
Hiking the AT and PCT in back-to-back calendar years allowed me to consider similarities and differences of the influences and impacts of shelters on the AT vs. no shelters on the PCT. (Note: It is definitely possible to get to know the AT, the PCT or any trail very well, too, without thru-hiking).
The shelters on the AT, and lack thereof on the PCT, seem to play a role in influencing trails dynamics like trail camaraderie (socializing), daily hiking schedules, meal times, learning leave no trace (LNT) and trail etiquette (being a respectful, decent person) and even human impact on the trail. Shelters encourage socializing with a dedicated space and structure for hikers to collect; by encouraging them to break or slow down for a bit by popping in; and by encouraging hikers to chat, use the privy as a bathroom (rather than the woods), and as a destination to interact, camp or relax.
In 2106 the USFS posted signs near and at the Watauga Lake Shelter on the AT in Tennessee about bear activity. Signs near and at the shelters like this often serve to reinforce ideas about LNT or closures to AT hikers.
Living the Shelter Life
With 250+ physical shelters along the trail they offer a physical place and structure to do all of these things and in doing so foster learning, lessons and nurturing community. It’s common to structure a day’s schedule or increments of a hike based on where a shelter is — “See you at the shelter.” “Let’s stop for lunch at the shelter.” “I’m going to push onto the next shelter.”
AT shelters can be a friendly social or meeting point — for meals, filtering water, a short break, camping, checking the trail registers (or logbooks), taking a pit stop at the privy (pit toilet), finding/making friends at a likely/probable point. In the event of a missing person, sickness, safety or an uncomfortable situation, the shelters can come to one’s aid where others at the shelter can mobilize or bring comfort as opposed to being alone in the woods.
Hikers on the AT can stay inside the physical shelter, hang out there or camp in the adjacent area for tenting/hammocks usually next to or near to a shelter. Usually the area around shelters includes space for tent and hammock camping, a fire pit, a water source and a privy (pit toilet) that can be used during the day or for camping. If sleeping in a shelter, hikers lay out their sleeping pad and sleeping bag on the shelter’s wooden floor.
Camping at but not in a shelter is a good option for company, convenience (close to water source, privy, company, space) or camaraderie. Whether in or around the shelter, campers are expected to follow LNT, exercise respectful behavior and properly store food at night so not to attract bears, mice or other rodents, too.
An unofficial rule of sleeping in a shelter is, “There’s always room for one more.” This idea is a foundation of shelter etiquette which the ATC encourages to be respect, kindness, LNT and flexibility whether visiting, sleeping or camping hear a shelter, especially during inclement weather like rain, sleet, snow or strong winds. It is not a requirement to socialize at a shelter, but anyone at a shelter is expected to be polite, moderate and kind of the shelter itself but also the people there.
The PCT, however is completely devoid of official shelters on trail. There are a handful of cabins, pavilions and shelters down a side or adjoining trail, but these are not considered officially part of the PCT. Instead hikers on the PCT stay overnight on trail camp in established campgrounds on or near the trail or improvised sites found near the trail. One reason (in addition to terrain) that hikers may hiker more miles each day because they are not stopping to break or camp at a shelter. Even without shelters, the PCTA encourages hikers to follow LNT always when camping.
The AT’s 250+ shelters, like Ethan Pond Shelter in the White Mountains of NH, pictured, are each unique in their design while having some similarities — an overhanging roof, a wooden floor and three walls, elevated floor off the ground. Most (but not all) shelters also have a privy (pit toilet) adjacent to the shelter, space for tenting and are near a creek or spring. Shelters attract hikers for breaks, water, meal times, camping, to socialize with fellow hikers or sign a logbook.
Indoor Accommodations Along the AT and PCT
Hikers on the AT and PCT who prefer not to sleep/camp on trail can do so by car camping, camping at trailheads, in RV parks and other options off trail and in trail towns. If RV or car camping, hikers need to stay aware of the rules/regulations of the surrounding area or land.
Sleeping indoors on the AT or PCT is possible but is usually difficult for multiple, consecutive days on trail unless slackpacking (possible on many sections of the AT) or devising a clever route. Doing so requires a good review of trail maps or trail guides to understand mileage, trailheads, connecting trails and town accommodations, etc. Hikers can also leave a car at either end of a hike or do an out and back hike.
If hiking for multiple days but not wanting to sleep outdoors, the trails cross roads that will lead you into, near or with access (via a car or hitchhike) to towns (roughly) every 3-5 days on the AT and 4-8 days on the PCT where hikers can resupply for food or find indoor accommodations. Some hikers even looks for Airbnbs in trail towns.
Most trail towns on the AT and PCT include at least one hostel or hotel or basic resort available for a bed and shower, and some include multiple options. Often churches and community centers in town open their doors to thru-hikers, too. It’s important for hikers planning for indoor accommodations on the AT and PCT to know that accommodations may be basic as trail towns are relatively small towns, too.
Shelters along the AT, like the Partnership Shelter, pictured, outside of Marion, VA bring together hikers to camp in or around the shelter and socializing at a collective place.
The AT and PCT: A Great American Experience
Like other national scenic trails, the PCT and AT are long distance hiking trails but also an idea, a chapter of American history, a community and a legacy of a vision that was developed, spearheaded and built by (and is maintained by) people across the country– volunteers, federal and state employees, private land and business owners. [Note: The first half of Vermont’s Long Trail (LT) parallels the AT for 100 miles; and a large section of the Sierra in central California parallels the John Muir Trail (JMT)].
Both the AT and PCT are free places to hike, camp and backpack twelve months of the year (with occasional weather and trail condition closures in mind). They are used by thru-hikers, sections hikers, weekend hikers and day hikers with the most users between March and October of the year.
The PCTA’s website says, “The trail symbolizes everything there is to love–and protect–in the Western United States.” And the ATC’s website calls the AT “…a place of life-changing discovery.” As someone who hiked both of these trails I experienced the reality of those statements on trail.
The AT and PCT bring together people of all ages, backgrounds, religions and political backgrounds to see and experience some of the most stunning landscapes in the country and the most interesting community of people attracted to them. Thousands of people simply volunteer for the trails (building, maintaining, fundraising or other needed work) and don’t hike them.
Before, during and after my thru-hikes I learned how the AT and the PCT nurture purpose, employment, friendships, economy, personal development, outdoor skills and stewardship among hikers, volunteers, locals and employees that support them. By bringing together people from across the country and the world of various backgrounds, ages, abilities and ideologies, the trails encourage perseverance, self reliance, community and connection with the outdoors and a chapter of American history. If hiking on them, one often finds like I did that trails restore their “..faith in humanity” with the kindness of the hiking community, trail towns and trail angels.
Meal times on the PCT occur at campsites or spontaneous areas on trail, like this spot south of Muir Pass in the Sierra. On the AT, hikers often choose to eat on at similarly spontaneous spots but they often eat at a shelter where there might be fellow hikers to socialize with, water and a roof to sit under or a logbook to sign or read.
Hikers by the Millions and Counting
With each of the five decades since becoming national scenic trails, the AT and PCT grow longer, more well-known and traveled. The ATC and PCTA estimate that a collective 4+ million (and rising) people access some part of both trails annually.
In recent years, best-selling books made into films like A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson about the AT and Wild by Cheryl Strayed about the PCT have popularized the trails with the masses. Along with the success of these books, films and social media’s reach, the knowledge and users of AT and PCT are rising dramatically.
The PCTA’s 2016 visitor use report noted “…long-distance hikers and horseback riders came from all 50 states and 41 countries and territories…” and 5,657 permits were issued for section and thru-hikers. Those numbers do not include day hikers or weekend hikers. And in 2017, the ATC’s Interesting Facts report estimated that 2-3 million people per year hike a portion, section or the entire trail, including 950 reported completed thru-hikes for 2017.
In 2016 Laura Johnston, author (right in pink jacket) completed a thru-hike of the AT and met hundreds of people on trail, including three friends, pictured, who she finished the trail with at the northern terminus, Mount Katahdin in Maine. The night before summiting the Katahdin, she camped at The Birches, a campground with two shelters and tent sites in Baxter State Park reserved for long distance hikers on the AT.
More Than Just Shelter
While there are many similarities between the AT and PCT, one of the most obvious differences is where this article began–the AT’s shelters and the PCT’s lack of shelters on trail. Opportunities and choices for socializing, camping, eating, sharing trail stories, learning trail etiquette and LNT, even learning history of the trail happens differently on each trail because of shelters (or lack thereof).
On trail I found the AT’s shelters embodied a phrase made famous in the 1980s film Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” Thru-hikers, day or section hikers on trail often develop a rhythm or curiosity to stop or stay at shelters because they are a reliabily welcome, friendly, necessary or even interesting touch point of the day.
By stopping and camping at shelters during my own AT thru-hike, I saw the differences in each structure, learned about the shelters themselves and saw a greater good mindset at shelters — how you act, eat and sleep at a shelter (or in the outdoors) influences others and the trail’s condition, protection, image and relationship with wildlife.
People at shelters often learn from one another of how to model behaviors at a shelter as responsible or friendly trail behavior. They may even pick up a trick or two from how fellow hikers set up camp, store their food, or make a meal. New thru-hikers and novice backpackers can connect at the shelters and can meet, talk and learn from the collective experience on trail.
Because shelters attract people (and people have and eat food there), shelters can attract wildlife so following LNT for eating and storing food is critical to keep wildlife, hikers and shelrers safe. It is important to ensure shelters are a safe place to attract people on trail but not to attract bears or rodents. Eating, food storage, dirty water disposal all impact the presence of wildlife or not.
In fact the southernmost states on the AT – Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – often have bear cables, bear boxes or bear poles at shelters encouraging hikers to store food away from shelters and out of tents or campsite. Seeing available food storage options and hikers practicing (or even pressuring) good practices can facilitate LNT-friendly behavior and learning from one another.
Even if not camping overnight at a shelter, hikers often pass through to say “hello,” fill up and filter water, use the privy, check the logbook or ask about a fellow hiker. The day may even unfold differently because of a happening at the shelter — collecting food that someone offers, making a plan at the shelter with fellow hikers, or getting an idea of a good/fun place to camp because of conversation at the shelter, or slowing down or speeding up because of conversation at the shelter.
Many of the AT’s shelters encourage hikers to store food away from wildlife either on bear cables, hung from a tree away from the shelter or in bear boxes, as pictured. The constant reinforcement of this practice at the shelters and influence of groups at the shelters are repeated opportunities to educate and remind hikers about leave no trace (LNT) and invite conversation about such practices.
Trail Etiquette
Trail etiquette is a combination of LNT and overall trail manners. Anyone at a shelter is expected to be polite with language, friendly to others and respectful of LNT and a certain etiquette.
Like a workplace, a school or another public shared space, there are a variety of ages, languages, schedules (wake and sleep time), abilities and personalities on trail and the shelters attract them all. So the shelters facilitate a common place to share a space, stories, knowledge and etiquette (or pass it on).
Shelters can even be main destinations for day, weekend, section or thru-hikers for a meal, a break or to camp, so they are opportunistic places for conversation, resources (water, shelter, space around shelter, campfire), intel (e.g. trail magic ahead or where a friend may be) or examples of good trail etiquette.
I found stopping at or staying at shelters along the AT as a place to find friends, camaraderie and to learn or reinforce LNT and trail etiquette (polite language, open mindedness, kindness and respect for quiet hours after dark), community, expertise and experience unique to the trail.
Even in what can be a solitary activity–hiking–staying at shelters encourages a greater good mindset, being face-to-face with others on trail and practicing responsible behavior with the trail, fellow hikers and to stay separate from wildlife.
Shelters are often a meeting place for meal times. Even hikers that don’t sleep in or camp at the shelters often stop in for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. It’s important to be mindful of LNT practices, a polite and respectful trail etiquette when using shelters. Hikers also use shelters to find water, use the privy, check the trail registers or socialize.
Logbooks
Shelters on the AT almost always have a trail registry or logbook, a spiral or composition notebook where hikers can voluntarily sign their names and/or write funny, informative or serious notes to fellow hikers. Hikers will write notes for themselves, the trail community, the shelter caretaker or for hiking partners — “Stayed at the shelter last night!” “Will camp tonight at the next shelter. Hope to see you there.”
Logbooks or trail registers on the AT, as pictured, are located in the shelters and a traditional opportunity or place for any hiker to write their name, a generic note, or even information to friends or fellow hikers. They-hikers often stop at the shelters simply to read or sign the notebook as a part of their day and journey along the trail.
The logbooks are an invitation to contribute one’s name, personality and even helpful information to a book at each shelter for that season. Hikers may even write to someone behind them as a means to reconnect, “Sorry we missed each other. Hope to see you in town or down the trail.” And sometimes the logbook has fun or useful information like, “Free pizza in town for all thru-hikers!” Many hikers simply sign their trail name and the day’s date.
Shelters, also often, have signs or flyers posted near/in a shelters (in case of problems bears, extra reinforcement to be diligent, etc.) that encourage LNT responsible behavior and encourage conversation or awareness.
Thru-hikers on the AT pack up for the morning from the Cooper Brook shelter in central Maine in the famed 100 mile wilderness. Cold, damp days like this one in September 2016 bring hikers together at a shelter for warmth, camaraderie and temporary or overnight shelter from precipitation.
Protection from Elements/Weather
The AT is located in the eastern US along the Appalachian mountain range where the climate can be damp and precipitous nearly any time of year — humidity in the summer and snow and sleet in the winter and rain anytime of year. If and when a hiker prefers not to camp (too cold/dangerous) on wet or frozen ground, shelters are ideal places to provide relief to stay dry.
The AT’s shelters can provide temporary or an overnight break from rain, sleet, snow, a dry place to sleep or enjoy a break.
The Appalachian Mountain Club AMC), a trail club in the northeast, maintains a series of fully-enclosed huts with meals, bunks, water and indoor pit toilets. Some of these huts are in the White Mountains of NH on the AT, including Zealand Falls Hut, pictures. Section or weekend hikers can pay to reserve a bunk for cost; thru-hikers often stop through for water, a meal or to offer to “work for stay,” doing chores in exchange for food. In the event of serious weather, certain AMC huts in the White Mountains must allow thru-hikers to stay inside the huts.
In times of tough, cold or dangerous weather the AT shelters may become a place to go for cheering up one’s spirits among fellow hikers waiting out a storm or commiserating Ina covered place together.
In the most serious of weather, shelters can be a safe place to go (or bring) fellow hikers that may need help or the company of fellow hikers can provide help, warmth or advise rather than being alone in the woods.
PCT hikers can stay at the Mountaineers Lodge, puctured, at Steven’s Pass, WA which is a small walk from the PCT. This three story A-frame cabin houses skiiers in the winter and is open to thru-hikers in the hiking season. A small fee allows hikers to sleep, shower, use a drying room and lounge on couches.
Camaraderie
Because camaraderie (or socializing) on the AT and PCT are facilitated by many factors–the persoanlities, the trail itself, the landscapes, water sources, weather, terrain, the pace, the number of people on trail and a characteristically friendly nature of hikers–there is no doubt that the shelters on the AT add to socializing.
Additionally shelters on the AT may enable certain hikers to stay overnight who may not feel comfortable or capable sleeping in a tent or a hammock. They also encourage socializing or a welcome place to walk into socializing when some might be nervous or shy otherwise.
Granite peaks of the Sierra in central and northern California on the PCT leave one inspired each and everyday.
History
The AT shelters are also a tool in telling the history and culture of the trail. Seeing or staying at the shelters can inspire awareness of the CCC, trail crews and volunteers who built and maintain them by hand; materials and tools for construction brought in on someone’s back or via forest roads. It also is a obvious and tangible way to recognize the trail craftsmanship as opposed to equally important but often overlooked trail construction, like stone or rock work or a clear trail.
With 250+ physical structures, each designed and built differently, the AT’s shelters are a window and awareness into trail history and construction. The materials and design of each shelter is different; when they were built differs; who maintains them varies by regional trail club; and the number of people who can and do choose to sleep in them varies.
My hiking partner on the AT was a skilled carpenter and stopping or staying at shelters inspired a greater appreciation in me of their craftsmanship and overall condition.
The PCT does not have shelters. The absence of them and nearly any human-made structure makes structures obscure and strange.
Overmountain Shelter, the red barn pictured in the distance, is an iconic shelter in the Roan Highlands of Tennessee on the AT. Hikers can camp in the large two-story barn or in the vast grassy area, pictured, which is adjacent to the shelter. This is perhaps the largest shelter along the AT and could easily sleep 40+ people.
Where There Are No Shelters
Without shelters on the PCT, the dynamics of camaraderie, camping and more on trail are facilitated otherwise. Hikers on the PCT are equally friendly, kind and LNT/trail etiquette aware, but these behaviors manifest differently and often occur at spontaneous sites, at improvised sites or in different sized groups than on the AT.
There are not physical structures on the PCT; there are not bear cables or bear poles to hang food; there are not privies (expect a couple open air pit toilets in Washington); there are not logbooks in a shelter; there are not consistent buildings on the trail that invite/encourage a host of people-centered activities — meals, socializing, signing a logbook learning LNT and trail etiquette or taking cover from the weather.
Instead of socializing or certain activities at shelters on the AT — camping, filtering water, chatting, meal times, signing a logbook, talking about LNT or trail etiquette or taking cover from the weather — these dynamics happen differently on the PCT. Instead, they might occur on the trail itself while walking (or taking a break), at water sources, streams/lakes, campsites, trees or rocks or other improvised points on the trail.
Additionally the lack of shelters or physical structures on the PCT nurtures an increased feeling of complete wilderness. A lack of physical structures (less trail signs and the occasional cistern or trailhead, or wind turbine) makes for a deep connection to the natural world.
It’s important to note that like hikers on the PCT, those on the AT will also socialize, exchange information, learn or seek protection at other points on trail (not just shelters) like lakes/streams, viewpoints, trees/rocks or other improvised sites on trail.
Thru-hikers on the PCT break for a rest in the desert in southern California. Without shelters on the PCT, unlike the AT, breaks like this often happen on the trail, under a tree or at a water source.
Table Summary
Below is a table with a side-by-side comparison of the text above and the key features that shelters provide on the AT and how trail dynamics occur on the PCT without them. The ATC’s website provides more details about shelter life here.
Key Features
Appalachian Trail (AT)
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
Number of Shelters /Lean-tos on trail
250+ shelter/huts along the Appalachian Trail (AT), at an average of 8-15 miles apart with variation in some sections, even up to 30 miles apart.
Hikers can also on trail in tents, hammocks or cowboy/girl camp (camp under the stars) on trail.
0 physical shelters/huts on trail.
Hikers sleep on trail in tents, hammocks or cowboy/girl camp (camp under the stars) on trail.
Meal time
Hikers often eat at shelters for meals, breaks or camping.
Hikers also eat at individual campsites or arbitrary points on trail.
Hikers eat at established campsites or any other undesignated open space on trail.
Hikers also eat at individual campsites or arbitrary points on trail.
Water
Shelters almost always include a water source–may be up to ¼ or ¾ miles from the actual shelter. (Water should always be filtered for safety).
Water is found along the trail in cisterns, caches, rivers or springs. (Water should always be filtered for safety).
Camaraderie/Social
Shelters attract hikers to a physical structure for their protection (from weather), utility (good for breaks, eating or camping) and socializing or camaraderie (where other people will probably be), similar to a town hall.
Shelters are a known place to sleep, eat and take cover from bad or dangerous weather.
Where there are people and where there is shelter, there is socializing.
Shelters are a probable and even routine place to stop and meet fellow hikers.
Hikers socialize without a physical shelter to invite such–while walking, stopping at a water source, taking a break or setting up camp on trail.
Hikers may use trees, rocks, water sources, view points or campsites as an arbitrary point for socializing with fellow hikers.
Leave No Trace (LNT)/Trail Etiquette
The ATC encourages an etiquette at shelters including, but not limited to:
Make room for other hikers.
Keep the grounds litter-free.
Make phone calls and smoke away from the shelter.
Don’t cut down trees.
Dispose of waste liquids (graywater) at least 100 feet from the shelter and 200 feet from water sources.
If a shelter has a privy, use it.
If you have a dog, consider tenting.
If you snore, sleep in your tent.
Don’t tag (graffiti) the shelter.
Avoid eating in the shelter if at all possible.
Do not leave or burn trash or garbage in the fire pit.
Sweep out the shelter when you arrive and leave as even the smallest crumbs can attract rodents.
Be considerate of others hikers. All shelter etiquette boils down to common courtesy in a very small shared space. See the ATC’s Leave No Trace page to learn more.
Without shelters as a routine and group spot for camping, eating and use, there are different ways to share and reinforce trail etiquette on trail.
Sharing LNT and trail etiquette is possible on the PCT while walking, camping, etc.
Protection from Elements/Weather
Hikers have on-trail reprieve from the elements and the weather—a dry or wind-protected spot to camp and a roof over their heads.
Shelters are dry places in wet weather (they fill up fast when it rains).
Hikers do not have on-trail places to find shelter or reprieve from the elements or weather—e.g. the punishing heat and sun exposure of the desert; the rain, mist and snow in the Oregon and Washington.
Physical Camping
Shelters provide a place to sleep in or camp near at the adjacent tent sites or forested area for hammocks.
Camping on the PCT is done by tent or hammock at established or improvised sites.
Daily Schedule
Shelters may become a basis for how or where to get to in a day’s schedule–“let’s meet for lunch at the shelter”; “let’s stop for water at the shelter”; “let’s camp at the shelter tonight.”
Stopping at the shelter for a break or to camp may also change the flow of the rest of the day because of a friend, a lesson, a conversation or the amount of time spent at the shelter.
A day’s hike may be oriented around stopping, breaking or camping at landmarks or milestones on trail like water sources, campsites, or other points of interest, but never a shelter itself or the time, conversation or information obtained at one.
History
The shelters give hikers a connection to the history of the trail and its volunteers, as all shelters were either built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1940s or those of trail volunteers and trail clubs.
Many point of the trail also include signage about local trail clubs that maintain a shelter.
Evidence of the trail’s history can be noted in occasional signage on trail or a knowledge of the trail itself. There are almost no physical structures on trail to invite awareness into the history of the trail. (The PCTA website, however, has loads of information).
Construction
Shelters can encourage appreciation and awareness for craftsmanship and labor to build and design shelters along the trail.
Hikers and trail volunteers can also participate in rebuilding or maintaining shelters as a volunteer for the AT and one of its trail clubs or trail crews.
Hikers can note trail construction by noticing signage, physical trail, rock work or trail conditions but not shelters for a clue to trail history.
Structure
Shelters are three-sided structures with bunks, with either one or two levels, they generally fit 8-20 people.
Time & Cost
250+ shelters require the ATC and trail clubs to find volunteers and funding to maintain, upkeep the construction, caretaking, and reconstruction (when necessary) of shelters and their tent sites and privies.
Volunteer hours and funding can be reserved for other expenses and projects, rather than building or maintaining shelters.
Human/Environmental Impact
Sleeping in shelter is shown to minimize soil compaction, vegetation trampling, and habitat disruption. +
Following LNT principles, especially at/around shelters, can minimize impact on nearby water sources and maintain positive relationship with wildlife.
Protecting and respecting the water sources and surrounding area at shelters and otherwise on trail is critical to minimizing human impact on the environment.
Respecting water sources at shelters or otherwise is important for overall health and safety of the water source.
Following LNT at shelters is critical because the structures and their surrounding area see so much visitation and use.
Shelters usually have a privy (pit toilet) which lessens the disposal/burying of human waste and toilet paper in wilderness.
+ The ATC is currently funding a study on the environmental impacts of thru-hikers on the trail and at the shelters.
Dispersed camping can have greater human and negative environmental impact due to more widespread (i.e. not concentrated) vegetation trampling, habitat disruption soil compaction, and unregulated fire pits.
Hikers should be aware of crowding a campsite or creating their own in areas that may be damaged.
Camping in the southern California (700 miles) is often influenced by proximity to infrequent water sources (some as far as 40 miles apart) so it is critical to respect those areas for overall health and safety of the water source.
Following LNT practices at campsites helps protect the trail and water safety and a positive relationship with wildlife.
Protecting and respecting the water sources and surrounding area at shelters and otherwise on trail is critical to minimizing human impact on the environment.
*Note: Official mileage of the AT and PCT varies slightly from year due to ongoing land acquisition or trail construction.
**Note: In areas with the heaviest foot traffic, the use of some AT shelters may require the payment of a fee smell dee. Fee sites are mostly found in New England and are usually $10 or less. Free sites are interspersed between the fee sites. See more on ATC website.
The impacts of how and where hikers socialize, camp, sleep, eat, and commune on the AT and PCT are detailed further in this article by Zach Davis, founder of TheTrek.co.
The ski hut atop Bromley Mountain in Vermont belongs to the Bromley Mountain Ski Resort, but is open for thru-hikers to rest at or camp inside during the summer months, in the off season.
Book Review: Walks of a Lifetime: Extraordinary Hikes From Around the World
by Robert and Martha Manning, Falcon Press, 2017.
Hurrah! Another elegant invitation from the Mannings to ordinary folks to try long distance walking!
Martha and Robert Manning on the Kumado Kodo Pilgrimage Walk, Japan, Courtesy Robert Manning
Walks of a Lifetime (2017), like the Manning’s first guidebook,Walking Distance(2013), alternates compelling descriptions of 30 exceptional walks around the world with brief essays on aspects of walking. With these intelligent companion volumes, Robert and Martha Manning are now firmly established as discerning and trusted guides to some of the world’s best walks. Their approach goes way beyond your typical “trail guide”.
Essays in Walks of a Lifetime delightfully amplify themes in the walk chapters, connect the reader to the larger world of long distance walking, and inspire closer attention to the world we walk. The 30 topics include trail angels, pilgrimage, urban walking, philanthropic walking, place, and the philosophy and ethics of walking. The authors celebrate the joys of advance research, discuss how to prepare and how to enjoy serendipitous “misadventures” along the way, and offer advice on answering the inevitable question, “how long will it take?”. Further, they explore the expanded field around walking by musing on ecotourism, health, walking as political statement, walking as art, and they contemplate the existential conundrum of journey vs. the destination.
Each walk portrait presents the sort of information that never goes out of date, for example natural and cultural history, land management context, weather and terrain. Descriptions are useful, satisfying, but hardly exhaustive. Instead, the reader will be stimulated toward further research, and to embrace walking as a process of life-long learning. Robert contributes knowledges honed by decades of research and teaching on national parks around the world, and he also provides hundreds of high quality photos. Martha, an artist, speaks and writes as an astute observer full of practical advice. Both husband and wife have an eye for natural beauty, topography, and unique landscape features. They also share their infectious enjoyment of people, culture and cuisine. Specifically, the walk descriptions include:
Marron Bells, Colorado, Courtesy Robert Manning
Val D’Orcia, Italy, Courtesy Robert Manning
Orientation to the landscape and its natural history, including geology, wildlife, botany, weather, soils, bodies of water, etc.;
Cultural highlights of each area, including history, archaeology, museums, culinary traditions, agriculture, architecture, language, thermal baths, and local lore;
The context of the trail/traverse: how the trail came to be, how it operates, nearby and connecting trails, the challenges and unique features of the parks and natural areas it traverses, the broader trail system and walking culture of the nation/region in which it exists; and
Photographs that visually define each experience.
And, of course, practical information and advice is included:
Getting to the trail head and back, getting around in the region;
Availability of food, water, accommodations, bathrooms, campsites, etc.;
How to hike the trail in sections, other possible modifications, and adjacent trails;
Level of difficulty, type of terrain, safety considerations, and tips about gear;
Trail protocols (important do’s and don’ts) and environmental ethics.
In Walks of a Lifetime the authors expand our concept of long distance walking beyond hiking remote woods and tramping distant fields to include sauntering through some of the world’s most populous cities (Sydney, New York, Paris and San Francisco). They also include a range of bucolic to backcountry walks in places like Arizona, Hawaii, Georgia, Utah, Colorado, Maine, N.H., China, France, New Zealand, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Scotland, England and Wales. And they take us on treks in some of the most isolated locations in the USA such as Denali in Alaska, Havasu Canyon and Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness in Arizona, and Popo Agie Wilderness in Wyoming.
The Manning’s continued emphasis on long distance walks for ordinary people is a refreshing corrective to the current craze for “through hiking” on such trails as the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trail. Such hikes, requiring months of time and almost superhuman effort, are not for ordinary people. This book is a tonic for the rest of us. In fact, in Walks of a Lifetime, the Mannings offer even gentler and more accessible walks than in their previous guide. They include four urban saunters, and also describe a higher proportion of domestic (U.S.) walks (seventeen) than in the 2013 volume (twelve). As to level of difficulty, this latest guide includes seven walks of low challenge (compared with two in the previous book) and eight that are categorized as high challenge (compared with twelve in the previous book).
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, an Urban Walk, Courtesy Robert Manning
The latest volume is published by Falcon Press, a specialist in trail guides. The earlier guide, published by Oregon State University Press includes an index, further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter, a bibliography, and a sprinkling of sparkling quotations throughout. The Falcon Press publication omits these extras. I missed these.
One quibble: the maps in Walks of a Lifetime are extremely rudimentary. While providing the highly detailed topo maps necessary for walking the walk is clearly not within the scope of this guide, better maps would definitely aid in amplifying the author’s text and in supporting the walker’s planning. Falcon Press is capable of doing better by its authors and readers.
Readers new to long distance walking will find themselves in good hands as they select a walk and plan for their first trip. Experienced walkers will enjoy perusing the options shared by the well-travelled and insightful authors. Written with intelligence, grace and gentle humor, the Manning’s two guides are perfect gifts for friends and family. Each volume effectively encourages new readers to get off the chair, take a long walk, and savor the wonders of nature and culture at a slow pace. Both guides are also highly recommended for libraries serving communities with interest in outdoor recreation.
Public access to private land is taken for granted. For several days along the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota prompted a strong sensation of enjoying the kindness of strangers. Trail signs reminded me to respect the property rights of those permitting the trail corridor to traverse their land, and other signs clearly marked the NO TRESPASSING boundaries. With one exception this permissive access was granted anonymously. The land owners likely live nearby, but we walkers don’t know who the are. The one exception was a tribute to landowner Sarah Ellen Jaeger, who not only granted permissive access, but put her land in a trust.
While we in the USA are blessed with lots of public lands for trails, we are also often dependent on the kindness of private land owners who grant rights of way for trails. Musing on this, Thomas Jefferson’s metaphor came to mind:
He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
As I reflected on our founding father’s notions about sharing intellectual property, I also realized the limits of the metaphor. When a few hikers or bikers damage a trail, access to private land is compromised by their offensive footprints.
When landowners get fed up with ongoing disrespectful behaviors on the trail (e.g. littering, trespassing, camping, and lighting fires), they sometimes rescind the permissive access to the trail corridor.
As a result, trails must be re-routed at great effort and expense. Fortunately rescinding of access happens very infrequently.
In the USA under “permissive access” to private property: all the private land owner has to do to bar others is to post a NO TRESPASSING sign. In some other nations traditional rights of way across private land are protected and “right to roam” legislation guarantees free trail access for the public.
It is easy to bemoan what we don’t have in terms of access rights to private land, and I agree with these arguments. But as I walked the SHT I was overcome with gratitude for what we do have: thousands of anonymous land owners who willingly grant public access to their land because they believe in the importance of trails and in sharing their woods, rocks, trees and vistas.
It was a special pleasure to see one special land owner memorialized on the trail. Thank you Sarah Ellen Jaeger and all the other generous owners of private land who allow us to walk.
Ray Zillmer left for posterity Wisconsin’s greatest trail, the organization that promotes and protects it, the Badger State’s first and still only backcountry huts and a backpack full of conservation and exploration accomplishments.
Born in Milwaukee, WI in 1887, Zillmer attended Harvard Law School and received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1914-1960, he practiced law in Milwaukee.
Ray Zillmer in Canadian Rockies
During the 1930s–1940s, Zillmer became an accomplished and respected explorer and mountaineer. In 1934 Zillmer was part of a team of five mountaineers who completed the first ascent of Anchorite Peak, British Columbia, Canada. He would go on to summit many other peaks and describe previously uncharted lands.
In the summer of 1938, he and a companion retraced the steps of Alexander MacKenzie’s 1793 expedition between the Fraser and Bella Coola rivers, through part of what is today Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park. He described the adventure in detail in his first of four articles published in the Canadian Alpine Journal.
The American Alpine Journal also published several of his exploration and mountaineering articles, including:
“The Exploration of the Source of the Thompson River in British Columbia”, 1940;
“Exploration of the Northern Monashee Range”, 1942;
“The Location of Mt. Milton and the Restoration of the Names ‘Mt. Milton’ and ‘Mt.Cheadle'”, 1943;
“The Exploration of the Cariboo Range from the East”, 1944;
“The Exploration of the Sources of the McLennan River”, 1946.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Mount Zillmer, Zillmer Creek and Zillmer Glacier in British Columbia’s Cariboo Range were all named in his honor.
Back in his home state of Wisconsin, in addition to being an accomplished attorney at law, Zillmer had a keen interest in natural history. He was well aware of Wisconsin’s rich array of landforms created during the Pleistocene. Indeed, North American geologists refer to the last phase of the recent ice age as the Wisconsin Glaciation. During this by-gone epoch, vast oceans of ice that covered northern latitudes would make today’s disappearing alpine glaciers seem like mere creeks of ice.
One of the unique areas of Wisconsin is the Kettle Moraine, a belt of ridges and depressions created by the combined action of two lobes of a Pleistocene ice sheet. It is the place where geologists first determined that Pleistocene ice sheets had lobes and that interlobate regions had their own set of landforms. Through the Izaak Walton League, Ray Zillmer was a leading advocate for the acquisition of land for the Kettle Moraine State Forest, which today covers 55,000 acres within a hundred-mile corridor.
For many years Zillmer led weekend hikes to explore the Kettle Moraine during fall, winter and spring. The hikes were memorable for the miles covered as well as the lunch which consisted of various cans of soup brought by fellow hikers, all combined into a single pot.
In the 1950s he worked closely with the Wisconsin Conservation Department (precursor to the DNR) to design backcountry huts for hikers in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. He then donated thousands of dollars to their construction. These nine shelters remain the only set of backcountry huts in Wisconsin.
Ice Age Trail map
In 1958 he established the Ice Age National Park Citizens Committee and the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation, later renamed the Ice Age Trail Alliance. His articles proposing an Ice Age National Park in Wisconsin were published in 1958 by the Milwaukee Public Museum and in 1959 by Wisconsin Alumnus magazine. The proposed park and a long-distance hiking trail through it would follow the Kettle Moraine of eastern Wisconsin and continue west along the terminal moraine to the state’s western boundary. Bills were introduced in Congress to create an Ice Age National Park in Wisconsin.
Zillmer’s insistence that long, narrow corridors of public land serve greater numbers of outdoor recreationists than the big national parks of his day and his proposal for a long-distance hiking trail in Wisconsin made an impression on Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson. Armed with this appreciation and later as a U.S. Senator, Nelson introduced legislation to designate the Appalachian Trail the first National Scenic Trail and introduced the National Trails System Act of 1968. Congress finally designated the thousand-mile Ice Age Trail a National Scenic Trail in 1980.
In 1933 the Wisconsin Izaak Walton League named Zillmer “Man of the Year” for his work on the Kettle Moraine State Forest. In 1959 he was presented a plaque by the National Campers and Hikers Association for his efforts to preserve natural areas for public use. A trail system in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest is named the Zillmer Trails and a park in St. Croix Falls is named Ray Zillmer Park, both in his honor. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 1993. Today the highest award of achievement given by the Ice Age Trail Alliance is the Ray Zillmer Award.
Following his death in December, 1960 the Milwaukee Journal opined, “…the people of Milwaukee and of Wisconsin and the conservation movement nationally are deeply indebted to Mr. Zillmer. His vision, his boundless energy and his dogged determination in behalf of worthy causes to which he was devoted became legend . . . No community and no state ever has enough of men like Raymond T. Zillmer. And the loss of even one, inevitable as it may be, is cause for deep regret.”
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Sources:
“Our Greatest Trail”, Erik Ness, Wisconsin Trails magazine, April 2002, Vol. 43, No. 2
“Climb Anchorite Peak”, The Montreal Gazette, July 23, 1934.
Along Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008, page 8.
“Scorning A Glacial Gift”, The Milwaukee Journal, August 21, 1988.
“Origins of Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail”, Sarah Mittlefeldht, Wisconsin Magazine of History: Volume 90, number 3, spring 2007, page 7.
These American Lands, Dyan Zaslowsky and T.H. Watkins, Island Press, 1994, pages 258-259.
You can’t have huts without trails. Surprisingly there is no communication at a national level in USA between the huts and trails communities. Next month a conversation will begin at the International Trails Symposium (ITS).
The ITS is a rich mix of hikers, operators of many of the major trail systems in the world, federal and state land managers, and people interested in all aspects of trail planning, building, and operations. It turns out most of these folks don’t know much about hut systems, but they are curious to learn more about accommodation systems for long-distance human-powered travelers.
With its highly-organized system of 1,000 backcountry huts New Zealand (NZ) — about the same size (area and population) as Oregon — is the hut capital of the world. By comparison, the USA has about 110 huts operating within 17 different hut-to-hut systems; Switzerland and Norway each have about 500 huts. Every nation’s approach to outdoor recreation — including how its citizens organize overnight stays in the wild — is based on local causes and conditions such as geography, size of the country, climate, terrain, history, economics, politics, and cultural values. Shelter from the Storm is a richly illustrated, well-researched history of the causes and conditions that created NZ’s unique hut culture, and a beautiful tribute to the huts themselves.
For part one of this review click here. Following are some fascinating themes and stories that are skillfully elaborated in Shelter from the Storm, about New Zealand Backcountry Huts.
This book tells the story of how a geographically remote island nation came to create a robust international outdoor culture, and how a disparate collection of huts built for other purposes – I like the phrase infrastructure lying in wait — came to form the backbone of the world’s largest hut system. Continue reading →
On Trails: an exploration by Robert Moor, Simon and Schuster, 2016
Book Review by Sam Demas
Robert Moor is intellectually intrepid in his exploration — as a writer and a walker – of the genesis, meaning and wonder of trails. Trails of all kinds. He writes in the spirit of intellectual adventure represented by authors like Henry Thoreau, John Muir, Robert Macfarlane, Annie Dillard, Jared Diamond, and Bruce Chatwin. Through fluid writing, artful character sketches, long walks, and deep research, he opens our eyes to the fact that trails are everywhere one goes in the world, and that they all have stories to tell and wisdom to impart. As Moor says, his book is a trail whose destination is a quest for the wisdom of trails. I’ve read (or listened to) this book several times in the past year and am finally sharing my enthusiasm with the readers of hut2hut.info. Continue reading →
