Blood Mountain Shelter (GA)

[weary]

Blood Mtn shelter doesn't provide a single view of anything except squalor, disease, and filth. The views are from the rocks. It should be torn down and moved to the museum.

If one wants to see the sun rise or set, or the stars and moon at night above an unobstructed horizon, the shelter provides the only option in that area. Squalor is in the eyes of the beholder. I don't know of any special Blood Mountain diseases, do you? Filth is caused by humans, and only humans can eliminate it from an historic site. Think about volunteering if you don't like the Blood Mtn. Shelter. All of the trail lives or dies, depending on the dedication of volunters. Blood mountain is a special place. It's shelter is a slum only because most people everywhere are slobs that a few of us must pickup after. Closing the shelter; tearing down the shelter, solves nothing.

The slobs will continue to climb the mountain. The shelter only concentrates their filth, making it easier to clean up.

Weary

[Kembo]

I was the only one staying there May 22, 1972. It was crawling with mice. Five minutes after putting down my pack the mice were all over it. I retreated and camped 100 ft. away from the shelter that night.

[Skidsteer]

If one wants to see the sun rise or set, or the stars and moon at night above an unobstructed horizon, the shelter provides the only option in that area. Squalor is in the eyes of the beholder. I don't know of any special Blood Mountain diseases, do you? Filth is caused by humans, and only humans can eliminate it from an historic site. Think about volunteering if you don't like the Blood Mtn. Shelter. All of the trail lives or dies, depending on the dedication of volunters. Blood mountain is a special place. It's shelter is a slum only because most people everywhere are slobs that a few of us must pickup after. Closing the shelter; tearing down the shelter, solves nothing.

The slobs will continue to climb the mountain. The shelter only concentrates their filth, making it easier to clean up.

Weary

I would happily volunteer to help move the shelter to a museum.

[weary]

I would happily volunteer to help move the shelter to a museum.

The shelter is a museum where it is. Moving it would make it a less valuable museum piece. Keeping it there, keeping the site clean, just improves the Blood Mtn museum. Moving it simply diminishes the value of an important early trail artifact, without doing anything to improve the admitedly vandalized site. This just makes the situation worse.

Weary

[max patch]

Weary, you are right about the Blood Mtn situation, however, the typical WhiteBlaze mob mentality is now in play which means intelligent discussion of this issue going forward is impossible.

[Lone Wolf]

I would happily volunteer to help move the shelter to a museum.

me too for all my bitchin' and snivelin'. i'll show

[weary]

me too for all my bitchin' and snivelin'. i'll show

I'll be there also. As a one man picket, protesting the desecration of a bit of Appalachian Trail history

[take-a-knee]

I'll place the charges.

[Sir-Packs-Alot]

I live in Atlanta - and hike Blood Mt. frequently. The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club is trying real hard to figure out what to do about the shelter situation. They do the best they can to maintain it - but of course physical damage, mice problems, bear problems, garbage - these issues are more relevant here than at any other GA shelter because of the shelters age, weather exposure, it's a frequent tourist day hike where people leave trash and food, there are no bear cables up there to properly hang your food (mostly just small mountain laurels and rhodendrons-except the few tree in front of the shelter that are not good for bear bagging). I know they'd prefer that people not camp up there overnight - and everyone is scared of what a wind whipped campfire up there could become when it gets real dry and warnings are up. I hope the old historic shelter remains up there and is kept repaired indefinetely. They had bear problems that were substantial just recently - so I hope the GATC figures out whether they want to allow folks that do go up there to properly hang their foods (put up cables) - or fiigure out how to deter them from staying the night up there.

Good luck GATC !

[GA BASS]

put a cat in the shelter

[B.B.]

I hiked through there on 7-13-10. Did not stay, but I have to say it was not nearly as bad as what I had expected. It was pretty crowded. Most hikers were still asleep when I went through....about 7 or 8 people in there. The trash really didn't seem any worse than alot of the shelters I saw and/or stayed at. I was expecting much worse. Unfortunately, it was early when I was there and very cloudy...No visibility....felt like I was in a fog machine at Halloween!!!

[Bidwell]

I went up there over the past weekend. The shelter seemed to be in good shape, but close-by, there was an awful lot of garbage. No wonder why bears are so bad up here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISUa6-K7ikU

Leave no trace, folks!

- Greg

[Bornsouthern34]

Any news on water or bears between Blood Mtn and Wood's Hole? Gonna camp with my boys end of this month.

[jabowman7]

Any news on water or bears between Blood Mtn and Wood's Hole? Gonna camp with my boys end of this month.

I was on Blood Mountain about two weeks ago and had no trouble with water. I talked to some rangers and they said they were still having problems with the bears, but nothing out of the ordinary (for Blood Mountain, anyway). Just be sure to bear bag all your food and smelly stuff and you should be fine.

[Bornsouthern34]

I was on Blood Mountain about two weeks ago and had no trouble with water. I talked to some rangers and they said they were still having problems with the bears, but nothing out of the ordinary (for Blood Mountain, anyway). Just be sure to bear bag all your food and smelly stuff and you should be fine.

Thanks for the update. I think I am going to just traverse Blood Mtn and stay at Jarrad Gap. I will post how it works out later.

[Sierra Echo]

I would happily volunteer to help move the shelter to a museum.

That shelter is about to get a massive face lift

[mweinstone]

this is what matthewski does for a living. i restore historical philadelphia landmarks . heres my idea:

all trees shadeing the site are cut. sunlight now baths the shelter makeing it a dryer place. thats number one.

an exspansive deck is built around the entire shelter allowing sleeping uncovered and covered(by pitching on the deck).sleeping is banned from the inside halting use of that space.

the inside is restored, closed, and secured with heavy wooden shutters.opened for events and fundraising only.

road and trail access points below the shelter area are marked with warnings concerning shelter rules. example: you are approching the historicaly renovated blood mountain shelter area,.. violations of shelter rules stricktly enforced.camping permitted outside shelter on deck areas only, pack all trash out, no fires permitted around shelter area. violators will be prosicuted.

[Hikes in Rain]

That shelter is about to get a massive face lift

Is it really? That's great, it's such a wonderful old shelter. Hmm...would you folks need the services of a relatively good engineer? My Georgia license is current, although I really haven't practiced there much.

[max patch]

That shelter is about to get a massive face lift

Thats great. What have you heard?

[Scrapes]

Just hiked thru there 10/13, glad to see and experience an historic shelter. It was clean, but did have the usual hiker graffitti.

Now the most disgusting part of the trail I've experienced is Wolf Laurel Top, there was toilet paper everywhere, crap visible, the hill side smelled like the worst privy I've ever been in. Sad.