Roan High Knob Shelter is temp closed

[mountain squid]

The highest shelter on the AT is temporarily closed until repairs are made. The Roan High Knob shelter logs are deteriorating and will be replaced next year (2025) when the weather cooperates. The area around the shelter is also closed to camping.

This promises to be a complex project and will likely take most of next year.

Please plan accordingly and do not make plans to camp here.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

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[Tennessee Viking]

Was all that the original logs

[mountain squid]

Was all that the original logs

Probably but I don't know for sure. In the almost 20 years that I've been here, we haven't replaced any.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[Captain Blue]

The logs very well could be original. Here is how the shelter looked in 1938.

[LazyLightning]

What are they going to do, replace the logs and save the roof?

To replace all the logs and save the roof doesn't make sense to me, a few bad logs maybe. Better off tearing it down and rebuilding. The amount of material your going to save is not worth the extra labor.

The only way this makes sense to me is if they can't tear it down and rebuild by code. For instance: Maybe if they tear it down they can't just build another one but repairing the existing one is ok. That's the only thing that makes sense from a carpentry stand point.

When I camped there in the attic there was snow that night and it came in the ridge vent... good thing nobody was in the center directly under the ridge! Got up in the morning and saw a line of snow next to me.

[gpburdelljr]

Here is the scoping document.
https://usfs-public.app.box.com/v/Pi.../1610900042116

[Captain Blue]

Please plan accordingly and do not make plans to camp here.

The closure extends 60 feet from the shelter. This leaves plenty of space outside this zone to camp in the designated camping area area.

[Patrickjd9]

What are they going to do, replace the logs and save the roof? To replace all the logs and save the roof doesn't make sense to me, a few bad logs maybe. Better off tearing it down and rebuilding. The amount of material your going to save is not worth the extra labor.
The only way this makes sense to me is if they can't tear it down and rebuild by code. For instance: Maybe if they tear it down they can't just build another one but repairing the existing one is ok. That's the only thing that makes sense from a carpentry stand point.

I'm involved in AT maintenance, but not in Tennessee, so don't know specifics.

Especially since it's a historic structure, it's a lot easier to repair it than to replace it. For one thing, there is no need for an environmental assessment. It might leave the site without a shelter for a couple of years while paperwork is done and a new design approved, and the environmental assessment could determine that the shelter should be elsewhere. With post-COVID trends showing fewer people sleeping in shelters, the shelter doesn't need to be bigger.

They will preserve what wall logs they can, but that may not be many. It sounds like the new walls will be raised slightly on concrete corner footers, which will help with longevity.

[LazyLightning]

Cool, I figured there had to be something like that involved and not just from a building standpoint. Makes sense. Like around here if you leave one wall on a house it's still considered remodeling and not new construction. So people have left the smallest wall and even repaired it.

[Patrickjd9]

Cool, I figured there had to be something like that involved and not just from a building standpoint. Makes sense. Like around here if you leave one wall on a house it's still considered remodeling and not new construction. So people have left the smallest wall and even repaired it.

It's the same general idea, with the addition of the historic building issue.

I see you're in Connecticut. It must be that part of the country with the one wall rule. When my brother lived on Long Island, the house next door had all but one wall taken down in a renovation.

[RockDoc]

Please do something about all the mice upstairs.

[Patrickjd9]

Please do something about all the mice upstairs.

Getting the rotten wood off the ground should help with that. Mice are omnivores and will eat insects, not to mention the wood making a very easy route into the shelter.

[Gambit McCrae]

mountain squid I am in a space in life where I can start giving back, and I dont know how to get looped in. I have a wood shop and love making signage. If a new sign is needed, please let me know and Ill make it happen and hand deliver one weekend.

[mountain squid]

What are they going to do, replace the logs and save the roof?

That is the general idea. Only time will tell if it is the best idea. As I mentioned it will be complex. I don't know the full plans but I have confidence in my fellow maintainers. Getting materials up there for a new shelter would be very difficult.

I posted a short video on X of what we did yesterday with some of the initial plans for lifting: https://x.com/mountainsquid04/status...49158286754028.

I think it will be a fun project but it will take a long time.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[mountain squid]

mountain squid I am in a space in life where I can start giving back, and I dont know how to get looped in. I have a wood shop and love making signage. If a new sign is needed, please let me know and Ill make it happen and hand deliver one weekend.

I'd say the best way to get looped in would be to volunteer. I don't think we need any wooden signs now, however. But I'll inquire. Perhaps we could use some at the shelters.

I don't know if you are closer to us than any of the other Southern Clubs but as far as regular trail maintenance goes, we go out on Thursdays and the 2nd Saturday of the Month. We also have individual sections that are maintained as required by the maintainers. I assume the other clubs have similar routines.

See you on the trail,
mt squid