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  1. #21
    Registered User Garlic's Avatar
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    I love this little shelter and the site isn't too bad. We stayed here back in 1993 when we did the AT and you don't see too many shelters with the uniqness this one has. I wouldn't trust the water source out front and it gets a bit buggy in the summer months, but I have fond memories of this great place on the AT. I think it was a father and son project that was completed back in 1989.

  2. #22
    TOW's Avatar
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    It's only big enough for two or three comfortably and in a damp area...........wanderer
    Last edited by TOW; 05-21-2005 at 23:39. Reason: adding

  3. #23
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    Well was planning to nap a few hours at this one when I went thru in late-May of 1993 but fell asleep in the warm sun and didn't wake up till evening so I made it an overnight. An unusaul, but cozy design, peaceful surrounds, very nice except move that privy away from the spring....

  4. #24
    Musta notta gotta lotta sleep last night. Heater's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jackiebolen
    However, it was probably the most poorly designed shelter that I saw...
    One of the most poorly named as well.
    What were they thinking?

  5. #25
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    Default Spiders

    Stayed there just last week. We managed to get 5 in the shelter, but it was tight.

    Be prepared to kill spiders before sleeping. We saw some big ones, and they looked like they had many friends.

  6. #26
    Runnin' on Empty Teatime's Avatar
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    I stopped at Dick's Dome for lunch during my Spring 2004 section hike. It was a nice place for lunch but don't think I would want to sleep there. As I was finishing lunch, a teenaged girl walked up and seemed surprised to find me there. She had parked her ATV up on the dirt road and walked down to sneek a cigarette, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, I talked to her for a few minutes and went my merry way. I wouldn't be surprised if this shelter was a big makeout/party spot for teens.

  7. #27

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    It's a dump and needs to be replaced or eliminated.

  8. #28
    Registered User Panzer1's Avatar
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    I don't even like the name "Dicks Dome". What kind of a name is that. Couldn't they call it something else?

    Panzer

  9. #29
    Registered User TACKLE's Avatar
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    Had a very memorable night at Dicks Dome.It was when the remnants of Katrina hit in the area.A nice size chunk of tree hit it in the middle of the storm that night.The next day we had major problems crossing all the blowdowns on the trail.Turns out a tornado touched down.The little shelter came through in flying colors protecting us from the weather.There was enough room for 4 six footers but not much more.

  10. #30
    Registered User neo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moon Monster
    I hiked in here from Front Royal largely after dark in May '03. I got in at around 10 pm and was soaked due to pooring rain and a trailway full of standing water. There were two gentlemen asleep in one half the shelter and a girl sprawled at an angle taking up most of the second half. Still, I found room between her and the wall, but I had to step over her to get there. I was as quiet as reasonably possible to avoid tarping in the rain and I shielded my headlamp with my fingers.

    At 5 am the next morning-before first light-the female hiker got up and made her exit as loud as possible, including dropping boots or pack or something heavy on the floor several times and letting her Lekis drop a few times from some height (I presume all for my benefit). It didn't phase me and I slept on only slightly disturbed, but the other two hikers were laughing about her when we three were up a couple hours later.

    One of those hikers was an 80-year old gentlemen on his fifth 2,000 mile trek. He was phenomenal, and he gave me a terrific confidence-boosting compliment by saying that I looked like I would surely finish my thru-hike.
    the 80 year old guy sounds like the guy i met in may 2003 at the david lesser shelter,this guy had bypass heart surgery 6 months earlier,i really enjoyed meeting him neo

  11. #31
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    We stopped by here for lunch on 4/14/06. The shelter seemed intact on the inside though many of the roofing tiles lining the outer walls had peeled off or were hanging. Thus it made it look pretty shabby. The stream is pretty out front but we are told not reliable for drinking water. The design makes it difficult for more than three to stay. And its proximity to a dirt road makes it vulnerable. If I needed a place to stay, I would tent near the spring a mile up on the AT. Some good tenting spots are there.







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  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Panzer1 View Post
    I don't even like the name "Dicks Dome". What kind of a name is that. Couldn't they call it something else?

    Panzer
    LOL....couldn't agree more. Call it anything but "Dick's Dome". Actually if you renamed the shelter about 20 miles north (Sam Moore I think) for the growth on the side of the tree on the blue blaze leading up to the shelter....well you could have a complete set of male anatomy.

    On a more serious and less disgusting note. I overnighted there with some friends Christmas 2007. We got in around 1:30 AM and no one was there. The rat never showed either...or it was so stealthy we never heard/saw it. The hexagon shape does make for a waste of space. You could maybe fit 5 squeezed in it. Ditto to the privy being too far upstream of the shelter.

  13. #33
    Registered User shelterbuilder's Avatar
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    Someone needs to go in with a load of cedar shingles and replace the shingles on the walls with cedar shingles - even undercourse shingles would be better than asphalt shingles. As I recall, it is a bit small, but the shape is incredibly strong.
    Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!

  14. #34
    jersey joe jersey joe's Avatar
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    I too lost a pair of laces to the mystery rodent at Dick's Dome.

  15. #35
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    Just spent my first night on the AT at Dick's Dome, and after reading the reviews, I don't understand what you all have against this place!!!

    Of couse, it is early March, so no bugs as of yet, saw 1 mouse out in the leaves about 20 yards from the shelter while gathering wood. Yes, the privy is located up on the bank above the creek, just walk upstream past it a bit and filter the water from there! I was nice sleeing in the shelter (which can hold 5 easy I would assume, judging how much space was left over after my fat a$$ was in there!), listening to the babbling of the creek outside. I would guess that in warmer weather, later in the season, it probably wouldn't be all that great with the bug situation, but for a late winter/early spring hike, I think it was pretty good. Shelter was in good repair and clean, privy was extremely clean and had a fresh roll of TP inside. The good kind too, CHARMIN, lol.

    Anyway, I thought it was pretty decent, no rodent activity inside the shelter, and no evidence of any recent pests. Swept out the little bit of dust and webs and it was great!

  16. #36
    Wheeler Wheeler's Avatar
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    I was there this summer. Was a bear lurking around but stayed his/her distance.Water good. tent site's looked flooded in the rain. Was just me-so plenty of room. Not for more than 4 though.(if you want to stretch out)

  17. #37

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    I discoverd that if you go up the hill past the privy another 20 feet or so, you come out to an old woods road which you can follow back to the AT. A much shorter and easier walk to the trail then the "official" route and comes out maybe 100-200 yards north of where the shelter blue blaze trail is.

    I don't think I would have stayed in that shelter, even if a group hadn't already been in there!
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  18. #38
    Registered User shelterbuilder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    I was there this summer. Was a bear lurking around but stayed his/her distance.Water good. tent site's looked flooded in the rain. Was just me-so plenty of room. Not for more than 4 though.(if you want to stretch out)
    Did "they" ever put permanent hooks into the studs for hammocks? Or is it still just floor space? (I'm thinking in terms of carrying capacity, not in terms of "hangers' preference".)
    Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!

  19. #39
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    I thought the water there was contaminated due to farmer's field upstream?

    Honestly, nice tent spots a mile north by a spring.







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  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by shelterbuilder View Post
    Did "they" ever put permanent hooks into the studs for hammocks? Or is it still just floor space? (I'm thinking in terms of carrying capacity, not in terms of "hangers' preference".)
    Nope, no hangers at all, except for mouse hangers on the ceiling. I don't know, I had a nice stay there. Nice tip on the road, I crossed it on the trail, although part of the reason I go out is for the exercise, so I don't mind the extra distance!

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