This pit of a shelter needs to be burned to the ground and replaced with a tent site further from the road. Vagrant problem solved.
This pit of a shelter needs to be burned to the ground and replaced with a tent site further from the road. Vagrant problem solved.
Was just there a week ago. The tenting sites are good and there is a new picnic table but the shelter itself is kind of a dump with a platform that vibrates and is not flat. The pump has a bad check valve so you have to pump very fast to maintain a column of water and get a flow. It's really a two person operation but you can actually get some water after about 3 minutes of pumping. On the other hand, there is a perfectly good stream about a half mile northbound and an excellent pump at 10 Mile Shelter about 4 miles north. If you can make it stop at 10 Mile Shelter instead. It's near the river and looks out on a field and is one of the best!
Poor Wiley. It suffers so in comparison to Ten Mile! It must be like rooming with a Victoria's Secret model. Unless, of course, you're a guy.
"It goes to show you never can tell." - Charles Edward Anderson Berry
I was there at the end of October, and they had just put a new floor in the shelter. I'm not sure if they were rebuilding anything else. The well was in working condition too. I put some pictures up at http://rangetravelblog.com/nyc-at-nov-14/.
I was there a few weeks ago for some quick overnight outdoor therapy. Everything seemed to be in decent shape - privy, shelter, pump. I didn't see any of the damage in these old photos. The book library is a nice touch too. But to be fair, I tented, and did not stay in the shelter. But my issue was one of noisy company. And I'm not talking about the coyotes that were howlin all night...they are my friends! I enjoyed the company of one other hiker who was there when I arrived around dusk. We both retired to our tents around 830...Now I don't know if the situation I am going to describe was because of proximity to road - I don't think so in this case. For me that made it convenient for a quick getaway as little hiking time was required to get there...and I kinda expected at least one or two quasi-car campers to show because of it. But these 2 loud 4+ person groups rolled in waaay after hiker midnight - 11pm and 1am respectively. From their barreling conversation as they came in and continued to shine their headlamps for an hour every which way while setting up tents, eating dinner and conversing, they seemed to have been hiking a significant distance. I was thinking maybe with the nice weather and leaf color starting to peak, that Ten Mile river was overrun with scouts and other large numbers, so they carried on the extra 4 miles to Wiley. Either way, despite their recognition of the two tents setup and dark when they came in, it didn't seem to affect their behavior and noise level, which is a shame because they kept me, and I'm sure the other hiker, up most of the night. I got nothing against people being excited to be out there enjoying nature, but for gods sake, a trail campsite, especially one occupied by others, is not a party spot. Save that for your state park, if you must. I'm not going to lie, while I did my best to practice what I preach and what I always try to do and quietly pack up at sunrise, I gained a little satisfaction hearing them shuffle around in their tent as I was doing so. Maybe if they hadn't set up their two giant tents right next to the shelter and blocking the path to the privy, they wouldn't have heard me and my stealth breakdown of camp! Regardless, it was great to be out on the trail, as it always is, short trip or long.
I think they must have replaced the floors a few weeks after I was there... didn't mean to sound negative, looking forward to taking my son there for his first backpacking trip. And those noisy neighbors can happen anywhere unfortunately. It seems to be regularly maintained and repaired, and lots of things are kept there to benefit hikers, so kudos to the maintainer.
This shelter has new caretakers, Martin 'The Edge' Hunley and his wife. Great folks and looking to do good stuff for the AT. The Shelter repair was done by a young Scout for his Eagle project. This place WAS a dump, and I never wanted to go back. You will see that the place now has a new lease on life. And tent platforms!
Way to go Marty!
was back last weekend and the improvements are very nice, thanks to the maintainers! had a great time, even with the 30 degree night. had the place to ourselves. what i wouldn't do to be out there this weekend!
Doin' the trail one section at a time
You can read about my adventures at http://happyonthetrails.wordpress.com/
A few of us stayed at Wiley shelter last week. It has cooking pans and racks on the side of the shelter, plus a bottle of cooking oil in the trail mailbox. This shelter also has a Little Library! To whomever set that up, thank you! I borr20151009_165730_resized.jpgowed a book for a few hours. 20151010_073530_resized.jpg
I am thinking about hiking in from Hoyt parking area to tent out at Wiley next month. I'll be on my way to central Massachusetts from south of Baltimore, MD, so wanted to get a little bit of the AT south of the CT-NY line, since I am already doing MA/CT this fall. Is there a bear box/pole or good hanging trees there? Most likely, I'll grab dinner in Wingdale, hike and tent then pack up in the morning to hike back to my car and get breakfast in Kent or somewhere on the road. So, I may not even need to worry about bear stuff!
no bear box or bear lines. a few decent trees for hanging bear bag. its less than a mile and a half to the campsite from hoyt rd, with another road even closer. nice little view from the campsites.
Doin' the trail one section at a time
You can read about my adventures at http://happyonthetrails.wordpress.com/
I was at Wiley shelter last weekend.
The water pump is working fine, the shelter kept people dry in a pouring rain, but there's a widow maker hanging over one of the two tent platforms.
There are a few other spots to set up tents, tarps, or hammocks, but not a lot.
I was at Wiley on 1/11/18. There was no pump for water, only the stream, sign stating to treat water. One tent platform has broken board, other platform ok. No bear box or register. Privey was in good shape. Took out the trash in the fire pit. Shelter was in good shape.
The pump was in place and in good working order the weekend of 12/8/18. Did you have any company when you were there? When I was there last month temperatures were in the teens and we assumed we’d have the place to ourselves, but by nightfall there were nearly a dozen people at the site.
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Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
There was a cover over wherr the water was flowing, is that where the pump should be? There was a wooden sign pointing down to water source. I just went on short hike for planning purposes this summer. There were a lot of deer. Someone hoisted a water bottle up a tree and its stiil there, the rope they were using broke. Didn't look like anyone was there recently.
I stayed here in the fall of 2017. Best trip of my life. Learned how to use platforms with a non freestanding tent.
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Trail Miles: 5,265.4
AT Map 1: ✔ | 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: ✔ | 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: ✔ | 23-24'
Foothills Trail: ✔ | 24'
BMT: 168.3
CDT: 210.9
GSMNP900: 134.7
AT Map 2: 279.4
Good memories. I stayed here on a section hike this past Sept 8 on the first day of Pawling to Great Barrington section. Only one other older gentleman there who was also a section hiker. Didn't use water pump. Used the tent platform. Area was clean and well maintained. I left at 5AM the next morning and appreciated the reflectors on the trees in addition to the blazes.
Trail Miles: 5,265.4
AT Map 1: ✔ | 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: ✔ | 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: ✔ | 23-24'
Foothills Trail: ✔ | 24'
BMT: 168.3
CDT: 210.9
GSMNP900: 134.7
AT Map 2: 279.4