The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club built a new shelter at the old Rocky Run shelter site. They also rebuilt the old shelter. One of 15 left from the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC. Way to go guys and gals! I was last at the old shelter in 2001. It was pretty run down. Plus the design made for a dreary place. And if that is not enough it is close to where the Blair Witch Project was filmed. I did not feel good about sleeping there!
Originally, the club planned to take down the old log shelter and replace it with a larger one. But, noting its historic significance, Preservation Maryland provided funding for materials to restore the CCC-built shelter and PATC volunteers did the work.
Built of chestnut, several of the bottom logs had deteriorated. Workers jacked the shelter up and replaced them with round white oak logs, rechinked it, put on a new wood shake roof and installed a new wood floor.
Sheaffer said the shelter site was chosen probably because the hillside offers protection and Rocky Run spring bubbles forth nearby. Over the years, two decks, a grill pit, porch swing and a flower bed have been added, making it a homey sight for weary hikers.
The site for the new shelter, just a few hundred yards from the old one, was chosen because it's flat. Built of new half logs, it has three full sides, a wood floor and a plywood-floored loft, and sleeps 16 people. The roof extends over a large wood-deck porch, which could double as sleeping space. Large clerestory windows flood the shelter with natural light. Most AT shelters are dark inside, said Sheaffer.
New shelters typically cost $7,000 to $9,000 and take eight to 12 months of volunteer labor to build, he said. PATC is also building new shelters at Devils Racecourse in Maryland and at Rod Hollow in Virginia. "Every shelter is a little different," he said. "But basically they are three-sided structures."
Pictures: new shelter, old shelter.
I am glad they kept the old shelter.
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