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RodF
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PostTue Jan 29, 2013 3:14 pm 
Some early USFS photos of shelter construction, from ONP archives. The first is construction of the Three Lakes Shelter on Skyline Trail.
Three Lakes Shelter 1935
Three Lakes Shelter 1935
Heather Park Forest Camp construction
Heather Park Forest Camp construction
Heather Park
Heather Park
The caption of the second reads "Construction of alpine shelter at Heather Park Forest Camp. Shows fireplace and two stoves in process of construction. Approximately 300 tons of rock used in this shelter. All rock from top of Mt. Angeles where it is wedged off and rolled some 1000 feet down the shale slide, where horse and sled drag to location. Some of the stones weigh 1000 pounds or more. All rock placed by hand, and no mortor used except in construction of stoves and fireplaces and that invisible. Foreman Fred Kelly, left, and Ranger L.D. Blodgett, second from Right." So the rock was from Tombstone Pass, further up the Mount Angeles Trail. The photo is undated, likely from 1937-38, as the USFS construction was never completed after Olympic NP was created. The Park proposed to complete it in a 1962 project proposal, but never did so.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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ranger rock
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PostThu May 09, 2013 9:38 am 
Does anyone have a picture of steel creek shelter on the South Fork Skokomish?

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Animal Chin
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PostFri May 17, 2013 10:29 am 
Here is the new shelter at Bear camp on the Dosewallips:
This was taken right after the 2 parks service employees finished construction on the shelter and after we moved in.

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NWtrax
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PostFri May 17, 2013 9:00 pm 
Saw the guys working on it when i passed by last summer. Looks pretty spiffy up.gif

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PostFri Aug 30, 2013 1:20 am 
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter 082413 photo courtesy National Park Service
Pelton Creek Shelter - Queets Valley - August 24, 2013 photos courtesy National Park Service

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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RodF
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PostThu Sep 05, 2013 5:20 pm 
Point and counterpoint, in response to Seabury Blair Jr.'s August 6 column Historic ONP Trail Shelters Need Replacing (alas, subscriber access only). Synopsis: "Judge issued common-sense ruling" in allowing helicopter for maintenance of historic Fred Burr High Lake Dam within Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (much to the chagrin of WilderWatch), apparently contradicting the earlier decision to bar helicopter use for restoration of historic trail shelters in Olympic NP.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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PostThu Sep 05, 2013 6:28 pm 
hey, isn't McNulty one of that bunch up there who claimed an area logged over in the 1940s up on the Dosewallips was "old growth"? credibility = less than zero, if that were numerically possible.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Lotus54
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PostThu Sep 05, 2013 7:43 pm 
Excellent reply Rod. I still don't understand why these so called conservationists do not support the historic shelters. Why not encourage people to used these, so the only impacts are very, very small areas. I guess I shouldn't bring up the trend that only people with disposable income can use their Parks. All the high fees (many of those fee to exclusively to pay to collect the same fees) and requirements of expensive gear makes it difficult for much of the population that perhaps rarely gets time to enjoy the park. Those that don't like them can simply go on the opposite side of the river from the trail. Then they don't need to see all those darn bridges, foot logs, puncheon etc either. I was on the crew that did some rather major work on the Home Sweet Home shelter- it was a pretty neat structure and also an excellent location for safety. I worked with Tim back in the Trail Crew days and he is a friend of mine, but I don't agree with him on this.

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reststep
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PostThu Sep 05, 2013 7:54 pm 
I agree, excellent reply Rod. I don't agree with Tim on this or on the Dosewallips River Road.

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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NacMacFeegle
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PostFri Jan 24, 2014 12:09 pm 
I've always felt that letting shelters, lookouts and other historic structures in the back country fall apart is a great tragedy. Not only are they historically valuable but also a great way to reduce the impact of backpackers on the Wilderness. Yes, they are man made, but so are the dozens of barren tent sites along every popular trail. If there were more shelters than fewer people would camp in delicate meadows.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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RodF
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PostTue Feb 04, 2014 9:09 pm 
Here from our archives is an excellent summary of the legal mandates on NPS for preservation of historic structures within Wilderness.
Morris 2001 p1
Morris 2001 p1
Morris 2001 p2
Morris 2001 p2
Note on p. 2 "I might point out that approximately 50 shelters were removed without any compliance with NEPA" or public notice, most in the period 1970 to 1975, under Sup't Roger Allin. Of those 14 historic shelters within Wilderness, four have since been lost (Low Divide, Home Sweet Home, Falls, Twelvemile), one collapsed (Pelton), two have failing roofs (Hyak, Fifteenmile) and one is endangered (Enchanted Valley Chalet, a public shelter since 1944, emergency use only since 1983). The law has not changed since this was written. Courts have constrained the use of helicopters within Wilderness, except as "necessary for the administration of the area as Wilderness" including preservation of its historic value, and approved per NEPA process. Policy based on these laws is in NPS-28 chapter 5 Management of Historic Structures.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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RPBrown
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PostWed Mar 26, 2014 10:23 pm 
Ten Mile Shelter, 1938. Photo taken by my great uncle when he was in the C's. Note the wood stove crankin away there.

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RodF
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PostThu Mar 27, 2014 2:24 am 
Wonderful that you shared this, RP. There are so few photos of these shelters when they were "new". Stove appears to be masonry fire pit with make-shift stovepipe. Note the hefty front stringer and knee braces were original. (The smaller left knee brace pictured doesn't match the heftier right knee brace, but the one there now does.) That's a surprise; I thought most shelters didn't originally have knee braces. When built, Ten Mile Shelter was 10 miles above the CCC Camp Quilcene on Penny Creek, or about 8 miles above the trailhead at the Port Townsend diversion dam. By 1938 when this photo was taken, the road had been extended to Bark Shanty, so it was only a 3-1/2 mile hike. The timber abutments of the original timber road bridge across the Big Quilcene just below Bark Shanty still remain, underneath the new trail bridge. brief history

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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RPBrown
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PostThu Mar 27, 2014 10:59 am 
Hi Rod, Thanks for the info and good to see you again. When I zoom in on my biggest files, looks like a typical metal, box stove to me. It might be siting on a cement-rock pedestal of sorts. The shadows on the sides of the stove give it an irregular appearance. Judging from all the stuff laying around, this was probably a summer base camp for the CCC crew. Yes, my uncle called this "four-mile" shelter. The road was punched in to Bark Shanty in 1936 by the C's as a fire road.

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RPBrown
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PostThu Mar 27, 2014 10:44 pm 
Hi again Rod, Just curious if you were able to dig up any information about the Shelter Rock Cabin up the Big Quil? Posting again the photo my great aunt took in 1939 of a couple of campers at the cabin. She was enroute to Charlia at the time. I still maintain that the cabin was built by the Forest Service, pre CCC.

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