The backcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is liberally dotted with campsites and trailside shelters. The majority of these shelters are situated along the Appalachian Trail through the park.
Icewater Spring shelter is about 3 miles northeast of Newfound Gap on Highway 441. It is considered to be the most visited shelter in the park. This shelter is sometimes filled with overnight campers. A full shelter occurs usually in the spring when thru-hikers are passing through the park on their journey from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Kathdin in Maine.
Many of the hikers who stop at Icewater would go on to the next shelter if the walk wasn’t so far.
Peck’s Corner, the next shelter past Icewater, is about 10 miles from Newfound Gap. The shelter south on the Appalachian Trail from Icewater is Mount Collins. From Mount Collins to Peck’s is a little over 15 miles. This is a little far for most hikers.
A few years ago the park service wanted to close Icewater. Their reason was overcrowding and abuse. Was there any logic in their decision to close this shelter?
The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, Friends of the Smokies and other volunteers stepped in. They protested this shelter closing. They pleaded with the park service to keep it open. They offered to renovate the shelter and build a privy. The park service finally consented to their wishes.
Icewater is now an excellent shelter, but it still is sometimes filled to capacity.
There is a shelter between Icewater and Packs. False Gap is a nice, stone shelter, with a fireplace, spring and an excellent location. In the mid-’60s, the park service, in their infinite wisdom, decided to close False Gap. If this shelter was reopened it would be a tremendous asset for the park. It would take a lot of pressure off Icewater.
Friends of the Smokies, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Smoky Mountain Hiking Club and others begged the park service to let them renovate and reopen False Gap, but the park service won’t budge. Their policy is “if a shelter, campsite or trail is closed, it is never reopened.” I don’t understand the logic behind them keeping this shelter closed.
Many of the park shelters, campsites and trails have been closed and never reopened. Some of them are Indian Gap, Moore Spring, Rich Mountain, Scott Gap, Birch Springs and False Gap. Will campsite 3 and 11 ever reopen?
Abuse and overcrowding of backcountry campsites and shelters are greatly exaggerated. More rangers and a backcountry fee is definitely not the answer. If the park service would use a little logic in their plans and decisions, the backcountry would run very smoothly.
Morgan Briggs, Pigeon Forge
are always located in Washington and completely out of touch with the real world. The on location Park Service pesonell have no real authority and if they did they would be afraid of making any real decision. Believe me I know what I talking about as I have delt with the draw a check, make no waves, move to retirement mentality. The best way to solve these common sense issues is to reduce the Park Service personel by 50% and thereby cutting down the number of desks on which a decision has to stop before finally being resolved. Smaller Government is always the answer.