Madison, North Carolina’s Sarah Jones Decker documented them all in her new book. Here are a few of her photos of shelters in the Southern Appalachians.
Photos Courtesy of Sarah Jones Decker.
Our first reaction to Sarah Jones Decker’s new book, “The Appalachian Trail: Backcountry Shelters, Lean-tos, and Huts,” was something like, huh, where’s that been all these years?
It is indeed the first such documentation of the shelters, and was carried out in cooperation with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Decker, a photographer, professor and farmer, lives in the North Carolina mountains with her husband, Morgan, and daughter, Josephine, who, as a baby, accompanied her mom on some 350 miles of the trail.
Captions for the photos are excerpts of the descriptions in the book.
For more information or to purchase the book: sarahjonesdecker.comWayah Shelter (NC). This Nantahala-style shelter is one of the newest in North Carolina. Built in memory of Ann and Larry McDuff, thru-hikers and Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA) members, it is located north of the Wayah Bald stone lookout tower (5,342 feet), which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937, renovated in 1983, burned by wildfire in 2016 and re-opened in 2018. Bryant Ridge Shelter (VA).This unique trilevel timber-frame shelter with an open loft design is dedicated to the memory of Nelson Leavell Garnett Jr. Built from a plan designed by Garnett’s architecture school classmates and converted to timber-frame construction, the shelter was a cooperative project of the ATC, NBATC, USFS, Garnett’s family, and several area firms. Garnett’s parents, in memory of their son who loved hiking on the A.T., helped with the costs. A set of logging horses pulled the timbers to the site from the closest road. Pecks Corner Shelter (TN). This is a large stone and wooden shelter with a double sleeping platform, skylights, wooden benches, and a fireplace. Located 0.4 miles down the Hughes Ridge Trail, Pecks Corner is one of the only shelters in the park not a short distance from or directly on the A.T. Chestnut Knob Shelter (VA). A former USFS fire warden’s cabin with a fire tower, this fully enclosed stone shelter has plexiglass windows and three sets of wooden bunks. It overlooks the craterlike formation of Burke’s Garden, also known as “God’s Thumbprint.” The valley sits at 3,000 feet and is the highest mountain valley in Virginia. The name Burke’s Garden was given to the valley as a joke in 1748 after Burke planted potato peelings by his campfire and potatoes sprouted the next year. Today, the area is believed to have some of the most fertile farmland in the state. Fontana Dam Shelter (NC). A shelter sign says the famous “Fontana Hilton” was built by Mike Short and then donated by “Papa Smurff” in 1993. The large shelter sits above Fontana Lake, and is located near Fontana Dam. The shelter has two sets of double platforms inside and is one of only four (non-hut) shelters on the A.T. that sleeps more than 20 people. There are bathrooms with water, flushing toilets, and showers nearby, and there are also showers available at the dam. The only shelter with a large USB-charging station outside, it is also the lowest-elevation shelter in North Carolina. Davenport Gap Shelter (TN). Named for William Davenport, who surveyed the state line in 1821, this is the only shelter in the [Great Smokies] park that still has a bear cage installed in front. Nicknamed the “Smokies Sheraton,” it is a large stone and wooden shelter with a double sleeping platform, gable windows, wooden benches, a standing-height table, and a fireplace.
The story behind Wilma Dykeman’s “Family of Earth” is almost as captivating as the book itself. Found in her belongings after her death in 2006, the 200-page manuscript is an account of her Depression-era childhood north of Asheville, North Carolina.
Richmond, Virginia, attorney W. Jeff Barnes grew up in coal country, and his novel about the early 20th century efforts to unionize the coalfields gives names and faces to those who lived there.
![Davenport Gap Shelter (TN). Named for William Davenport, who surveyed the state line in 1821, this is the only shelter in the [Great Smokies] park that still has a bear cage installed in front. Nicknamed the “Smokies Sheraton,” it is a large stone and wooden shelter with a double sleeping platform, gable windows, wooden benches, a standing-height table, and a fireplace.](https://blueridgecountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/92ac9598-57fe-11ea-b8cb-1244d5f7c7c6-38_TN_Davenportgap_DSC_8175.jpg)
