Birch Glen Camp was built by Green Mountain Club volunteers in 1930 as a log shelter and remains in use today after multiple repairs and a major 1999 restoration; primary contemporary accounts appear in Long Trail News and the Long Trail Guide, and early photographs are preserved in the UVM Long Trail photographic collection.
Construction
Birch Glen Camp was constructed in 1930 by GMC volunteers as a substantial log cabin‑style shelter with an open‑front “living room” and semi‑enclosed bunk room. Contemporary reporting anticipated a Fourth‑of‑July completion and described a stove, cooking utensils, and sleeping space intended for 16–20 people; later guidebook descriptions record bunk space for 12 and place the water source about 100 feet south on a brook.
The shelter sits about 100 feet down the Beane Trail, which connects to the Long Trail and runs roughly 1.5 miles west to Carse Road;
Mid‑century repairs and improvements
Birch Glen suffered chronic roof leaks that prompted structural changes in the early 1960s: the ridge pole was raised to steepen the roof pitch and the roof was reversed to change drainage patterns. Bunk modifications in the mid‑1960s lengthened sleeping platforms so they could accommodate taller hikers (bunks were extended to 6’6”). These repairs and alterations are recorded in Long Trail News reports from 1961 and 1965.
1999 restoration and preservation work
Because the cabin is one of the Long Trail’s oldest shelters, a careful restoration was planned and executed in 1999. Field staff, patrol crews, a restoration contractor, and an architect inspected the structure in July; work in September replaced rotten sill logs, flooring, and bunks, while preserving sound log walls and earlier roofing where feasible. The Long Trail News account emphasizes the delicate nature of repairing a 70‑year‑old log structure and credits prior roofing work with extending the cabin’s life.
Sources
- Long Trail News, 1929.
- Long Trail News, 1965.
- Long Trail Guide Book. 24th Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1996.
- Long Trail News, 1999.
