Camp #4 was one of the earliest structures utilized by the Green Mountain Club, though it was not built by the organization itself but rather repurposed from the region’s active logging operations. The camp offered basic shelter to travelers navigating the newly established trail route, which followed old logging roads down toward the Winooski River. Two miles further downstream from Camp #4 stood the mill and associated buildings of the lumber company that had operated the operation, though these too were already abandoned by the time the trail explorers encountered them. Camp #4 remained in use through the 1920s before ceasing to serve as a shelter; by 1926 it was no longer standing, leaving no physical trace of this earliest GMC-utilized shelter on the Long Trail system.
The best account of the camp comes from Lewis Paris in his book "The making of the Long Trail"
The first trip across Bolton Mountain to locate a trail was also made in October 1910 by Mr. Cowles and Mr. Burt. Starting from the Nebraska Notch road near the Trout Club, the route lies along an old logging rod nearly to the summit of Mt Admiral Clarke; one of the outlaying peaks of the mass of Bolton Mountain and arrives at the summit; 4 miles. Some judicious lumbering on the heavily wooded summit would improve the situation by opening up some fine views of Mt. Mansfield and Camel’s Hump. The trail continues south from the summit soon finding Bolton Brook which if follows to the Winooski River. Two miles down the trail an abandoned lumber camp known as Camp No. 4 offers shelter, and two miles below this are found the mill and buildings of a lumber company now closed.
Sources
- Lewis J. Paris. The Making of the Long Trail. Long Trail News.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 22.
