Clarendon Shelter originated as Clarendon Lodge, which was documented in the Green Mountain Club’s records as early as 1952. By the 1970s, the enclosed lodge had become subject to significant misuse and deterioration. In response, the Killington Section of the Green Mountain Club made the decision to convert the structure from a closed lodge into an open shelter, believing that removing the enclosure would discourage inappropriate use of the site. The conversion took place in 1971, with a major work day on May 15 that drew approximately 40 volunteers who performed carpentry work, removed accumulated trash, addressed damage from vandalism to the twin pine trees standing in front of the shelter, and constructed a new privy using salvaged materials. A fence was installed around the shelter to exclude livestock during summer months, fitted with a gate at the opening. The Killington Section hoped that the shelter’s more exposed design would deter long-term occupation by transients and reduce use of the site as an informal picnic ground by local visitors arriving by vehicle and snowmobile. The structure remains standing today as an open lean-to shelter.
Sources
- GMC Annual Reports. Green Mountain Club. Pp. 5.
- Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 05 (1952). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 9.
- Long Trail News 1952 (1952). Green Mountain Club. 4.
- "Long Trail News." , no. August (1971).
- Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 40 (1987). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 1.
- Long Trail News 2018 (2018). Green Mountain Club. 18.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 21 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1977. Pp. 41.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 22 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1983. Pp. 40.
