Montclair Glen Lodge is a log cabin nestled in a forested glen along the Long Trail south of Camel’s Hump. The name commemorates Professor Will S. Monroe’s hometown of Montclair, New Jersey. Two other lodges of the same name proceeded the present one which was built by another professor, Roy Buchanan in 1948.
Construction of the lodge began in June that year under the leadership of Roy Buchanan.
When the third shelter was built in 1948, it was situated just 200 feet above the site Professor Monroe had originally chosen, where the Forest City Trail descends from the Long Trail.
The walls of the new camp are of logs, and the old camp furnished almost boards enough for the floor, roof and bunks. It has a good stove, bunks for eight (twelve with reasonable discomfort) and is completely enclosed. The last delicate touch was to give it a good coat of creosote oil to inhibit decay and discourage the porkies.
During the hiking season a GMC caretaker is in residence to assist hikers and maintain the site and nearby trails. The lodge has been staffed continuously by caretakers since the early 1970s, with documented caretaker positions appearing throughout GMC records. In 2015, the Long Trail News boasted: “When you are up this way, drop in and see the new Montclair Glen Camp. It is a credit to those who built it and an ornament to the Long Trail.” Sixty years later, these words still ring true.
The shelter faced significant challenges from wildlife over the decades. In 2015, a bear opened the door to Montclair Glen Lodge—after figuring out how to use the door latch—because there was food inside. This incident prompted the GMC to install bear boxes at the shelter and other high-use sites to protect both hikers’ food and the local bear population.
Beginning in 2008, the GMC undertook a major restoration project. The restoration of Montclair Glen Lodge began on National Trails Day, when a large crew of volunteers and staff worked together as a helicopter picked up more than three dozen hefty bundles of logs, lumber, and roofing in Huntington and carried them to the project site.
After jacking up the salvageable upper structure of Montclair Glen Lodge, the restoration crew removed the lower courses of logs and the crumbling sill logs below. Stone piers at the shelter’s corners were repaired and leveled, and stout larch logs were used to replace the sills.
Special care was taken to retain the majority of the horizontal logs that comprise the walls of the shelter, the vertical log courses below the roof, the original window frames, and the rough-cut sheathing at the gable ends.
Sources
- Long Trail Guide Book. 21st Edition ed. Green Mountain Club.
- “Long Trail News.” , no. May (1947).
- Long Trail Guide Book. Green Mountain Club, 1956. Pp. 42.
- Long Trail News 1959 (1959). Green Mountain Club. 5.
- Long Trail News 1992 (1992). Green Mountain Club. 9.
- Long Trail News 2001 (2001). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Long Trail News 2004 (2004). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2008 (2008). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 7.
- Long Trail News 2008 (2008). Green Mountain Club. 12.
- Long Trail News 2008 (2008). Green Mountain Club. 14.
- Long Trail News 2014 (2014). Green Mountain Club. 16.
- Long Trail News 2015 (2015). Green Mountain Club. 10.
- Long Trail News 2019 (2019). Green Mountain Club. 14.
- Long Trail News 2019 (2019). Green Mountain Club. 19.
- Long Trail News 2019 (2019). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 17 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1963. Pp. 49.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 17 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1963. Pp. 51.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 18 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1966. Pp. 52.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 20 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1971. Pp. 56.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 21 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1977. Pp. 63.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 22 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1983. Pp. 60.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 23 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1985. Pp. 64.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 178.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 76.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 179.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 176.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 177.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 161.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 173.
