The Stratton Pond Shelter was built in 1999 as a post-and-beam lean-to structure to serve the largest and most heavily used backcountry location on the Long Trail. Its construction came decades after the original Willis Ross Camp burned in the spring of 1972, leaving the area without a major shelter for nearly three decades while the pond remained one of Vermont’s most beloved backcountry destinations.
Laurel and Erik Tobiason, experienced builders of Wintturi and Stony Brook Shelters on the Appalachian Trail, were selected to design and build the new shelter just off the Stratton Pond Trail. The project had strong community support. The Worcester Section and several of its members made generous donations to help fund the shelter.
The new shelter was completed in September 1999.
According to recognition awarded in 2000, Erik and Laurel’s experience in the building trade was crucial for the design and construction of the large shelter in the backcountry, and they provided excellent leadership in completing the project, organizing and focusing the energy of more than fifty volunteers.
The new shelter was built to replace capacity lost when Willis Ross Camp was destroyed by fire in 1972, an event that created a significant gap in shelter capacity at Stratton Pond for the next three decades. The shelter was intended to be a major facility at this much-used area. Its construction represented both recognition of the unmet need for shelter space at the pond and confirmation of the Tobiasons’ reputation as skilled backcountry shelter builders who would go on to construct multiple structures for the trail system.
