Stratton View Shelter, begun in 2021 and completed in 2023, was designed to increase overnight capacity at Stratton Pond, the busiest overnight site in Vermont. The new shelter was built near the location of the previous Stratton View Shelter which was removed in the 1990s.
Dave Hardy, former director of field programs, began planning the shelter more than ten years ago as part of the Stratton Pond Management Plan and associated trail relocations.
The multi-year Stratton Pond trail relocation project was designed to protect the shoreline by removing all trails and structures uphill and away from the pond. The new Stratton View Shelter was part of this broader environmental remediation effort at an increasingly popular backcountry site.
The crew went on to complete the roof and siding at Stratton View Shelter in 2023 after finishing construction on the nearby Sunrise Shelter. The LT/AT relocation opened to hikers in August, while spur trail work continued into fall. The shelter was built with post and beam construction fastened with joints and wooden pegs, a method that has proven effective for new GMC shelters designed to last considerably longer than earlier structures.
Sources
- The Trail Talk (Connecticut) 2021 (2021). Connecticut Section, Green Mountain Club. 1.
- Footnotes (Upper Valley Ottauquechee) 2023 (2023). Upper Valley/Ottauquechee Section, Green Mountain Club. 4.
- Long Trail News 2023 (2023). Green Mountain Club. 5.
- Long Trail News 2023 (2023). Green Mountain Club. 7.
- Long Trail News 2023 (2023). Green Mountain Club. 16.
