The Sunnyside Camp was a frame shelter built by the Killington Section of the Green Mountain Club on the slopes north of Button Hill in Division V of the Long Trail, between Wallingford Gulf Road and Sherburne Pass. Located on a short spur 200 feet east of the main trail at mile 76.2, it offered bunk space for ten and was notable for its wide doors, which could be folded back to convert the enclosed camp into an open lean-to. Construction began as early as 1952 using salvaged materials from the dismantled Spring Lake Camp; it was completed and opened in 1955. For thirteen years it served as one of the Killington Section’s most-used shelters, until it was destroyed by fire in August 1968. A replacement shelter was built on the same site in 1969 and initially carried the same name before being renamed Minerva Hinchey Shelter.
Setting: Division V, Killington Section Territory
Sunnyside Camp stood at elevation 1,153 feet in the Green Mountain foothills of Rutland County, within the Long Trail’s Division V — the stretch maintained by the Killington Section of the GMC between Wallingford Gulf Road (Vt. 140) and Sherburne Pass (US 4). The camp was positioned just north of the Button Hill summit ridge and just south of Spring Lake Clearing (mile 76.8), where hikers could look east to Spring Lake (Shrewsbury Pond), northeast to Killington and its neighbors, and west to the Taconics. Buffum Lodge lay 1.8 miles to the south; Clarendon Lodge, 3.5 miles to the north.
Origins: Spring Lake Camp and Salvaged Materials
Sunnyside Camp was not built from new lumber. According to a supplement to the 14th edition of the Long Trail Guide Book (1955), the Killington Section dismantled an earlier shelter called Spring Lake Camp and recycled its materials southward: "Spring Lake Camp has been dismantled, and its material is being used for Sunnyside Camp, now under construction south. It will have bunk space for 10 and will be ready for use sometime in 1955."
This economy of materials was typical of trail club practice — when a shelter outlived its usefulness in one location, its sound timbers and boards found a second life elsewhere on the trail. Spring Lake Camp had served hikers near the Spring Lake Clearing; Sunnyside Camp would carry its legacy a short distance down the ridge.
Construction, 1952–1955
Work on Sunnyside Camp began well before its 1955 opening. The December 1952 issue of Smoke and Blazes (Volume 5) reported that Harold Valiquette and George Conlon held a two-man work party on what the newsletter called "our reconstruction project — Sunnyside Camp." They drove as far up the mountain as road conditions allowed before being stopped by snow and overhanging snow-laden branches that proved too much for Harold’s truck. From there they continued on foot, arriving at the camp site to find fourteen inches of snow on the platform. They shoveled it clear, put up one section, reinforced the bottom of another, and carried in part of their load of 2x4s before energy gave out. The account closed with an appeal: "Harold hopes to have more work parties soon and needs manpower in getting up the sections. How about contacting him and arranging to lend a hand?"
Work parties continued through subsequent winters and springs. By February 1955, the Long Trail News reported that construction was well along: "The work on Sunnyside Camp is progressing satisfactorily. The floor has been layed, the sides bolted together, and half of the rafters are in place."
By November 1955, Smoke and Blazes Volume 8 reported that a work trip on November 20th had found "some unknown friends" had already finished putting on the bunk boards. Workers Janet and Jack Martin and Craigue Perkins installed a grate in the stove, secured the stove pipe, fixed the wide doors for winter to allow only one to open, and filled the spaces between the roof boards with cardboard to keep out the wind. "The next job," the newsletter noted, "is to put up the rest of the wall board."
The 15th edition of the Long Trail Guide Book (1956) confirmed the completion: "This is the work of the Killington Section and was completed in 1955."
The Camp: Description and Use
Every Long Trail Guide Book from the 15th (1956) through the 19th (1968) edition described the camp in nearly identical terms: a frame structure with wide doors permitting conversion into an open shelter, providing bunk space for ten or more, with water at a small spring 150 feet to the south. The 17th edition (1963) and later editions specified that it was built by the Killington Section in 1955 and had wide doors "permitting it to be converted into an open shelter."
The convertible-door design was a practical feature that allowed the camp to serve both as an enclosed sleeping shelter in cold weather and as a more ventilated open lean-to during warmer months — a flexibility that appealed to summer and shoulder-season hikers alike.
Sunnyside Camp appeared in Killington Section hike schedules throughout its existence. The September–October 1966 issue of Smoke and Blazes (Volume 19) announced a December 18th hike to the camp with a new stove to be installed in time for the visit: "A new stove will be installed at Sunnyside by the time of this hike so let the Winter wind blow and the snow fly — we should be warm and comfortable. Perhaps we can slide down the hill at Spring Lake so bring along your sled if the weather is right."
A report in the same volume noted that a small group had hiked in to try out the new stove: "Very nice. The camp was clean and the creosote job inside and out was a big improvement. There was one small leak in the…" — the account breaking off at the edge of the page, but making clear the camp was well maintained and regularly visited.
The Fire: August 1968
Sunnyside Camp burned in August 1968. The cause was never determined.
The November 1968 issue of the Long Trail News carried a brief, elegiac notice: "— of the many enjoyable nights spent at Sunnyside Camp. Whatever caused the fire which destroyed it has taken from us one of our favorite camps."
The May 1969 issue supplied the specific date: "Sunnyside Camp was destroyed by fire in August, 1968. A replacement shelter is scheduled for construction during the 1969 season."
Aftermath: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
In 1969, the Killington Section built a replacement shelter on the same site. The 23rd edition of the Long Trail Guide Book (1985) recorded the circumstances: the new structure "was constructed in 1969 by Louis Stare and members of the Killington Section to replace the former camp which burned down the previous year. Formerly called Sunnyside Camp, it was renamed Minerva Hinchey Shelter in tribute to her 22 years of service as GMC corresponding secretary, 1955-1977." In 1982 it was converted to an open shelter.
Minerva Hinchey had served the GMC as corresponding secretary from 1955 — the very year Sunnyside Camp opened — through 1977. The naming honored a figure whose tenure with the organization exactly bracketed the life of the camp she had no doubt helped to promote.
Sources
Green Mountain Club (GMC). GMC Shelter Database, Shelter ID 000222: Sunnyside Camp 1st.
Green Mountain Club (GMC). GMC Shelter Database: Downloaded History, Shelter ID 000222.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book (Supplement), 14th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1955.
Long Trail News (February 1955). Green Mountain Club. p. 2.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), Vol. 5 (1952). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. p. 100.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), Vol. 8 (1955). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. p. 15.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), Vol. 19 (1966). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. pp. 1, 6.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 15th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1956. pp. 23–24.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 16th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1960. pp. 31–32.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 17th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1963. pp. 31–32.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 18th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1966. pp. 31–32, 73.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 19th edition. Green Mountain Club, 1968. pp. 32, 73–74.
Long Trail News (November 1968). Green Mountain Club. p. 1.
Long Trail News (May 1969). Green Mountain Club. p. 7.
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 22nd edition. Green Mountain Club, 1983. [Cited in GMC downloaded history.]
Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book, 23rd edition. Green Mountain Club, 1985. p. 42.
