Tamarack Notch Camp is a private camp and retreat facility situated in Aitken State Forest in Mendon, Vermont, a few miles east of Rutland in the foothills of the Coolidge Range. Though not a Long Trail shelter in the conventional sense, the camp became closely associated with the Green Mountain Club through decades of use — hosting four GMC Intersectionals (1963, 1967, 1973, and 1977), the Killington Section’s 60th Anniversary celebration in 1972, the GMC’s annual Trails and Shelters Workshop in 1979, a planned GMC Annual Meeting in 1981, and innumerable covered dish suppers, wildflower walks, and social gatherings organized by the Killington Section. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, Tamarack Notch Camp functioned as the informal community hall of the Killington Section, and as an accessible off-trail staging point for long-distance hikers on the central portion of the Long Trail.
The Site and Its Setting
Tamarack Notch Camp occupies a sheltered hollow in Aitken State Forest in Mendon, in the foothills east of Rutland. The camp takes its name from the notch in which it lies and from the tamarack trees — the larch — that characterize the wet forest edges of this part of the Green Mountains. Bald Mountain, a popular Killington Section hiking destination with views south over Rutland and the Otter Valley, rises directly above the camp and is regularly reached by a trail from the grounds.
The approach by road is from Route 7 in Rutland: east on Killington Avenue 1.9 miles to Town Line Road, then south 0.7 miles to a "Y" intersection at the Notch Road, left up the mountain 1.2 miles to a second intersection, then right (straight ahead) down a short hill to the camp gate. Long-distance hikers on the central Long Trail can reach the camp by an off-trail route: follow the Bucklin Trail west from Cooper Lodge to the Wheelerville Road, turn left, and hike approximately three miles to the Notch Road, then bearing left down the hill to the gate.
The Camp and Its Facilities
Originally established as a Girl Scout camp, Tamarack Notch Camp evolved into a facility for group retreats and community gatherings. By the late 1970s, the camp was owned and operated by the Tamarack Notch Aitken Forest Corporation, a non-profit organization, and was subsequently managed by the Grace Congregational Church of Rutland.
The camp’s facilities were well suited to the large, mixed-age gatherings that characterized GMC events of the era. The grounds included a main lodge with a large fireplace, an open pavilion used as a crafts building, a swimming pool, and a collection of cabins offering a range of sleeping accommodations: one dormitory-style cabin, five open cabins each sleeping eight, and one semi-closed cabin equipped with a wood stove and running water. Scattered through the fields and woods were numerous campsites, fifteen of which had stone fireplaces. Daily fees ranged from $3 to $6 per person.
The Long Trail News of May 1979 described it in a feature article for hikers:
"For long-distance hikers on the central stretch of the Long Trail who wish a break from trail-life without a total return to civilization, the Grace Congregational Church of Rutland offers a fine opportunity. The church operates the Tamarack Notch Camp in the Aitken State Forest in Mendon, not far from the LT."
A smaller structure known as the Rotary Cabin became the preferred gathering spot for the Killington Section’s winter covered dish suppers — warmed by a cookstove to more manageable temperatures than the vast main lodge.
GMC Intersectionals (1963, 1967, 1973, 1977)
The GMC’s annual Intersectional — a week-long gathering of members from all sections for hiking, socializing, and Club business — was held at Tamarack Notch Camp four times, more than at any other single site. The first three were in 1963, 1967, and 1973; the fourth came in 1977 when the Killington Section agreed to host once more, though as the Killington Section chairwoman noted afterward:
"Last winter when Killington Section agreed to host the Intersectional once again, we stated we did not have the manpower to do it at any location but Tamarack Notch Camp. The GMC Board agreed to this even though the Intersectional had been held there three previous times, 1963, 1967 and 1973."
The 1977 Intersectional ran from Saturday, August 27 through Labor Day, September 5. Killington Section President Janet Martin and her husband Jack served as co-chairmen. The committee included Ray Catozzi (publicity and evening programs), Jack Martin (site logistics), Vera Perkins and Thelma Valiquette (breakfast), Harold Rogers, Wes Weston, Paul Howard, Rachael Charland, Churchill Scott, and Section President Carl Schmidt. The activities program offered daily choices of hikes — long, short, and nature walks — along with work trips on the trail, visits to local points of interest, two square dances, a slide and picture show, a talk on "no-trace" camping, a travel talk, an auction, a skit night and talent show, a magic show, and a closing campfire and songfest.
A special highlight of the 1977 Intersectional was a dinner on Sunday, August 28, put on by members of the Tamarack Notch Aitken Forest Corporation itself — the non-profit owner-operators of the camp. Tickets were $3.00 for adults, $1.50 for children under 12, and $0.50 for toddlers. The Killington Section in turn hosted a breakfast on the final Saturday morning, September 3, at $1.00 for adults. The Long Trail News reported afterward that "even though the attendance was down, a very enjoyable time was had and many old acquaintances were renewed."
The 1973 Intersectional drew participants from across the Club, including the Pioneer Valley Section, whose newsletter reported that "good weather and hard work on the part of the Intersectional Committee provided a very pleasant week of camping, hiking, backpacking and socializing."
The Killington Section 60th Anniversary (1972)
On Sunday, September 10, 1972, the Killington Section held its 60th Anniversary celebration at Tamarack Notch Camp. Jim Frink assembled members at the fire station in Rutland and led the group to the camp, from which they climbed Bald Mountain. The Long Trail News of November 1972 captured the occasion:
"Perfection is the word to best describe Killington Section’s 60th Anniversary party on Sunday, 10 September 1972. Weatherwise, it was a crystal clear early fall day, cool but sunny, when Jim Frink rounded us up at the fire station to guide us to Tamarack Notch Camp."
Of the 28 who started up Bald Mountain, only one turned back partway. Back at the camp, "a super supper, prepared and served by the Martin family to over 50 members and guests, was followed by an evening of nostalgic slides and movies." The Martin family — John and Janet Martin of Rutland, pillars of the Killington Section — organized the celebration, with Janet later serving as Section president during the 1977 Intersectional.
The GMC Trails and Shelters Workshop (1979)
In May 1979, the GMC used Tamarack Notch Camp as the base for its annual Trails and Shelters Workshop, a gathering designed to train both paid field staff and GMC volunteers in trail maintenance and erosion control techniques. The workshop ran May 19–20 with 32 participants, who performed hands-on work on the Long Trail just south of Sherburne Pass. Carl Schmidt, then president of the Killington Section, handled the logistics and was particularly praised for his culinary contributions. The Long Trail News of August 1979 reported:
"In a ‘field’ sense, the 1979 Field Season began the weekend of May 19-20 with the Club’s Trails and Shelters Workshop at Tamarack Notch Camp in Mendon. Thirty-two people attended the Workshop, and they were kept busy learning various maintenance and erosion control techniques. This work was performed on the Long Trail just south of Sherburne Pass. Special thanks go to Tamarack Notch Camp for the generous offer of their facilities, and to Carl Schmidt president of the Killington Section, for overall assistance and particularly for his culinary skills."
This was not a one-off arrangement; the 1978 Trails and Shelters Workshop had also been planned for the camp, establishing it as a reliable venue for GMC field training operations.
The 1981 Annual Meeting and the Road Washout
For its 71st Annual Meeting, to be held May 23–24, 1981, the GMC designated Tamarack Notch Camp as the venue, with the Connecticut Section serving as host. The Long Trail News promoted the weekend extensively, noting that "the Annual Meeting weekend provides an enjoyable mix of business and pleasure for GMC’ers, their families and guests" and publishing detailed driving directions to the camp.
However, heavy rains in the days before the meeting washed out both approach roads to the camp, rendering them dangerously impassable. The Connecticut Section scrambled quickly: the meeting was moved to the Mendon Methodist Church in Mendon, and campers were redirected to Gifford Woods State Park. The Long Trail News later reported the contingency response approvingly, crediting the Connecticut Section’s "fast and efficient scrambling."
A Killington Section Gathering Place
Through the late 1970s and 1980s, Tamarack Notch Camp served as the Killington Section’s preferred venue for its annual autumn covered dish supper — a tradition that brought together members, guests, and their potluck dishes in the warmth of the Rotary Cabin. A typical gathering from this era was captured in Smoke & Blazes:
"There were three or four inches of snow at Tamarack Notch Camp in Mendon on the evening of our annual feast, and it was fairly cold out, so we decided to gather in the relatively cozy Rotary Cabin rather than in the Main Lodge, where we might well have spent the whole evening heating the great outdoors via the big fireplace, rather than heating ourselves. The cabin’s cookstove responded well to Rob and Sue Carey’s efforts, and soon we were all comfortable and ready to sample an amazing array of appetizing dishes."
A 1981 covered dish supper at the Rotary Cabin drew 27 people; the 1985 hunting-season supper drew 22, with attendees ranging from five months to seventy years old, followed by slides of a Colorado River rafting trip. The Killington Section also made regular use of the surrounding Aitken State Forest for wildflower walks in spring, visiting trillium, windflowers, wild oats, blue cohosh, spring beauties, arbutus, and other flora of the northern hardwood forest on the slopes of Bald Mountain.
On winter days, hikers would sometimes drop by the camp on their way across the Cold River country. A January 1981 account by Churchill Scott described a moonlit cold-weather hike from Upper Cold River Road that passed through "the Tamarack Notch Camp area" — a landmark on the winter landscape of the Mendon foothills.
The camp remains extant as of this writing, continuing its role as a retreat facility in Aitken State Forest.
Sources
Long Trail News, August 1972, p. 7. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, November 1972, p. 5. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, November 1973, p. 5. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, February 1977, p. 8. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, May 1977, p. 10. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, August 1977, p. 13. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, November 1977, p. 11. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, February 1978, p. 10. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, May 1979, pp. 7, 11. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, August 1979, p. 10. Green Mountain Club.
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Long Trail News, May 1981, p. 12. Green Mountain Club.
Long Trail News, February 1986, p. 7. Green Mountain Club.
Ridgelines (Burlington), March 1979, p. 5. Burlington Section, Green Mountain Club.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), No. 40 (c. 1972), p. 3. Killington Section, GMC.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), No. 59 (c. 1981), p. 1. Killington Section, GMC.
Smoke and Blazes (Killington), No. 79 (c. 1987), p. 4. Killington Section, GMC.
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Smoke and Blazes (Killington), No. 35 (1982), pp. 5, 9. Killington Section, GMC.
Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History, 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. P. 151.
