Watson Camp passed into GMC hands in 1980 as a generous gift by Thomas J. Watson Jr., the prominent IBM executive and philanthropist. The shelter was a semi-enclosed frame structure featuring a porch that overlooked Sterling Pond in the Spruce Peak area. The facility was designed to accommodate approximately 16 hikers, providing enhanced shelter capacity in this popular section of the Long Trail.
Location and Design
Watson Camp was strategically positioned on a spur trail approximately 0.1 miles north of Sterling Pond Shelter, overlooking the scenic pond. The location made it a desirable overnight destination for Long Trail hikers, working in tandem with the nearby Sterling Pond Shelter to provide multiple shelter options in the region. The rustic cabin-style structure offered visitors a more enclosed and weatherproof alternative to traditional open-front shelters.
Years of Service: 1980–2004
For more than two decades, Watson Camp served the hiking community as a valued waypoint on the Long Trail. It remained a popular destination among hikers seeking overnight shelter with a view of Sterling Pond.
Environmental Concerns and Management Crisis: Early 2000s
By the early 2000s, concerns about shelter-related environmental degradation prompted the GMC’s Montpelier Section to undertake a comprehensive reassessment of facilities at Sterling Pond. Sterling Pond and its unique and sensitive ecosystem were experiencing degradation from heavy use and pollution attributed to Watson Camp and other activities in the area. The concentration of hikers and overnight visitors, while testament to the shelter’s popularity, was creating unsustainable stress on this fragile alpine environment.
Sterling Pond Management Plan: 2001
In response to these environmental concerns, a GMC committee developed a comprehensive Sterling Pond Management Plan in 2001. After thorough analysis, the committee recommended a significant action: the closure of Watson Camp. This difficult decision reflected the GMC’s commitment to ecological stewardship and the long-term health of Vermont’s mountain environments.
Closure Decision: January 2004
The Montpelier Section Executive Committee formally voted on January 13, 2004, to support the plan for closing Watson Camp prior to the 2004 hiking season. This decision marked the end of Watson Camp’s role as an active hiking shelter, though its physical removal would prove to be a far more complex undertaking than anticipated.
Complex Removal Process: 2004–2011
The removal of Watson Camp presented unexpected technical and environmental challenges. The shelter’s construction using pressure-treated wood and plywood raised concerns about hazardous materials and their potential environmental impact on the sensitive Sterling Pond ecosystem. The GMC recognized that removal had to be executed with meticulous care to prevent contamination and further ecological damage.
The removal plan called for disassembly of Watson Camp and the careful removal of all unburnable wood to the ski lift area. Many precautions were incorporated into the plan to protect the fragile ecology of the pond and surrounding forest during this process.
Funding and Volunteer Efforts: 2010–2011
Progress on the removal was slow until funding became available. In 2010, the Montpelier Section allocated $3,000 to help speed dismantling of the structure. This financial commitment, combined with volunteer labor, accelerated the removal process.
Final Demolition and Cleanup: 2011
The removal effort was completed through an impressive collaborative effort. In 2011, the Montpelier Section undertook the final phase of Watson Camp’s dismantling. The work required cutting up remaining metal components and moving them to the ski lift area for removal from the mountain.
The final phase of removal became a community service project when Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield coordinated a team of strong, eager students working alongside the GMC’s construction crew. This partnership brought fresh energy to the arduous task of complete decontamination and removal. The student volunteers and GMC construction team worked systematically to remove every component of the old shelter, including its heavy roofing material.
By the end of 2011, Watson Camp had been completely demolished and removed from the Sterling Pond area, leaving no trace of the structure that had served hikers for three decades.
Sources
- Rough and Tumble’s 2003 The Long Trail. Accessed July 17, 2026. https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/47043.
- Ridge Lines. 1980.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 1989 (1989). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 4.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2001 (2001). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 4.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2003 (2003). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 5.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2004 (2004). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2004 (2004). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2010 (2010). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 7.
- Trail Talk (Montpelier) 2011 (2011). Montpelier Section, Green Mountain Club. 5.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 21 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1977. Pp. 76.
