Re: [at-l] About White Lies

--- WHHAWKINS@aol.com wrote:
> 1. It is not mandatory to stay in them. However not
> using them will require some long hiking days to get

> from one camp site to another one.
> ...
> 3. You will be very very very luckly to stay for
> work. it is up the the croo 
> at each hut.

IMO, extremely long for thru-hikers and section hikers
alike considering that the tentsite at Mitzpah Hut is
also by reservation, the terrain, weather, etc.  The
problem is that the peak hiking season for
"hut-to-hut'ers" is also the peak season for
thru-hikers.  There are officially only 2
work-for-stays available at each hut each night. It
depends on the croo whether they allow more. At Lake
of the Crowds, they did when we went through last
year. They also rented out the tables for $6 a pop.
The night that I was there on my thru-hike there were
around 20-ish thru-hikers and the full complement of
other folks at Crowds Hut. Madison's croo, at that
time, was the tightest with only allowed 2 working and
no table rentals. The heresay at the time was that
croo got slightly in trouble for sending out a
thru-hiker late in the evening who subsequently got
hurt...once again grapevine heresay.

There are a number of well-known "stealth sites"
before
and after some of the huts that a couple of
thru-hikers chose to use. I stayed at only 1 hut,
that being Crowds for lack of a viable alternative.
The rest of the time through the Whites I stayed
at the AMC tentsites (not including Mitzpah or Valley
Way which is below Madison off the A.T.). But, a
person
not conditioned already for long mileage and big
climbs is going to have a big challenge on their hands
if they can't or don't want to stay in the huts.

IMO, the problem is that the huts enable what they
supposedly are there to prevent, which is impact and
safety issues, since people choose or are forced to
camp elsewhere.  Part of the huts original mission and
their recent re-permitting, as I understand, was for
safety purposes and to lessen impact. I'm not sure how
the high fees serve that purpose. I also don't know of
a good alternative to the huts with all of the people
using the area during peak season.  What I do know
from talking to people is that AMC is making a whole
new crop of "non-friends" in the thru-hiker community
every year.

This is not particularly intended as a rant altough I
do think AMC is worsening the problem. My trip through
the Whites worked out for me. Going S->N, there are
only 1 or 2 sequences through the area that work while
minimizing the huts you stay in, that I know of. The 1
hut probably necessary is Crowds unless you use a car
at the top of Mt. Wash. or get lucky at the Mitzpah
tentsite and stretched it out to Valley Way
or Osgood.  Luckily, Crowds also tends to be the
most flexible with the AMC rules.

regards,
Turbo Turtle 2000

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