[at-l] Need Vermont, New Hampshire Information

[gaudet@attbi.com (Arthur Gaudet)]

Recently a hiker planning the Long Trail asked the following 
question, and here's my reply about Gov. Clement Shelter as of last 
August. --RD AT'97, LT '01

>
>>Did it appear safe for a solo female in August? Not that you could know
>>that... but I mean, are there other LT thru-hikers out there at that time? I
>>feel comfortable on the AT when that thru-hiking "bulge" is passing, less so
>>in isolated times.
>I know what you mean. As a gay man I think I'm a little more aware 
>of safety issues as well. I didn't experience any difficulties at 
>all, and there was only one shelter that's getting a reputation for 
>conflicts/confrontations with the locals. It's called Governor 
>Clement Shelter, about 10 miles South of Rt 4. (btw, I stayed at the 
>shelter in order to confront the locals. It seems they come by to 
>find hikers to party with. Otherwise they're pretty harmless. If you 
>want to stay there and feel safer you can tent in several places 
>across the dirt road near the stream. It's easy to find the areas 
>but the locals won't bother you there. They come in on 3 wheelers, 
>and yes they shouldn't be there. I stayed in the shelter while a 
>group from NYC camped out in front. I must've slept soundly but the 
>group told me in the morning that some guys came by...)


>Having read all the warnings about the Governor Clement shelter in
>the guidebooks and scheduling my days around it, I stopped there for
>lunch this past fall and would not want to stay there. First, it has
>an entirely dirt floor and surely is the dankest, darkest shelter
>I've seen.(clip)

-- 
Arthur D. Gaudet        	"Is walking down called hiking, too?"          
(RockDancer) 	                 -heard at the top of Mt Washington, NH