Don’t Stay in SHELTERS on the Appalachian Trail

There are nearly 260 shelters on the Appalachian Trail. A simple building that protects it’s inhabitants from the elements. In this video I give my reasons why I won’t be staying in shelters anymore. But as I mention I believe every situation should be considered based on the the condition of the shelter and tenting spots around. Make sure to watch to the end!

#AppalachianTrail #Thruhike #Shelter
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Candy Mama here! yes this used to be a couples account with my husband named "THE DOWER DUO". We have since rebranded it to feature my individual adventures.

a little about me~ wife first, adventurer second! I have thru hiked the Appalachian Trail and Mountains-To-Sea Trail. I am the fastest person to ever hike the Mountains-To-Sea Trail spanning the length of North Carolina. 1175 miles in 29 days! I enjoy creating wanderlust content and trail running!
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(This video is about: Tara dower, thru hiking, thru hike, Appalachian trail, how to backpack, backpacking, tips for backpacking, thru hike 2022, Appalachian trail 2022, hiker, shelter, trail life, hiker trash, into the wild, on the trail, hiking boots, trail runners, 2022 pacific crest trail, Appalachian trail shelter, hiking the Appalachian trail, restock, Tara treks, dower duo, the dower duo, women thru hiker, thru hiker women, hiking women)

[taratreks]

Hi Folks! I’d like to point out something I frequently read in the comment section. I left out one other pro of a shelter that I think is the best. Shelters reduce the impact to the land. If more people stay in the structure the less tents will be set up (which does cause a negative impact on surrounding habitats/ local floral). ALSO I KNOW ITS A CLIP OF LEGLESS LIZARD and NOT A SNAKE. So many pointed this out. Same concept and ick I guess. Thanks for watching! This video has really blown up and most that have watched have been positive and some have even offered helpful constructive criticism.

[Winterfal]

Being a light sleeper who doesn't trust people enough to sleep around strangers I find things like this mind blowing. Why would you go to the forest to be in close proximity to other humans anyway? I am always shocked at how different other people's minds work than my own. You would never ever catch me in one of those things unless the weather was life threatening.

[leafodan]

I view those shelters as being there for emergency only. Why would you go out into the woods without camping gear and want to sleep around complete strangers? I would absolutely assume that hobos, thieves or murderers would seek a place like this.

[Skiis]

As for strange people, a friend of mine took his young son for an overnight on a local portion of the trail to for some father son bonding. A guy tried to rob them at the shelter, but unbeknownst to the robber, dad was a US Marshal.Son got to see father in action. For those of you doubters, it was documented in local paper as previous victims and locals lauded making the trail safe again.

[hazelnutcity]

I have realized that being 6'4" 250lbs I don't get to experience fearful situations. The most fearful situation I get in is when im walking/hiking and it's close to night-time; I worry that people will think I was the one who committed the robbery, assault, or other various crimes

[TERMINAL-BALLISTICS]

Great video! I was a pest control technician for 18+ years and I can tell you with the utmost degree of certainty that in addition to the list that was provided in this video .... that Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus (aka; bed bugs) are a major unseen issue when staying at hiking shelters and/or hostels. These insects can remain dormant without feeding for 12 months - just waiting for the next victim to fall asleep. They can then (and often do) get into your personal belongings without even being noticed. Next thing you know, you travel back home and unbeknownst to you .... they have set up shop in your home. This can literally cost you thousands upon thousands to rid the issue entirely. They are the number one reason I would never even contemplate staying in a shelter and/or hostel. EDIT; If there were no other options and I did decide to stay at a hostel/shelter .... I would only do so after an EXTREMELY thorough inspection.

~

[comfortablynumb]

My aunt designed a shelter and my family built it on the trail as a memorial to my uncle. She was an architect. He lived the trail. Her design has been copied and you showed one.

[JesgateOnDown]

When she said "I think it's safe".... her facial expression read like she was trying to convince herself. Yeah, it's as safe as sleeping with a dozen strange (completely unknown to her) men in any place away from town & in many cases, with no phone service.

[John-rwzf]

I am only a casual, short distance hiker, but I would not feel safe staying overnight in a shelter for all of the reasons that you stated. Very interesting video. Thanks.

[donaldbozek]

The absence of people is the thing I enjoy most about the outdoors. I’d rather sleep in a ravine during a thunderstorm then in a nasty shelter with other people.

[Safemoonprince]

December 10th 2007. I was hiking alone and when I reached Preacher’s rock trailhead I stoped at the parking spot for a break and there was an old grandpa wearing a bright and old green sweater that stinked kinda bad. He was sitting on the back of his van with a golden retriever so I asked him if I could pet his dog ( as I have 2 golden retrievers and they’re the best dogs) he said yes and he started asking me where I was from and what do I do for a living? And if I was hiking alone or in a group? He also asked me if a have any guns or knifes because last week there was a mountain lion attack that almost killed a hiker. I told him not I don’t have a gun but I have a small pocket knife that I showed him. He said that’s not enough to kill a mountain lion. I was like well I hope I don’t encounter one. Then we chatted for a little bit and he started ranting about the federal government. And before I was leaving he told me If he could join me on the trail because he really wanted to hike up but he being an old man and suffering from heart conditions so if something happens to him at least I could tell police where he was. I felt something, a strange sensation in my gut by the way his eyes looked. He had some really penetrating gaze and he would always make direct eye contact that I couldn’t hold so I would look away for some seconds. After thinking what should I say this old grandpa I told him “I’m sorry but I’m in a hurry and I really want to walk fast to get to the top before sunset” he kinda looked mad and said aight I’ll just wait for someone else. I proceeded to hit the trail but I could never forget his gaze. Even tho he was an old man his gaze gave me a bad vibe and I was thinking about it the whole trail. 25 days later when I was at home I watched this same guy in a mugshot on the news channel so I turned the volume up because I was intrigued I thought he died on the trial (because he told me he had heart problems) to find out he kidnapped and killed a girl about 15 miles on another parking lot. The guy I interacted with was fcking serial killer Gary Michael Hilton. I think he asked the same questions and told the same story to Meredith Emerson and she was kind and good hearted so she agreed to hike with the “old grandpa with heart problems”. So now I don’t trust anyone even if they have good intentions and they greet me I just say hi and continue my hike without stopping and if they ask me to stop to ask me a questions I just say sorry I’m in a hurry and keep going. I also carry a 9mm Glock 43x. It’s small and concealable. Another crazy experience happend another year before when I was hiking and at the distance I saw a naked old guy just walking around. So I freaked out and stopped before he was gone. Stay safe guys. Never trust anyone.

Edit2023; for those saying it’s a fake story because you’ve seen this same post on other videos. Well maybe read the username before making claims. It’s me sharing my story, I also shared it on Reddit with the same username. Why would I lie? Also thanks to everyone who shared their stories as well. I’m glad we made it but it’s kinda sad to think about how many people are gone that maybe had problems with their family members and stoped communication with them and they’re forever gone without anyone asking about them.

[claymac]

The truly dangerous predators are the ones who can’t be easily screened out with a brief conversation. Even if a stranger doesn’t set off your spider sense, always treat everyone as a potential threat.

[DementiaSurvivor]

Thanks! Because I feel like most people glorify their videos but you just put it straight up like it is and I hadn't considered all of this.
Thanks thanks thanks!

[vinnypaolello]

One reason I hiked in dead of winter. It eliminated some of the issues she mentioned. I'm not a hot weather person to begin with. Very rarely did come across any other humans while snowshoeing the AT or the LT. But, bears don't always hibernate and that turned out to be a problem once or twice. A winter bear is usually a dangerous bear. One woman I met had a bear actually sit on top of her while in her tent. She jumped up and screamed, thinking it was a friend playing a joke, but soon realized it was a bear. It took off like a bear outta Hell, but damn that's something you'd never forget.

[carlrogers]

I have walked many miles on the Appalachian trail and stayed in every single shelter I could find. I was with my dad and we're both pretty big men so other people weren't a real concern.
I really never had a single issue in any shelter and after a long day of hiking, these shelters were like an oasis in the Sahara. My dad and I would open up our prepackaged meals, eat them as slowly as we can manage so we could have enough time to talk and recall some of the events of the day. We would then open our small ish backpacks and have just enough energy to roll out the sleeping bags on the bunks that these awesome people that created the shelters provided. I never slept so well in my life. We were completely exhausted from the day's hike and literally ate and passed out. If the worst thing I had to worry about was a mouse or a loud snoring person, I was basically in heaven. I've had norovirus before but not on the trail. It's bad but you will get over it. But, again, I never got it on the trail at all.
Quite frankly, I feel more in danger in my neighborhood from urban sprawl then I could ever feel on the Appalachian trail.

[davepetro]

As a rule of thumb always prep and cook your food 100 feet from where you sleeping. Because cooking food may cause crumbs and grease that may attract bugs insects 🐜 🐛 🕷 exc. you don’t wanted them to come out at night around you or on top of your sleeping bag. Or sleeping quarters. If they come out you want it near you kitchen area.
Try cooking sleeping same area in a jungle area. You regret it.

[helidude]

I remember van camping as a child at a national park in the seventies.

It was nice enough weather to have the doors propped open.

My parents thought it would be a great idea to leave the leftovers out for the cute little animals.

Well, the cute little animals arrived.
A nice family of skunks 🦨

I’m sure all the other nearby campers enjoyed them as well 🤢🦨

😁

[TheGnometownCampers]

I let the shelters "shelter" me on 44 of my 145 nights on my thru hike. I let the weather conditions and many other factors determine where I would lay my head each night. I found that you have to be flexible, open minded, willing to flow with the changes, and not rigid in your approach to a successful thru hike. HYOH is a great place to start.

[sherrymarshall]

🐭 Thank you Tara! My husband and I are section hikers for 10 years now, enjoy comfort of hotels and hot meal after day hiking! We are attempting a 23 mi section in VT this summer, staying overnight in our Big Agnes tent! 🤞
We admire and enjoy visiting with thru hikers, great stories!! Thanks for sharing your experience/perspective, sleeping on the AT!

[MrBoungie]

Yup, this helps to reinforce my fear of sleeping outside. I prefer a cabin, RV or a hotel.