The ANF Chapter of the North Country Trail Association has long aimed to build Adirondack style shelters spaced about 10 miles apart along the 100 miles of the North Country Trail in the Allegheny National Forest.

Last October that goal was achieved with the addition of the Tracy Run North Shelter in Tracy Ridge and the Big Boulders Shelter south of Kellettville.

Both of these shelters are on the ANF, so the first step in erecting the shelters was to get sites approved by the Forest Service. That involved more than a year of collaborating with Forest Service personnel and NEPA studies being completed. In the end, appropriate sites were found and approved for both shelters.

The shelter built at Tracy Run North, in Tracy Ridge, presented a significant challenge. Almost 4 miles from the nearest road access, it had to be set back 1,500 feet from the Allegheny Reservoir shoreline. So materials had to be brought in by boat from across the reservoir and carried more than one-third of a mile uphill. It took volunteers seven trips ferrying boatloads of supplies, five days of hard work and countless miles of hiking tools and materials to the site.

The Big Boulders shelter was built the following month, almost two-tenths of a mile uphill from Branch Road, south of Kellettville. Because of the proximity to the road, this shelter took only two days to build. On the first day, four volunteers built the foundation. Then, a few days later, fourteen additional volunteers carried the materials in and constructed the shelter.

Each of the shelters also involved volunteers building a side trail to the shelter from the NCT and another trail to nearby water sources. Fire pits built with local stone and picnic tables, provided by the Forest Service, were constructed on site.

ANF Chapter representatives thanked volunteers who helped build and donated the use of their boats, as well as the Forest Service for assistance in site selection and approval. United Refining Co. of Warren donated funds for shelter materials.

The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) is the longest of the 11 National Scenic Trails in the United States, winding 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont. Trail users are treated to a wide variety of landscapes, including wilderness, prairie, wetlands, mountains, farmland and urban communities. The NCNST is an official unit of the National Park System. The National Park Service manages the trail in collaboration with its nonprofit partner, the North Country Trail Association (NCTA), and the volunteers who build and maintain the trail.

Learn more at northcountrytrail.org.