Tales of Desolation
Desolation Shelter, January 1996 Desolation Shelter was a small lean-to shelter built by the Appalachian Mountain Club in 1949. Set deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness ("The Pemi") of New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest, it stood near Stillwater Junction, where several former logging railroads met. Those abandoned rail beds now served as trails to the site. Dick Carden Clearing Desolation Shelter Site, 1949 It takes some hiking to get to the shelter . The shortest route, going up and over Mt. Nancy from the east, is 8.1 miles long. Coming through Carrigain Notch, also from the east, adds another half mile. Following the Pemigewasset River from the west is a 9.3 mile journey. From the south, via Cedar Brook, the route is 12.2 miles. And coming in from the north, via Zealand Notch and Shoal Pond, is a 13.5 mile hike. I cite all of this because, despite its remoteness, I visited Desolation Shelter seven times o ver a period of just over nine years. Most of the ...