Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

  • About
    • About The Green Mountain Club
      • Bylaws
      • Annual Reports
      • Strategic Plan
    • Visitor Center
    • Barnes Camp Visitor Center
    • GMC Rental Cabins
    • Board of Directors
    • GMC Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Our Business Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Hiking
    • Trail Updates
    • Hiking 101
    • Trail Systems
      • The Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail in Vermont
      • Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom
    • Hiking Recommendations
    • Accessible Trails around Vermont
    • Thru-Hike the Long Trail
    • Trip Planning
      • Hiking in Groups
      • Guidebooks, Maps & Gear
      • Food Storage Regulations
      • Bear Boxes
    • Wildlife on the Trails
      • Food Storage Regulations
      • Bear Boxes
    • Mud Season
    • Fall Hiking
    • Winter Hiking
    • Long Trail End-to-Ender Certification
  • Conservation
    • Protecting the Long Trail
    • Land Conservation
    • Strategic Conservation Plan
    • Field Programs
    • Burrows Trail Project
    • Regional Partnerships
    • Vermont’s Alpine Zones
  • Education & Events
    • Events & Workshops
    • Service Learning & Group Outings
    • Calendar of Events & Outings
    • Leave No Trace
  • News
    • Trail Updates
    • Blog
    • Long Trail News
    • Press Releases
    • Monthly Newsletter
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Long Trail Patrol
    • Volunteer Reports
    • Application
    • Volunteer Code of Conduct
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Donate Now
  • Members
    • Become a Member
    • Your Membership Benefits
    • Join a Section
    • Business Membership
    • Green Mountain Club Annual Meeting
  • Shop

Tucker Johnson Shelter is Back!

November 21, 2018 by Mike Debonis 2 Comments

This fall, the Green Mountain Club rebuilt Tucker Johnson Shelter.

Tucker Johnson Shelter is located just north of Maine Junction on the Long Trail and is actually the third Long Trail shelter in the area. The first shelter was Tucker Lodge which was built by the Long Trail Patrol in 1938 and named after Fred H. Tucker of Boston, a longtime member of the Green Mountain Club. As Tucker Lodge began to fall into disrepair, Tucker Johnson Shelter was built as a replacement in 1969 by the Long Trail Patrol, shelter builder Louis “Sandy” Stare, and members of the Killington Section of the Green Mountain Club. That shelter was named for Fred H. Tucker and Otto Johnson of Proctor, VT, who bequeathed funds for its construction.  It was unfortunately lost to fire in 2011.

A huge thank you goes to Johnathan Bigelow, a member from the Manchester Section of the GMC, who led the effort to rebuild the shelter. Jonathan was motivated by longtime member of the Manchester Section Marge Fish, who has dedicated decades of service to the Long Trail and Green Mountain Club. Rebuilding Tucker Johnson Shelter was a way for Jonathan to give back to the Long Trail and honor Marge’s volunteerism.

The new shelter replicates the original Tucker Johnson Shelter designed by 1970s GMC President George Pearlstein. The shelter is wood-framed with space for 6-8 campers and a liberal roof overhang to provide protection from the elements. Along with the new shelter, the GMC’s construction crew built a brand new fully accessible moldering privy to replace the old pit privy onsite.

The shelter was built over a weekend and the whole process went really well. The GMC is a community, and shelter building is one of the best expressions of the community spirit. We had a couple dozen volunteers over two days, with folks from the Manchester and Killington Sections and residents from the local area. Experience ranged from skilled carpenters to folks that had never swung a hammer before.

Jonathan and Club volunteers precut almost all of the materials to make transport and construction on site as efficient as possible. One group carried in materials, while another group worked on assembling the structure.

There are still a few minor details to finish up in the spring, but the shelter and privy are ready for use. Thank you to all of the volunteers who came out and supported this project!

You can see photos of the volunteer weekend build, as well as a partial timelapse of construction, in the video below:

Filed Under: From the Field, News, Volunteers

Comments

  1. Peter Hogan says

    October 8, 2023 at 9:04 am

    Thanks for rebuilding. I stayed at the shelter in 1977 with another counselor and about 10 kids from Camp Scully outside Troy, NY. We hiked in from Rt 4. Great times!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hanging in an Appalachian Trail Shelter – Messy Suitcase Travel Blog says:
    November 18, 2020 at 11:08 am

    […] I did a little digging and discovered that the shelter was constructed by Green Mountain Club volunteers in fall 2018. (Read the story here.) […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Big News for Strategic Conservation of the Long Trail System

May 1, 2025

This article appears in the 2025 Spring Long Trail News and was written by GMC Director of Conservation Mollie Flanigan. In previous editions I've described the process of developing the Green Mountain Club Strategic Conservation Plan that outlines our road map to permanently protecting the Long … Read more

About Mud Season HikeVT Trail Recommendations Become a Member Trip Planning Trail Maps Volunteer Opportunities

Mission

The Green Mountain Club is the founder and maintainer of the Long Trail - the oldest long distance hiking trail in America. Established in 1910 to build this trail stretching the length of Vermont, the club now also maintains the Appalachian Trail in Vermont and trails in the Northeast Kingdom in its mission to "make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people." Read more...

Featured Sponsors

Athletic Brewing Logo
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Outdoor Gear Exchange logo
oge
Darn Tough logo
darn tough
Burlington Beer Company logo
Burlington Beer Company logo
802 Cars logo
802 cars
Lawson's Finest Liquids logo
lawsons-finest-liquids-black
Eastern Mountain Sports logo
EMS
Mountain Goat logo
Mountain Goat logo
Lenny's Shoe & Apparel logo
Lennys-Logo
Concept 2 logo
concept2
Sugarbush Resort logo
sugarbush-logo
The Alchemist Brewery logo
alchemist
Johnson Farm & Garden, Hardware and Rental logo
Johnson Farm & Garden, Hardware and Rental

Connect

4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road
Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677
802.244.7037 | Email GMC

Click here for current hours.
Email us for hiking advice. 

Copyright © 2025 Green Mountain Club · All Rights Reserved. · Site by Earthlogic.

Planning a Long Trail section or thru-hike?

Find advice and tips for your upcoming hike at our free upcoming End-to-Ender Panel. Hear from experienced recent End-to-Enders and ask questions about gear, food, planning and more at the in-person panel at club headquarters on May 10.

Saturday, May 10 – End-to-Ender Panel and Long Trail Guide Book Launch from 10 a.m.-12p.m. at GMC HQ in Waterbury Center

Register