Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, Route 653 Shelter Area

It was cold and windy in the Laurel Highlands on this 3rd day of March.  But the misty gray countryside was lovely all the same.  I had to take today off because I'll be working on Wednesdays for a while.  Since the summer, I've been planning a thru-hike on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.  It's only 70 miles, and there's generally plenty of water along the way.  I've calculated the trip for 6 nights, passing over 2 of the 8 shelter areas without spending the night.

Camping along the trail is only permitted in the designated shelter areas, and I've explored most of them on simple day hikes.  But for some reason I'd never been to the Route 653 shelter area, despite the fact that it's really at the heart of the trail--close to the park office and the cross country ski area, with its very cool warming hut.  At one point on today's trek, I ducked under a cozy rock formation to take shelter from the wind and frigid rain, where I looked at maps and read a little.

Here's the warming hut, just off Route 653.  You can see the rack for skis and the pile of free firewood.  It's unlocked, and you're welcome to take shelter inside.  The lights are on timers, and they pop on when the door opens.  There's a restroom with running water.  Build a fire, and make yourself at home.  The Laurel Highlands Trail goes right through here.  

This is the inside of the warming hut.  There's a separate building down the hill a ways, a "concession stand."  Of course, there's been so little snow this winter that the concession stand was closed and probably has been most of the year.  I wonder how busy this place gets?  The state is operating a pretty nice little setup if you're into cross country skiing.  I could be mistaken, but I don't believe I know anyone who is into it.  In these days of ragged gray winters, it would be sad to love cross country skiing.

Of course, skiing is not my interest.  I came mostly to scope out the nearby shelter area and to find the overlook in the post above.  Let me just admit this: there are two shelter areas along the Laurel Highlands Trail that have a slightly spooky feeling for me, and I almost dread spending the night alone in them: the Turnpike Shelter Area and the Route 653 Shelter Area.  Both had a strangely ominous feel to me.  In the case of the 653, there were two Adirondack shelters with tarps flapping loudly in the wind.  It felt a little like those old Western movies where the hero rides into a little western town that's eerily quiet; there are signs of life, but no one is seen.  Where is everyone hiding, and why?  Are they all...dead?  I made me wonder if there was someone inside those shelters--at midday--unaware that their tarps were whipping and blowing like flags.  I checked out the shelter that I'd planned on reserving, and it is indeed the best.  I also went to make sure there were no expired hikers inside either of the two shelters with flapping tarps.  Thank God there were not.  Nothing ruins a great day in the woods like coming across a corpse.  I guess someone just left the tarps for the next person to use.