‘Uncharted territory’: Proposed new AMC hut in Crawford Notch State Park brings out harsh rebukes

By NICK REID

Monitor staff

Last modified: 9/6/2015 11:39:34 PM

Leave no trace.



That was the message most writers sent in a flood of commentary about the Appalachian Mountain Club’s proposal to build its first new White Mountains hut in 50 years.



The objections cited by a majority submitting public comments on the proposed backcountry hut were varied, but the common refrain was: No new lodging for up to 58 people in the wilderness of Crawford Notch State Park. No parking lot. No clear-cutting a 200-foot diameter hole in the canopy to accommodate helicopter drops of supplies. No trace, they wrote.



The Division of Parks and Recreation closed a monthlong comment period in mid-August and released more than 150 emails and letters it received at the Monitor’s request. Roughly 60 percent of those came out against the proposal, which is subject to lengthy review by the state.



Outside the official comments to the state, an online petition opposing the proposal has also cropped up with 800 signers.



Many writers harshly rebuked the AMC, saying it caters to wealthy, out-of-state customers first at the expense of the state’s greatest natural wonder.



“In a nation where our wilderness is being taken from us and utilized for profiteering endeavors at an alarming rate, we cannot engage with the outdoors if they are being developed,” wrote April Costa, a Concord biologist and past AMC employee. “We cannot engage with the outdoors when large organizations insist on taking them away from us to increase their revenue.”



Thomas Skenderian of Franconia said he was taken aback by the price point of the huts at peak season, noting that his friends recently stayed at Madison Spring Hut to the tune of $153 per person, per night.



“I then took the time to look up the salaries of the top of the AMC structure, and they all make close to $200,000, and the one at the top over $200,000. . . . They have lost their way and are just using the hut system to line their pockets,” he wrote.



Karen Rent wrote that, as a middle-class mother of two, “I couldn’t afford to take my family on a trip to the huts, even in winter. Why not add another shelter site instead? Or keep things the way they are?”



Those sentiments were echoed by Costa and others: “If our state land is going to be developed, I want it to be for everybody. I demand to know the whole, honest and public answer to the question: Who is this hut for?” she said.



“They are so pandering to their wealthy constituency with this proposal it makes my head spin,” wrote Al Sochard of Harrison, Maine, in his letter.



The proposal



The last hut to be constructed was Mizpah Spring Hut in 1965. The AMC’s history says it was a response to the “backpacking boom” of the 1960s and formed a “final link” in a chain through the Whites at intervals of a day’s hike apart.



Before Mizpah Spring, Zealand Falls Hut was the most recent construction in 1931, establishing a western division including Galehead Hut, Greenleaf Hut and Lonesome Lake Hut, which was a privately owned fishing camp before being sold to the state and leased to the AMC in the 1920s.



The new proposal, which would be called the Sparkling Cascades Hut and would be located near Ripley Falls, is situated about midway between Zealand Falls Hut and Mizpah Spring, which at about 14 miles along the Appalachian Trail is the longest hut-to-hut stretch.



Paul Cunha, the vice president of outdoor operations for the AMC, said overnight hut utilization has tripled since 1965, prompting the move to expand.



The proposal is intended to add a new opportunity that is less physically demanding than other huts and a manageable hut-to-hut winter route, with Zealand Falls Hut approximately 6 miles away, Cunha said. The hut would be the first to be constructed with winter self-service in mind, he said, addressing the growing popularity of off-season usage.



Eight prototype designs are being considered at an estimated cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, he said.



The AMC would need to clear a hole of trees about 200 feet in diameter to accommodate the hut, light for solar panels and a helicopter landing zone for supply drops, Cunha said. It would be constructed off the Arethusa-Ripley Falls Trail on a to-be-constructed trail connecting also to the Ethan Pond Trail, he said.



A 30- to 50-car parking lot is also proposed at the Ethan Pond Trailhead off Route 302.



Since he took over as president for the AMC in 2012, John Judge got officials thinking about proposing a new hut, Cunha said, after the idea had been considered for many years before. As to when the AMC could get a permit, he’s unsure.



“At this point, I can’t really say. Is it a six-month process or a 12-month process or longer? Obviously we’d like to move apace, but we want to make sure we take the time required in order to have a solid process. We’re talking about an important decision by state parks to determine utilization of land in Crawford Notch State Park,” he said.



The process



State parks Director Phil Bryce said no decision has been made to propose a lease agreement with the AMC. Since first being contacted with the idea about a year ago, he said, his division has intentionally moved slowly and prioritized public input before deciding to put anything forward.



Noting that he’s simultaneously working on other projects, Bryce said he will review the public comments in due time and, alongside Department of Resources and Economic Development Commissioner Jeffrey Rose, decide how to proceed.



“There’s two things I know about this process if it moves forward,” Bryce said. “One is that we will be going out for further public comment” to provide more information about the project based on feedback that has been received so far. “The second thing is we know it needs governor and council approval.”



As far as local approval from officials in Hart’s Location is concerned, Bryce said that’s an issue that hasn’t been researched yet. The unincorporated town, with a population of 41, is zoned entirely as residential, meaning commercial developments would require a variance, said selectmen Chairman Mark Dindorf in a meeting about the hut, according to a report in the Conway Daily Sun.



Bryce said the AMC’s lease for the Lonesome Lake property is authorized five years at a time and pays between $5,000 and $6,000 a year to the state. He said he couldn’t estimate what a lease on the Sparkling Cascades property could be worth and that an appraiser would determine that if the process moved along.



“This is uncharted territory,” he said. “I don’t know what an appraisal would show what the value is.”



The balance



The proposed hut would be just inside the boundary of state-owned land. Many consider new construction in the White Mountain National Forest to be impossible given the strict guidelines and regulatory approvals.



But that doesn’t mean AMC hasn’t been busy building, updating and expanding its existing buildings. The key is to do it on an established site, as was recently done at the Madison Springs Hut in 2010 and High Cabin on Mount Cardigan in 2004.



While the state parks system isn’t actively soliciting projects, the AMC project is being considered because the parks are required by state law to provide additional recreational opportunities and to support the economy, Bryce said.



“The trend across the country is people are not as interested in sleeping on the ground anymore,” Bryce said, which points to constructing cabins, yurts and RV sites.



Providing more accommodations in state parks while also protecting the environment is a challenge, he said. And it takes money coming in to ensure the division is financially self-sustaining, and has the ability to meet its environmental goals.



“Our current focus at state parks has been stabilizing the financial condition of the state parks system so that it’s no longer in a deficit, and secondly to improve the conditions of the parks,” he said.



“It’s not that making money is our purpose. The reason we make money is so that we can carry out our larger mission of providing outdoor recreation, but we can’t do that unless we have the financial resources to do so.”



The feedback



Many writers supported the project, saying the AMC is an organization that has uniquely proven it can be trusted to operate prudently in the Whites.



Cunha, the AMC vice president argued: “The AMC’s been at it for 127 years. We really run the only hut system east of the Mississippi that is anything like the huts we know and love.”



Dindorf, the Hart’s Location selectman, cited the economic benefits of tourism, the winter hut-to-hut trip that he said is otherwise unavailable in New England and the AMC’s track record as reasons he encourages the project.



His comments are echoed by state Sen. Jeb Bradley, an avid hiker in the White Mountains.



“Based upon our understanding, this potential hut would have relatively easy access for families with children, which is a laudable goal, as many of the other AMC huts have more difficult climbs involved,” Bradley wrote in a letter co-signed by Rep. Gene Chandler, the deputy speaker of the House.



Beyond Bradley, the proposal is supported by Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, who represents the region, as well as business and marketing leaders from the area and beyond.



But those supporters are outnumbered by the more skeptical crowd, many of whom cited the nearby Highland Center as evidence.



Charles Belmer wrote that he canceled his AMC membership after that upscale lodge was built in 2007, a few miles from the proposed parking area.



“That building made the AMC’s actual position obvious, something that I had turned a blind eye to for many years,” he wrote. “That position is that the AMC derives as much profit from its activities as it can, not withstanding the fact that it is supposed to be a nonprofit enterprise.”



Ray Turmelle of Rochester wrote that he expected the hut would be a similar story.



“The AMC may call it a hut, but it will just be another Taj Mahal (Highland Center), another parking lot full of tourists and another not-needed trail cut in the wilds. The AMC doesn’t belong in the hotel business,” he said.



David Van Note of Kearsarge said the state government is entrusted with preventing such commercial expansion in its parks.



“Protecting the park, and all state parks, is a critical responsibility of state government,” he said. “Just look at the commercial development that has taken place in the nearby area. Allowing the AMC to add to that, on land owned by all the citizens of New Hampshire, simply for the benefit of a few, is clearly wrong.”



In 1916, the AMC charged 75 cents per night to stay at one of its huts, with meals provided by caretakers also at 75 cents each. Adjusted for inflation, a single night stay and meal these days would cost $34.20.



Today, summer lodging is more than $100 per night for members and non-AMC members.







(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325 or nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickBReid.)







VIEW COMMENTS ONLINE: The entirety of the written comments submitted to the state are available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_bRDKe9oiTDcVk5eERkR3hYd1E/view?usp=sharing







The proposed Sparkling Cascade Hut by the numbers:



Location: On state-owned land between Mizpah and Zealand huts, which are about 14 miles apart via the Appalachian Trail.



Capacity: 50 guests, with additional space for staff and volunteers.



Uses: Open year-round, with full service meals and lodging between May and October. Self service campaign between November and April.



Costs: $1.5 million and $2 million for construction





