Trash left by hikers at the Wiggins Shelter in Virginia, May 1970. Increasing use of the Appalachian Trail by both casual and long distance hikers in the late 1960s and early 1970s led to a number of problems such as increasing amounts of litter, increasing vandalism, and degradation of the environment around trail shelters. One response of the ATC was to urge trail maintaining clubs to remove trash receptacles from shelters (note the trash barrel in this image). Another was to embark on much more aggressive educational campaigns, like the very successful Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics program.

Due to overuse problems like those pictured here, the Wiggins Shelter was removed from the Trail. The ATC's Konnarock Crew dismantled the shelter in 1986 and used the materials to build the Cow Camp Gap Shelter a few miles to the north.