01/16/2026
Local retired forester, Fred Wilcox shared this story with us about Milesburn Cabin. I had heard a vague mythical version years ago, and it is awesome to read it from the man who was there:
As a State Forest Officer I only had one incident that put me in direct contact with Secret Service personnel. It was the winter of 1969 or 70. At the time I was assigned to the Michaux State Forest which lies West of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During the evening, we had a significant snowfall which dumped over one foot of snow across the forest. Around mid-morning while I was in my office at Caledonia I was asked to take a call from, what I remember being the State Department in Washington. The person on the other end explained to me that there were visitors staying in the Appalachian Trail Cabin along Milesburn Road North of Route 30. Washington could not make contact with these people and with the heavy snow they were concerned about their welfare. The person I was talking to asked if we could quickly check on them and report back. I said I would personally do it but it would take at least an hour or more because the roads are not plowed and it would be a long walk. This forest district did not have any snowmobiles at the time.
I asked Forest Technician Gary Zimmerman if he wanted to tag along and he quickly jumped at the offer. Gary and I then drove to the North end of Milesburn Road where it met Shippensburg Road. Through deep snow, without snowshoes, Gary and I walked around 1.5 miles to the cabin. When we approached the cabin, we were met by two individuals who were obviously Secret Service personnel. I say this because who else, but the Secret Service would be wearing a long coat, nice slacks and polished shoes while camping in a forest in the winter?
Gary and I introduced ourselves but unfortunately this gesture was not reciprocated. My first question was, “Is everyone in the cabin OK.” Their response was, “Yes, everyone if fine and they were waiting for the snowplow so they could leave.” I’ll never forget the look on this gentleman’s face when I explained to him that we do not plow State Forest roads during the winter months. His quick response then was to tell me they had to leave early in the afternoon. Under these circumstances I advised this gentleman that I would radio the office and have equipment sent up to open the road. Knowing we did not have a plow truck large enough for this task, it would require a bulldozer or road grader, and both had to be loaded and trucked to the road intersection and unloaded and this would take another hour. There was no choice but to accept my offer.
Gary and I agreed to remain on site until the plowing equipment arrived. Never during this time were we informed as to who was staying in the cabin nor were we offered an opportunity to enter the cabin to get warm. About an hour later a road grader driven by Ezra Karper arrived at the site. With this Gary and I departed for an easy walk back to our 4x4. Frederick Wilcox
