In most cases, hikers would be fortunate to find a level and well-drained patch of ground to pitch a tent — nearby running water and outhouse facilities are each a bonus. However, there’s one shining exception to this, and one that turned 100 years old this summer: the Johns Brook Lodge, which is owned and operated by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK).

Though its formal centennial occurred and was commemorated on-site at the Johns Brook Lodge on July 4, ADK held an encore celebration at its Adirondak Loj on Saturday. ADK Executive Director Cortney Worrall said this offered a more accessible opportunity for people to come and celebrate, as the Loj can be directly driven to. In addition to cake and camaraderie, Saturday’s celebration was headlined by a presentation on the history of Johns Brook Lodge that was given by Tony Goodwin, who worked there from 1966-68 — a job he began when he was 16 years old.

It’s hard to find a more comprehensive source of High Peaks knowledge than Goodwin, who also serves as the Keene town historian. He’s edited five editions of the Adirondack Mountain Club’s “High Peaks Trails,” a comprehensive guidebook on hiking trails in the region, covering not just the 46 High Peaks — both those with official and unofficial routes — but many other smaller area trails.

Goodwin said the fact that the lodge is still serving club members and the public today goes back to the original vision behind it of providing hospitality and information to hikers in such a remote area.

The Johns Brook Lodge’s great room features a fireplace and dining area. (Provided photo — Adirondack Mountain Club)

“It’s a testament to the fact that it serves a useful purpose,” he said. “The same useful purpose that (first ADK Chair of the Trails) Bill Howard sensed when he insisted that Rogers lumber company donate the land to ADK. And with a lot of work in the last 40 years or so, the lodge has been more than patched up, but really made whole.”

The lodge has a 3.5-mile hike from the nearest parking lot and trailhead in the remote Johns Brook Valley in the town of Keene. The property has the capacity to sleep 46 guests indoors — with heating and mattresses — in hostel-style bunks, 28 in the main lodge and another 18 between two guest cabins: Camp Peggy O’Brien and Grace Camp, along with three adjacent lean-tos and a staff cabin. There’s a full-service kitchen and dining area, with a crew to cook meals in the summer and fall, and appliances for guests to prepare meals, potable water, a fireplace and indoor vaulted toilets.

Johns Brook Lodge has long been synonymous with ADK. In 1923, the then-fledgling club was given the parcel of logged land from the J. & J. Rogers Company, a former timber and iron company. ADK then moved to build the lodge, which was completed in 1925 to be used as a meeting place for the club, which had been established in 1922.

The property is now surrounded by state forest preserve, though ADK enjoys a right-of-way access along the Johns Brook foot trail, which begins at “The Garden” trailhead near the hamlet of Keene Valley. Suffice to say, maintaining a year-round lodging operation of that caliber deep in the backcountry hasn’t been easy. Its hundred-year survival — and continued promising future — is owed to a cadre of specialized staff and an army of volunteers who have poured time and energy into keeping the property structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing for continued use and enjoyment. Worrall said this shared commitment made celebrating 100 years especially beloved.

“I think it just shows all of what’s so special about the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Mountain Club,” she said. “The years and years and years of people volunteering their time, investing in something that’s a public resource — that’s available to everyone — is just remarkable, and unique in the United States.”

Adirondack trails guru and Keene Town Historian Tony Goodwin, who worked at the Johns Brook Lodge from 1966-68, gives a presentation at the Adirondak Loj in North Elba on Saturday. This year marks the Johns Brook Lodge’s centennial. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

When Goodwin attended the on-site centennial earlier this summer, he was “blown away” by how much nicer it looked now than in the 1960s, when it looked far less likely to stand up for another 100 years.

Goodwin said that back in the day, the crews, for the most part, had to pack in the food that was served from the Valley Grocery Store in Keene Valley once a week, along with more stable provisions that were either packed in or dropped off at the beginning of the season. As it does today, the lodge served breakfast, packed lunches for its guests to take with them while hiking and dinner.

Goodwin said that beyond the lodge’s hospitality, it has also served as a vital backcountry public resource over the years. While the lodge’s existence isn’t a substitute for proper preparation, it has provided a safe harbor for wayward hikers suffering from fatigue, injury or hypothermia over the years, giving them a chance to dry off or warm up in the interior of the High Peaks wilderness.

Its proximity to popular mountains such as Big Slide, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, Haystack and Marcy also makes it a hub for hikers to both ask for and provide the lodge crew and its guests with the latest trail conditions, and any potential hazards that may lie further up the trail.

Worrall said that at its core, Johns Brook Lodge bolsters ADK’s mission of promoting outdoor access responsibly.

“It’s about the fact that these are accessible places for everybody to enjoy,” she said. “We’re not an exclusive club, we’re a place where people from all walks of life can come and explore and enjoy something that very few people get to experience.”