You got the money, they got the time.
That's where I don't think it's a great idea. ^ We don't need another "business person" in here to make a living off of hikers. Not that I think there's anything wrong with that, I just think it's not always necessary up and down the AT corridor.Originally Posted by Airman
There's a guy in Daleville, I know. His name is Homer Witcher. He's awesome. He does shuttles etc... but he's not in it for the money. All his shuttles are 10 bucks per person. I like that!! He's super nice too!
I wouldn't mind doing that myself.
Delivery shuttle services is a good idea as is food/water stash services. If you live in the right place & ur not trying to make money on it...I think it's a great idea.
Catering to hikers, especially thru-hikers during the season, has become a small industry in many trail towns. If hikers have a need and are willing to pay for goods and services, what's the harm? Like anywhere else you might go on vacation, when you need something, you generally have to pay for it.
I agree with moldy. This is great in theory but I doubt many would be able to pull it off successfully. Do not underestimate the power of a shower, meal and/or a change of scenery to improve your mental health. This is even more important is mentally challenging times. I even referred to one of my zeros as a "mental health break". This can even be as short as a couple of hours for a single meal.
I know that! I'm not saying it should be done free of charge, just not another money making idea for everyone. Another thing is, I wouldn't advertize the service in the book... just word of mouth.
It's a great idea, especially after you've relaxed and had your mental health days in Daleville. You are just looking hard at the next big stop... SNP!!There you can dine in the land of blackberry milkshakes!
Not very realistic IMHO a break in town is warranted because hiking can become a grind. Value yourself and earn a day in town to wash up and stuff.
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Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost
why NOT a money making idea for everyone??? and why " We don't need another "business person" in here to make a living off of hikers"I know that! I'm not saying it should be done free of charge, just not another money making idea for everyone. Another thing is, I wouldn't advertize the service in the book... just word of mouth.
It's a great idea, especially after you've relaxed and had your mental health days in Daleville. You are just looking hard at the next big stop... SNP!!
if they have money in their pockets and want to spend it TAKE IT!
i agree with Moldy
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
Nah!! I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that at all.
Here's why- when my daughter and I hike the trail, we might have the money in our pockets but we aren't "rich" by any stretch of the imagination. So, if you put yourself in most other hikers shoes, that's probably the case with them as well. If you can do something for hikers that you would appreciate, yourself... Why not?
Let me make this abundantly clear as well, I don't begrudge anyone that would want to provide services for AT hikers to make a living for themselves. I don't mind paying someone for their services when I'm hiking. I'm grateful they are there.
If you can just try to understand where my head is.. I've thought about this very idea, myself. Soo... this appeals to me.
I think I may have come on too strong when I said, We don't need another "business person" in here to make a living off of hikers". Sorry about that. That's just not what I envisioned.
I still think that moldy and others are reading too much into "skipping towns". I don't read it that way at all. I could be wrong & it wouldn't be the first time! :>)
It depends on what one means by "skipping town". If you mean not going into town all together, that makes resupply less frequent. If you mean "skipping an overnight town stop", that is easier to do.
There are pleanty of places where you can get in and out of town for food and still do a reasonable milage day. You just have to plan ahead a little to be close to town the night before. It's also often easier to hitch out of town in the afternoon. In the morning everyone is in a rush to get to work or drop the kids off at school and less likely to stop.
When I did PA, my partner at the time and I ate lunch at a resturant or supermarket almost everyday through the whole state! That was one of the things which made that section tollerable
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I disagree with the premise that you need to make a drastic change in the way you hike the trail just because of your age. I thru'd at 35 and intend to thru at 60 and plan no changes in the frequency of town stops. Nor changing the method of getting there by hiring shuttles. If I'm wrong and it turns out that age has slowed me down then I'll just flip up to K from DWG and complete the hike that way.
It depends on what one means by "skipping town". If you mean not going into town all together, that makes resupply less frequent. If you mean "skipping an overnight town stop", that is easier to do.
There are pleanty of places where you can get in and out of town for food and still do a reasonable milage day. You just have to plan ahead a little to be close to town the night before. It's also often easier to hitch out of town in the afternoon. In the morning everyone is in a rush to get to work or drop the kids off at school and less likely to stop.
When I did PA, my partner at the time and I ate lunch at a resturant or supermarket almost everyday through the whole state! That was one of the things which made that section tollerable
I love the PA hike for that very reason.. it seems you are not far from civilization much at all.
Parts of SW/Central VA are very rural! I'm reading the "skipping" towns" piece as not wanting to bother with going into all the "towns", i mentioned in my previous post. There's a lot of hitching involved in trying to get to towns that don't even have good resupply options.
Like I said before, a lot of thru-hikers stay in Daleville & pay for slackpacking as far up the trail as they can get so they won't have to worry as much about getting into a town without a good resupply & it helps lighten the pack when you do start hiking again. I've passed Homer on the BRP with a van load of hikers up as far as Thunder Hill Shelter... that's 42.2 trail miles out of Daleville, NOBO, before they put their packs back on & start hiking again.
I do it all the time for my friends as well.
I read, that's the whole reason for this idea. Like I said, I could be wrong about that...
How is cell phone coverage down your way? Say from Buena Vista to Daleville? I'm starting to think through the logistics for a section hike from rock fish gap down toward your neck of the woods.
I like your idea, kind of an on call bounce box, sort of.
Furlough
Last edited by Furlough; 01-21-2014 at 15:19.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
I negotiated with Jeff from The Hike Inn to resupply me at Newfound Gap on my October 2011 section hike from Fontana Dam to Max Patch so I could avoid wasting the limited vacation time I had going down into Gatlinburg, or trying to carry another 5+ pounds of food on my aging knees. He initially expressed some reticence that we would hook up at the designated time, but after staying with him the night before I started out he got to the parking lot an hour before I was scheduled to arrive, and I got there 45 minutes beforehand after a very quick walk from Mt. Collins Shelter. Worked like a charm, but it was pricey.
When I get to the 100 Mile Wilderness next year I will likely look to arrange a re-supply near one of the lumber roads.
When I did the Long Trail in August 1979, I had the luxury of burying a food cache near Jonesville that I picked up on Day 9 after starting at the Canadian border.
I tried to string up a food cache in June 2007 to further minimize my carry weight on a short hike from Atkins to Damascus, but I lost all my food to what was probably a raccoon as my bear-bagging didn't work out. That evening at The Stiles, Green Giant generously gave me two of his extra meals from his Damascus re-supply when he learned of my plight!
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
Cell service comes and goes. Specifically (north to south), close to where I live it's iffy at the Long Mountain (Rt. 60 crossing) and doesn't really come back until you get to Punchbowl Shelter. It drops out again when you drop down to the James River. It comes back in as you get closer to Apple Orchard Mountain and drops back out as you drop down to Jennings Creek (Rt. 614). Hope that helps some.
It does indeed. Much appreciated.
...... to the big lake they called Gitche Gumme.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
Yeah, that's pretty much it!
I've done food stashes from both North & South of Daleville.
DH is my partner in crime! We try to help get these hikers through VA. We work together on this, I give his phone # out and he gives mine out. I get calls from hikers trying to get a hold of DH...if they can't reach him. Sometimes they call me... "Where's Deer Hunter??" LOL!! "I don't know!" "I'm not Deer Hunter's keeper"... LOL. It's fun! :>)
Water can be a real problem around here too, sometimes.
Aww... that's too bad Kerosene. That's disappointing to loose ur food like that. Green Giant is the BEST!
I put my food stash in a giant white bucket with a really secure fitting lid. I have to wrestle it, to get it off. So far so good. :>)
Another difference between thru hiking in the 70's & 80's Shuttle Drivers ? No such thing back in the day.
Ahhh...you like my signature song I see.
Huh? You didn't get the memo?Yeah, that's pretty much it!
I've done food stashes from both North & South of Daleville.
DH is my partner in crime! We try to help get these hikers through VA. We work together on this, I give his phone # out and he gives mine out. I get calls from hikers trying to get a hold of DH...if they can't reach him. Sometimes they call me... "Where's Deer Hunter??" LOL!! "I don't know!" "I'm not Deer Hunter's keeper"... LOL. It's fun! :>)
Water can be a real problem around here too, sometimes.
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