A place to stay ?

[mcgrabo]

My wife and I are thinking about opening our home for thru hikers. Our son thru hiked last year, 2013. We did not know much about the hike until he said he was going to try and do it. We have 2 extra bed rooms, (our 2 kids are all grown up and on their own, ha ha ). I think if we did open our home, we would need to charge, in order to cover certain expenses that occur when you increase the number of people in a home. We live about 2 miles away from where the AT goes thru our small town. I am retired and my wife will retire next year after 40 years as a elementary school teacher. Well, sorry if I bored you, but any comments on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike G

[Lone Wolf]

charge at least $35 per person

[HikerMom58]

My wife and I are thinking about opening our home for thru hikers. Our son thru hiked last year, 2013. We did not know much about the hike until he said he was going to try and do it. We have 2 extra bed rooms, (our 2 kids are all grown up and on their own, ha ha ). I think if we did open our home, we would need to charge, in order to cover certain expenses that occur when you increase the number of people in a home. We live about 2 miles away from where the AT goes thru our small town. I am retired and my wife will retire next year after 40 years as a elementary school teacher. Well, sorry if I bored you, but any comments on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike G

AWESOME!!

I didn't know much about the trail until my daughter decided to hike it as well. She didn't end up hiking the whole trail. (yet) She's still working on it... done over half the trail.
I became interested in the trail, myself, b/c of her.

I live 5 miles from the trail crossing in Daleville VA. I have a place for hikers to stay at my home (like you describe, mcgrabo) but I'm not in "the book" & never want to be.

I'm just here, unofficially, helping out in whatever way I can.

I've met so many hikers that are my friends, now.

As far as the cost? I let my new friends use the laundry, shower and kitchen and of course a place to crash for the night. (s) I also slack pack them through this part of VA. Some give me $, some do not. I don't mind it if they do or don't. I enjoy having them all the same.

I don't mention him very much on here but my husband deserves a shout out. He is AWESOME! He supports me in every way.

A BIG THANK YOU TO MY HUBBY!!

I think you should charge $, if you want too. Consider all the things that you will provide & what it costs you, for starters. I don't provide much food at all. I leave that all up to them.

Hiker's are some of the BEST peeps, in my humble opinion!! Good luck! Have fun interacting and making new friends!

[rafe]

charge at least $35 per person

I'm seriously out of touch with AT hostel prices. Someone clue me in. Free State in MD offers their "Hiker Bundle" for $32 which includes laundry, free phone and internet. Run by a former thru-hiker. What does Elmers' charge these days?

I'd expect to pay more in a B&B style place than a bunkroom. $35 will probably keep out the riff-raff, which is probably what LW is getting at.

Go for it, mcgrabo. You'll meet all kinds. Most hikers are good people.

[Lone Wolf]

What does Elmers' charge these days?

I'd expect to pay more in a B&B style place than a bunkroom. $35 will probably keep out the riff-raff, which is probably what LW is getting at.

Elmer's. $20. bed, towel, shower. $10 extra for dinner, $6 for breakfast. and you're partially correct about keeping riff-raff at bay

[The Cleaner]

Most hikers are great folks and then there are some I wouldn't let camp in my yard........

[Drybones]

I would price according to what you provide. I've paid $20 at hostels and thought it was a bad deal and paid $35 and thought I got a real bargain. If I were in your place and doing this, I agree with LW, $35, keep it simple, a clean place that provides what the hikers need. I thought the Tea Horse Hostel in Harpers Ferry was a good deal, $35, a bunk with a mattress, clean bathrooms and kitchen, laundry was extra but that was okay, polite, professional, helpful owner, I'd rather stay there any day than in a motel. If you're two miles from the trail I'd provide a shuttle into town for resupply. Require boots be left outside so the place doesn't get muddied up. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

[Drybones]

Most hikers are great folks and then there are some I wouldn't let camp in my yard........

I agree, seems like there's always that 3% or 4% that gives the whole lot of us a bad rep.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Do we have to be thrus? Snacktime and I haven't tackled our VT challenge yet.....

[LIhikers]

mcgrabo,

It might be a good idea to talk to an experienced hostel operator to get their side of the story and to shorten your learning curve.
There's a hostel in Manchester Center, VT who's owner is a member here at Whiteblaze. He might have some guidance for you.
I can't remember his name for sure, but I think it's Jeff. Can anybody confirm that?

[rafe]

Frank Sutton used to have a place in Manchester, but last time I was in that town I couldn't find his place. I stayed there in 2002. It was very nice. Clean and quiet. Didn't feel like a hostel at all.

[rickb]

This site might be interesting to you, as it shows a wide range of accommodations in peoples homes and the prices charged to the general public.

www.airbnb.com

[10-K]

Frank Sutton used to have a place in Manchester, but last time I was in that town I couldn't find his place. I stayed there in 2002. It was very nice. Clean and quiet. Didn't feel like a hostel at all.

If you're talking about Sutton's Place, it's still there. I stayed there on 2 different hikes. The owner's last name isn't Sutton - so I'm guessing it was sold and the new owner kept the old name.

Great place, right in town and within easy walking distance of anything you'd need.

[Slo-go'en]

Jeff runs the "Green Mountain House" in Manchester Center.

Manchester Center to Rt 4 is just under 50 miles which most people do in 3-4 days. Rt 140 to Wallingford is about 1/2 way between. Hard to say if anyone would bother to take advantage of a place to stay that close to both resupply points. Unless you also offer a ride to Rutland for resupply, then you might get those who want to go a bit farther then Manchester Center or not stop at the Inn at the Long Trail. Being 2 miles off the trail means you might have to offer rides back and forth too. At least back in the morning, as that is the difficult part.

It's possible few would bother to stop, or you might get much more then you can handle, it's really hard to say.

[Lone Wolf]

Do we have to be thrus? Snacktime and I haven't tackled our VT challenge yet.....

should at least be long distance sectioners on foot

[HikerMom58]

I agree, seems like there's always that 3% or 4% that gives the whole lot of us a bad rep.

I'm glad to hear you say that the percentage of "undesirable" hikers is low. Seriously, MOST AT thru-hikers are not a problem at all.

The small percentage of them do give the whole lot of hikers a bad reputaion... I believe that's true.

Over the years, I believe, that this small percentage of hikers can "burn out" trail providers, business owners and trail angels, as well.

[bobp]

I agree, seems like there's always that 3% or 4% that gives the whole lot of us a bad rep.

4% represents A LOT of jerks. Assuming they are evenly spread out, that means that you have roughly a coin flip's chance of having a jerk in any given group of a dozen hikers. Given the volume of hikers passing through trail establishments, that means dealing with anywhere from a jerk every couple of days to multiple jerks per day. Who wants to sign up for that?

The true percentage of people giving hikers a bad name is probably much smaller (thankfully), but it seems clear that many service providers along the trail are nicer and more tolerant of jerks than I am (not particularly hard to believe). There are easier ways to make a dollar.

[Drybones]

4% represents A LOT of jerks. Assuming they are evenly spread out, that means that you have roughly a coin flip's chance of having a jerk in any given group of a dozen hikers. Given the volume of hikers passing through trail establishments, that means dealing with anywhere from a jerk every couple of days to multiple jerks per day. Who wants to sign up for that?

The true percentage of people giving hikers a bad name is probably much smaller (thankfully), but it seems clear that many service providers along the trail are nicer and more tolerant of jerks than I am (not particularly hard to believe). There are easier ways to make a dollar.

Your probably right about my % being high...I can only recall one hiker I'd just as soon not meet again...can recall many I'd like to see again.

[Jeff]

My wife and I are thinking about opening our home for thru hikers. Our son thru hiked last year, 2013. We did not know much about the hike until he said he was going to try and do it. We have 2 extra bed rooms, (our 2 kids are all grown up and on their own, ha ha ). I think if we did open our home, we would need to charge, in order to cover certain expenses that occur when you increase the number of people in a home. We live about 2 miles away from where the AT goes thru our small town. I am retired and my wife will retire next year after 40 years as a elementary school teacher. Well, sorry if I bored you, but any comments on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike G

Mcgrabo, my wife and I run Green Mountain House in Manchester. It has been a very rewarding experience. The "undesirable" hikers are really closer to 1%....maybe less. We advertise that we do not allow alcohol, and most every hiker respects our rule.

I will PM you and talk further.

[rafe]

I see where Sutton's place doesn't really appear to be a hostel anymore, but more like a proper guest house, and probably too pricy for most thru-hikers. http://www.suttonsplacevermont.com/