Hikers beware of Kent Green Laundromat

[AT_Dreamin]

My hiking partner and I stopped into this laundomat today to catch up our laundry and were instantly told we were not allowed on the front porch because we are hikers and that the manager does not care for hiker business. We were scolded loudly, to our embarrassment, not to lean on the clean tables as we will get them too dirty for others to fold their clothes. The manager stated clearly that she has "had a problem with hikers" and therefor feels justified in treating us differently than her other customers. We had done nothing at all to bring on this treatment other than wearing hiking boots and carrying a pack. We have found all other businesses here in Kent CT to be very hiker friendly and DO recommend visiting the town, just maybe do laundry elsewhere.It's amazing that most people along our journey treat us like celebrities...offering any help they can give or just wanting to hear our stories, while there are those few that can be quite hurtful.Hope this helps our fellow thru hikers a bit.Now...On to Maine we go!

[mooseboy]

I found some places in Kent friendly, a couple others stuffy towards hikers-- yeah, it's a bit more hoity-toity than most trail towns.

The really amusing part of this story is that this is a laundromat getting all uppity, not some hotel or restaurant!

[DrRichardCranium]

This isn't the first time I have heard about the Notorious Laundry Bitch of Kent, Connecticut.

[AT_Dreamin]

I've been made to feel unwelcome at a few other businesses along the way but this is the first time we've been looked in the eye and told that it's because we are hikers. With this extreme dislike for hikers I just felt like others should be informed. I think we leave close to $100.00 behind in each town we visit, seems to me it would pay to be a little more hiker friendly.

[Hardway]

I was there in April and also had a bad experience. Do yourself a favor and don't go anywhere near that place.

[Panzer1]

the cops hang around there too. Don't get cought changing your clothes at the laundrymat. I'm sure there is a law against that.

Panzer

[Del Q]

Ditto Kent, the store manager at the supermarket was not the friendliest, was insisting that I leave my (clean) pack outside, I kept talking to him as I picked up a few things. Not the friendliest town I have been in this far, SW VA - Central VT

[Lone Wolf]

the "hiking community", whatever that is, has brought this on themselves. gets worse as the years roll by. i see it here at the laundramat in damascus. their wet, dity, stinkin gear spread everywhere. drinkin' beer while half naked in front of lady senior citizens doing their laundry. thru-hikers have no respect for local businesses and townsfolks

[fiddlehead]

My cousin used to run a business near the trail.
He doesn't like hikers at all.
Mostly because of the stink.
Forget the celebrity stuff and just try to blend better.

[Lone Wolf]

My cousin used to run a business near the trail.
He doesn't like hikers at all.
Mostly because of the stink.
Forget the celebrity stuff and just try to blend better.

back in the day when i got to a town the first thing i did was go shower, do laundry and put on fresh duds before goin' to eat/drink at at bar/restaurant. i would never just walk into a place just off the trail with my pack and sit down and commence eating and drinking. today's walkers think nothing of it. the scales are tipping. bad hikers are outweighing the good ones

[Blissful]

The postmaster at Kent was not friendly either to me but very gruff. But I had a business owner offer me free Internet, a townsperson tell me of a nearby campground for hikers, and the Chinese restaurant didn't care where my pack was and gave me good food. So not all of Kent is bad.

[CrumbSnatcher]

thru-hikers have no respect for local businesses and townsfolks

this is not how i operated, nothing but total respect and graditude towards buisness owners
don't bite the hand that feeds you. the problem is most thruhikers(mostly kids) know this is a one time deal(thruhike) for them and could care less what happens once they move on!
in general most kids these days have no manners and respect for s***
remember i said most not all!

[Sierra Echo]

The postmaster at Kent was not friendly either to me but very gruff. But I had a business owner offer me free Internet, a townsperson tell me of a nearby campground for hikers, and the Chinese restaurant didn't care where my pack was and gave me good food. So not all of Kent is bad.

Postmasters in general are cranky. You most likely just encountered a window clerk. Window clerks are some of the most unhappiest creatures on the planet.

[Trailweaver]

I don't live in a trail town, and the postal clerks here have an attitude! I cannot imagine what they'd do if a hiker came in to the P.O. It is a shame, though when a hiker town gets a bad reputation because of a few cranky folks.

[Sierra Echo]

I don't live in a trail town, and the postal clerks here have an attitude! I cannot imagine what they'd do if a hiker came in to the P.O. It is a shame, though when a hiker town gets a bad reputation because of a few cranky folks.

Oh, its not the hikers the window clerks don't like. Its everyone!

[Nutbrown]

Yeah, a lot are grumpy, but I would HATE to have their job for even an hour. It is true that there seems to be a general lack of respect from my generation, and those that have followed. (I'm 34). I hope to spend some family vacations in third world areas, to show my children how much they have to be thankful for. Maybe they won't turn out to be the entitled kids that are so prevelent in society today.

In regards to the op... It stinks that people are grumpy lots. The laundry nazi needs to take more warm baths.

[CrumbSnatcher]

i always found the post office employees on/near the trail alot more friendly than the ones in regular towns.

[middle to middle]

Life sucks and then you die !

[atraildreamer]

Hosts (the townsfolk) as well as guests (the hikers) have responsibilities to one another.

Try to be a good guest in town...not a pest.

Respect the town, and its customs, and you will get a better response from those people you encounter.

Clean up before you enter town, if possible, and clean up after yourself when using town facilities (laundromats, campsites, etc.).

Be courteous to all you encounter. The toughest LEO will often mellow out if you show him (or her) sincere (not sarcastic ) respect. Remember...they have to deal with a lot of troublemakers (both hikers and non-hikers) and are going to assume the worst unless you show them otherwise.

Someone is always watching you in a town. They take note of the good, as well as the bad, hikers in town, and word gets around quickly in small towns. Show, by your actions, your willingness to be a good guest and you may get pleasantly surprised by a positive reaction from the townsfolk!

[max patch]

The laundromat owners just didn't decide out of the blue that they didn't like hikers.

The laundromat owners have obviously had bad experiences with hikers in the past.

The focus of the thread started by the OP should not be to criticize the laundromat owners. The focus of the thread should be for hikers to act appropriately in town. What a hiker does in town affects all hikers that follow them.