so sad to hear that Gull Pond Lodge in Rangely closed. It was a great place to stay. Also.. cloud 9 in Hiawasse, GE.. one of best places for the price (I think it was 20 bucks in 2006.
I'm sure the lousy attitude on part of many AT (thru) hikers is a big problem in many cases.
I remember staying at Hikers Paradise in Gorham, NH. I was in a nice clean hotel room. There where many other rooms where hikers were smoking and drinking like there's no tomorrow. Bet that stinked up the place to high heaven. Thing is.. while most thru hikers are fine folks there is a portion of them that are total jerks, less considerate than college students and that's saying something!
david