View Full Version : Is stopping at Rusty's now passe?
His place doesn't seem to be near the top of the must-stop list like it used to be. Is it just a low % of hikers that stop there now?
One of the best memories I had was stopping into the church service in Waynesboro with Rusty and a bunch of fellow hikers. We all introduced ourselves to the all-black congregation and had a great time. It was a long service, but it was rocking with all the music. Wouldn't mind going there again if I was in the area.
Rain Man
12-11-2005, 15:38
...One of the best memories I had was stopping into the church service in Waynesboro with Rusty and a bunch of fellow hikers. We all introduced ourselves to the all-black congregation and had a great time. It was a long service, but it was rocking with all the music. Wouldn't mind going there again if I was in the area.
If you're a reader and haven't yet read it, you might like Peter Jenkin's "A Walk Across America" (unless it's "A Walk Across America 2"), in which he lives with a black family in Tennessee for several months and attends church services with them.
Great book. My daughter went to school with his daughter here in Nashville!
Rain:sunMan
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I've heard many nice stories, but at that point I was rushing with sore feet to meet a rendezvous up the trail, so reluctantly passed him by.
If I were to pass by again I stop at Rusty's for the hot tub and to relax, not so sure about going to the church service though...
YM (and spiritual needs) MV
RITBlake
12-11-2005, 21:35
I stayed with Rusty for a full day. He was really great and even though it was just he and I, it was still aweseome.
Rusty even took me to an amish lunch where they fed me and fed me and fed me and fed me.
LOL... Rusty looks like he's Amish and practically lives like he is, except he drives a truck!
i stayed at rusty's oct 2002,rusty is a great guy,but a lot of free loading
selfish hikers have took advantage of rusty,he makes excellent pancakes:cool: neo
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6223&c=665&userid=3462
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6222&c=665&userid=3462
a lot of free loading
selfish hikers have took advantage of rusty,he makes excellent pancakes:cool: neo
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6222&c=665&userid=3462
Is this them?
I spent several days at Rusty's in 1993. It was by far my favorite hostel. I suspect the decline in stops stems from his decision to ban alcohol. He ran into trouble a few years ago, as I understand it, when some slackpacking hikers openly drank beer in the back of his pickup, thus violating several laws dealing with drinking in a motor vehicle and under aged drinking.
In '93 the rush of free loaders was already converging on Rusty's. I met one obvious fraud at a shelter in the northend of Shenandoah National Park. His non thruhiker softness and queries about trail names he could use to convince Rusty that he was a sobo "thru hiker" alerted me. I suspected he was seeking details for a concocted story that would allow him to camp at Rusty's for the rest of the summer.
So I asked him what the conditions were in Baxter Park, which he claimed to have left the previous April.
He assured me that a "thaw" had allowed him to drive to the base of Katahdin in mid April. Well, my driveway had a mound of snow five-feet high when I left mid-coast Maine on the 13th of April, at least 100 air miles south and a thousand feet lower in elevation. I suspect no automobile has ever driven to the base of Katahdin in mid April.
But Rusty's surely was a fun place. A lot of camaraderie, and yes, a lot of booze -- but no open drunkenness -- and even a touch football game between the "skins" and the "Pants." Rusty was a gentle father away from home for some of the teens. Rusty spent hours with one in particular with an alcohol problem, calling the kid's parents and keeping him sober on his birthday "for the first time since the age of 10."
Weary
hikerjohnd
12-11-2005, 23:50
I assume this is Rusty's Hard Time Hollow? I thought it closed...
Uncle Silly
12-12-2005, 00:03
I was there this year for a full day (two nights). apparently mine is the only dog ever invited back. :) i spent the time drying laundry, playing music for the other hikers, a couple rounds of frisbee golf, and chess. not to mention looking through his many photos on the walls and ceilings. there was a good crowd of hikers (~10) while i was there and an even bigger crowd at Waynesboro .. it seemed like half the hikers at the Waynesboro Y campground had stopped in at Rusty's for a spell.
[quote=lobster]His place doesn't seem to be near the top of the must-stop list like it used to be. Is it just a low % of hikers that stop there now?
After you have been around as long as he has people start to figure you out. Rusty aint what he seems at first, be careful.
Freeloaders, closing, closed etc. etc....always a sad song w/ Rusty, its part of the hook, sucker. Again, my young hiking brothers, be careful
Lone Wolf
12-12-2005, 00:14
That's ******* deep, Let It Be!;)
Hey LW, Bend over and smile:eek: Then tell me I'm lyin;)
MacGyver2005
12-12-2005, 08:13
He's closed that place how many times now? I think the fact that no one ever knows if it is open or closed, or if he will be inviting or not is a big reason not so many go there.
Regards,
-MacGyver
GA-->ME
I spent a couple of days there this year. Seems too many hikers are anxious to get into Waynesboro and don't want to do the walk to Rusty's. He is a true character and the place is definitely worth a stop. Probably will still be available next year since it isn't going to sell at the price he wants. A trail angel in Waynesboro told me that there is an acreage limit to building in the area and Rusty's is too small to get a building permit now, so it has to stay as is....
Tha Wookie
12-12-2005, 16:43
[quote=lobster]His place doesn't seem to be near the top of the must-stop list like it used to be. Is it just a low % of hikers that stop there now?
After you have been around as long as he has people start to figure you out. Rusty aint what he seems at first, be careful.
Freeloaders, closing, closed etc. etc....always a sad song w/ Rusty, its part of the hook, sucker. Again, my young hiking brothers, be careful
You just love talking trash about other hikers on the internet, don't you?
The list so far that I can remember off the top of my head (who you have let us know gossip about that you don't aprove of):
Ray Jardine
Warren Doyle
Brian Robinson
Rusty
When I meet you someday, and I'm sure I will, I'll remember not to turn my back.
the goat
12-12-2005, 18:39
rusty is cool as hell, one of my favorite trail stops. to me, a thru wouldn't be the same w/o "the hollow".
The rebel flag, crushed beer cans, wood-fired hottub, sodas in the springhouse, pictures on the wall, bulls-eye to pee on outside, etc. all make that place pretty cool.
Who's talkin gossip, Wook?
Ray doesn't know how I feel or what I say?
I'm hiding something here from WD?
Any idea how many man to mans I've had w/ ol Rusty, THE King of gossip.
I know BR as well as I want, but don't mind if yall become pals.
I speak of personal experiences, and perhaps I've had others than you. I don't mind standing up to these folks and speaking my mind, and I doubt they have any trouble speaking up to me. Hell, from what I'm told out west lying and spreading gossip is just human nature and the way it is. If I can deal with that you might try harder to deal with what I'm saying. Tell me if you think I'm lying and we can get together with some examples. I'm being nice, really. I think Rusty has a wonderful place, I just think the way he goes about his photography is very wrong and No I don't approve, DO YOU? Gossip or my opinion?
Tha Wookie
12-13-2005, 14:34
Who's talkin gossip, Wook?
Ray doesn't know how I feel or what I say?
I'm hiding something here from WD?
Any idea how many man to mans I've had w/ ol Rusty, THE King of gossip.
I know BR as well as I want, but don't mind if yall become pals.
I speak of personal experiences, and perhaps I've had others than you. I don't mind standing up to these folks and speaking my mind, and I doubt they have any trouble speaking up to me. Hell, from what I'm told out west lying and spreading gossip is just human nature and the way it is. If I can deal with that you might try harder to deal with what I'm saying. Tell me if you think I'm lying and we can get together with some examples. I'm being nice, really. I think Rusty has a wonderful place, I just think the way he goes about his photography is very wrong and No I don't approve, DO YOU? Gossip or my opinion?
That's called gossip: "One who tattles or talks idly: also gossiper."
-Webster's Dictionary
It's not about the truth behind the gossip: it's about idle, useless chatter that does no one good.
I doubt Ray knows or cares what you think or say. Not sure about the others. But I do know that you have a habit of gossiping about my friends, and I don't like it.
The Desperado
12-13-2005, 22:03
My Grandpa used to say"if ya dont have something nice to say about someone, dont say nothing at all-----and watch out for those that do"
Ray knows, he can read, and if he doesn't care why should you?:confused: Sorry?, I don't have the same high opinion of every person you do.:( It has been stated before that some people can't handle the truth and that Knowledge is power.:-? People ask for opinions and I give mine, based on my experiences. I DID NOT sign the wavier that says if you screw/b.s me or my fellow hikers, I'll tuck my tail and zip my trap.:eek: If I find out you have been taking advantage of hikers, or are full of poop I'll expose you too!:dance I don't express myself based on if Tha Wookie, or anyone, will like it.:datz Useless chatter is your opinion. I disagree. Aint life grand.:)
bulldog49
12-14-2005, 11:26
That's
I doubt Ray knows or cares what you think or say. Not sure about the others. But I do know that you have a habit of gossiping about my friends, and I don't like it.
A lot of folks don't care what you think or say either, Wookie. But this is a forum where we all can express our opinions. If you want to refute what Nean says then do so, but don't be a hypocrite and dismiss what he says as mere gossip.
SGT Rock
12-14-2005, 12:05
That's called gossip: "One who tattles or talks idly: also gossiper."
-Webster's Dictionary
It's not about the truth behind the gossip: it's about idle, useless chatter that does no one good.
Just a thought on that Wookie, but wouldn't talking about Bush, Cheney, Condie, or any one of a number of people you have said things about in the past also put you in the same catagory?:-?
Speaking of Bush, he was back at it again this morning in a speech insinuating Saddam and Iraq had something to do with 911. That's just wrong.
Sorry for the hijack, carry on.
SGT Rock
12-14-2005, 15:18
LOL, carry on Sly ;)
Speaking of Bush, I see that the House is going to pass that strict immigration policy whereby illegal immigration is a federal crime. I wonder if it passes the Senate whether Bush will veto it to cater to the business folk. I hope not. We need to stop the overpopulation of this country.
The birth rate of illegals makes it even worse. They must have rabbit genes.
Oh wow, something I agree with Lobster on. Will wonders ever cease? ;)
digger51
12-14-2005, 21:54
Desperdo...are you the same desperado that kept me alive on my hike through PA and NJ during the drought of 2001? That water and sodas you left on the roadsides were all thet kept me moving during some of those hot, dry days. Thanks a bunch and hope to meet you if I manage to get that far again.
Tim Rich
12-14-2005, 23:32
That's called gossip: "One who tattles or talks idly: also gossiper."
-Webster's Dictionary
It's not about the truth behind the gossip: it's about idle, useless chatter that does no one good.
I doubt Ray knows or cares what you think or say. Not sure about the others. But I do know that you have a habit of gossiping about my friends, and I don't like it.
Wook, if you're not disputing Nean's account of Rusty taking illicit photos of males, then he's tattling for warning others? That's something I'd like to know before bedding down there.
Take Care,
Tim