Longboysfan
03-14-2016, 12:58
Staying before starting Trail in Georgia.
Hike Hostel Review.
Hiker Hostel is located in Dahlonega, GA. Off of business 19. If you drive in from the south – Turn left at the light at WalMart then about 54 miles up the road on the left is Hiker Hostel. When you get there you are just a short van ride from either Amicalola Falls or Springer Mountain.
But enough of that – all information you need is on their web site hiker hostel dot com.
Josh and Leigh Saint are great hosts. They are thru hikers who had a great vision about what you might need to get your adventure off on the right foot. They will help you shake down your pack and provide suggestions on gear.
My brother and I recently did a section hike using the Hiker Hostel as a jump off point. After all was said and done a great choice. We drove in the night before and stayed in the Cabin which was very comfortable. Breakfast the next morning then shuttle to the trail. We started at Amicalola Falls. They do offer a pack shake down for free and on the front porch of the main house have a scale to weigh your pack before leaving. We missed out on this - Our bad. Extra ounces = pounds = pain that you carry.
Josh had told us to keep in touch as they would pick us up wherever we were after the week long hike. Verizon worked best for cell phone service on the trail.
Due to snow catching us on the next to last day and getting our sleeping bags wet we cut back the hike and called for a pick up at Neel’s Gap. Josh was right there on time and drove us back to the Hostel. In talking to Josh on the drive back he did say the one piece of equipment to keep dry was the sleeping bag. Lesson learned. I had asked him how things went the night before with the snow and hikers. He told us they had picked up about 11 hikers and shuttled them to various locations for the night. I do not think we could have taken advantage of this as we were on the wrong side of Blood Mountain as the snow hit.
Being in early Saturday Josh gave us some tips about things in the area. We ended up going to Helen, GA about 20 miles away for the day.
We stayed overnight again in the cabin. Great sleep after the trail. Exceptional breakfast again and some talk to others coming and going out to their adventure with the AT. Hiker Hostel shuttled me over to the MARTA Station, Atlanta area train service. You can go directly from the station there to the Airport or be picked up there.
All together this was not very expensive to use the Hostel and services.
Josh and Leigh are fantastic hosts. I know when I do my next section hike next year I will start by calling them to reserve a bed there. I highly recommend the Hiker Hostel to all going to Georgia to start their AT hike no matter the distance.
Hike Hostel Review.
Hiker Hostel is located in Dahlonega, GA. Off of business 19. If you drive in from the south – Turn left at the light at WalMart then about 54 miles up the road on the left is Hiker Hostel. When you get there you are just a short van ride from either Amicalola Falls or Springer Mountain.
But enough of that – all information you need is on their web site hiker hostel dot com.
Josh and Leigh Saint are great hosts. They are thru hikers who had a great vision about what you might need to get your adventure off on the right foot. They will help you shake down your pack and provide suggestions on gear.
My brother and I recently did a section hike using the Hiker Hostel as a jump off point. After all was said and done a great choice. We drove in the night before and stayed in the Cabin which was very comfortable. Breakfast the next morning then shuttle to the trail. We started at Amicalola Falls. They do offer a pack shake down for free and on the front porch of the main house have a scale to weigh your pack before leaving. We missed out on this - Our bad. Extra ounces = pounds = pain that you carry.
Josh had told us to keep in touch as they would pick us up wherever we were after the week long hike. Verizon worked best for cell phone service on the trail.
Due to snow catching us on the next to last day and getting our sleeping bags wet we cut back the hike and called for a pick up at Neel’s Gap. Josh was right there on time and drove us back to the Hostel. In talking to Josh on the drive back he did say the one piece of equipment to keep dry was the sleeping bag. Lesson learned. I had asked him how things went the night before with the snow and hikers. He told us they had picked up about 11 hikers and shuttled them to various locations for the night. I do not think we could have taken advantage of this as we were on the wrong side of Blood Mountain as the snow hit.
Being in early Saturday Josh gave us some tips about things in the area. We ended up going to Helen, GA about 20 miles away for the day.
We stayed overnight again in the cabin. Great sleep after the trail. Exceptional breakfast again and some talk to others coming and going out to their adventure with the AT. Hiker Hostel shuttled me over to the MARTA Station, Atlanta area train service. You can go directly from the station there to the Airport or be picked up there.
All together this was not very expensive to use the Hostel and services.
Josh and Leigh are fantastic hosts. I know when I do my next section hike next year I will start by calling them to reserve a bed there. I highly recommend the Hiker Hostel to all going to Georgia to start their AT hike no matter the distance.