View Full Version : Top Of Georgia Hostel definitely closed permanently! August 2019
crazylegs76
08-22-2019, 15:10
As requested by the Caped Hiker I guess I'll post this PSA. As confirmed by numerous independent sources and the owner Mr. Bob Packs A Lot this hostel is closed permanently. This post was initiated as it was noted that a previous now gone thread stated that the hostel was open. So to avoid any confusion for hikers here's the update. Thanks!
LazyLightning
08-22-2019, 18:45
Sad to hear this was a nice little spot. I'll never forget it's where I first heard the term safety meeting/safety break.
Sad to hear this was a nice little spot. I'll never forget it's where I first heard the term safety meeting/safety break.
So how was it?:sun
Furlough
08-23-2019, 09:05
Sad to hear this was a nice little spot. I'll never forget it's where I first heard the term safety meeting/safety break.
Maybe too many folks participating in too many safety meetings/breaks hastened the closure.
Maybe too many folks participating in too many safety meetings/breaks hastened the closure.
there can never be enough safety meetings......
safety first....
crazylegs76
08-23-2019, 11:53
45600 Just a theory, but it may also have had something to do with terrible staffing choices. Meet J.B. Gunner aka: Tear Drop champion of the Men Going There Own Way or MGTOW "Movement". A violent murdering misogynist that spews drug use and negativity in his various YT channels. One or two of which are directed at the AT though he's not really a hiker per se. If you'd like a sample of the types of folks that worked there then check this out. Viewer discretion is advised! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--HXzOY8kE0&t=1249s
All joking aside, you probably have to look no further than Bob himself as the reason this place closed down. He is a very polarizing guy as were some of his policies.
crazylegs76
08-23-2019, 12:27
That's not a joke my friend! That character with the prison gang murder tats on his face who claims to hate hikers, hiking, the world, all those in it, and everything else, lists himself as the "Former Bouncer at Top Of GA Hostel". If I walked in and was met by this guy I'd hike on. No way I'd lay down and sleep within a mile of guy called Tear Drop. What the hell kinda hostel has a bouncer? I don't even go to bars that have bouncers anymore!
LazyLightning
08-23-2019, 12:41
While I was there no staff allowed and nobody was having safetly meetings in the hostel. There was a tiny trail into the woods with a picnic table that was the spot. Everybody there was cool when I stopped in and got no impression of anyone hating hikers or any hate in general. It wasn't like the staff allowed safety meeting I just happened to first hear the term there. That Tear Drop character sounds shady but I saw nothing of the sort myself.
And I agree with whoever said you could never have enough safety breaks... You gotta stay safe with an open mind out there!
His overhead was way to high to support an AT Hostel.
Alligator
08-23-2019, 19:50
Let's end the safety meeting talk so I don't have to play bouncer. Thanks!
Slow Trek
08-23-2019, 23:55
In 2016,my son and I hiked from Springer to Harper's Ferry. To escape some heavy rain,we spent one night in a hostel above a gas station(wish I could remember the name of the place)and Teardrop was there. It was plain after a few minutes that he had been there for days,and would be there for days after we left. Not ranting like the video,but clearly just hanging around the trail instead of hiking it.
Let's end the safety meeting talk so I don't have to play bouncer. Thanks!
Party pooper.
crazylegs76
08-24-2019, 11:19
So out of further curiosity I did some simple open source Googling and found this nugget almost immediately and it appears that much like the Stacy Kozel hoax Mr. Gabrielsen was engaged in a pretty audacious bit of - I don't know what you'd call it - trail fakery. That's a weird thing like "stolen valor" I guess - when people pretend to be war heroes. There's a video too titled: "The ATC stealth edits Sir Packs Alot's Hike" but it's rated R and too edgy for here I think.
4560145602
gpburdelljr
08-24-2019, 21:25
Is it for sale?
crazylegs76
08-25-2019, 12:36
Is it for sale?
Not sure what it means but there's been some talk about the structure being "unsound". I think if it were actually a "good spot" for a business it would still be one. Lots of hostels are run by weird crazy people and they thrive despite the Bozo in charge.
Is it for sale?Doesn't look like it.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7675-Highway-76-E-Hiawassee-GA-30546/232403959_zpid/
Slo-go'en
08-25-2019, 19:20
His overhead was way to high to support an AT Hostel.
You'd have to make it your full time residence - and full time job during the busy season - to make it work.
So long as the buildings don't need too much work - and you can do that work yourself - and if the price (if and when it goes on the market) isn't too high, and you can put down a sizable down payment or buy it outright. A lot of qualifiers :) It helps if you've had some hospitality work experience.
peakbagger
08-25-2019, 20:02
Having never visited the place I could speculate that getting a building up to life safety code in order to have insurance is usually a killer to run a hostel as a business. Without running it as a legit business then its an expensive hobby with a lot of liability.
crazylegs76
08-25-2019, 20:40
Doesn't look like it.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7675-Highway-76-E-Hiawassee-GA-30546/232403959_zpid/
So if I'm reading this and the existing timeline right then Bob paid SIXTY TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS over the value of the property back when hiking was hot? Someone did! Holy dumb shizzy Batman!
gpburdelljr
08-25-2019, 21:58
So if I'm reading this and the existing timeline right then Bob paid SIXTY TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS over the value of the property back when hiking was hot? Someone did! Holy dumb shizzy Batman!
It looks like it sold for $220,000 in July 2013, and sold for $158,000 in February 2014. Assuming Bob was the last buyer, then he paid $62,000 less than the previous buyer. When did the hostel open?
It looks like it sold for $220,000 in July 2013, and sold for $158,000 in February 2014. Assuming Bob was the last buyer, then he paid $62,000 less than the previous buyer. When did the hostel open?
Perhaps he is willing to unload it now for $96,000. :rolleyes:
LazyLightning
08-26-2019, 20:06
Now I remember filling out some kind of paper before my stay and I found it odd on the paper they asked "would you ever be interested in working here in the future?"
crazylegs76
08-27-2019, 09:31
Now I remember filling out some kind of paper before my stay and I found it odd on the paper they asked "would you ever be interested in working here in the future?"
A funny story, because it's true, about the star staffer there J.B. Gunner aka: "Tear Drop" is that he is a YouTube champion of the MGTOW movement (Men Going Their Own Way) and even they kicked him out of there radical misogyny club for being too extreme. You gotta be pretty messed up to get kicked out of a club that has already rejected an entire half of the human race! Check out his AT YT channel for insanity at: "New 2 The Wild" or "The Legend Of Tear Drop". Seriously hilarious! LOL
Wow! That's really a thing? This MGTOW? Sounds like men that prefer to hang out with men? All good to each their own. I went and checked out a couple videos couldn't last a minute. Gets a lot of views right couple hundred at best. I concur soooooooo hilarious!
crazylegs76
08-27-2019, 19:14
Wow! That's really a thing? This MGTOW? Sounds like men that prefer to hang out with men? All good to each their own. I went and checked out a couple videos couldn't last a minute. Gets a lot of views right couple hundred at best. I concur soooooooo hilarious!
Couldn't resist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23eMraabYys