Hiking to a good bed

[dmperkins74]

Hey there gang,

I'm section hiking little bits at a time. Mostly day hikes, but a few overnights as well. I know I've got MANY more nights in tents ahead of me, but I'm looking to identify places where the AT goes very close to hotels or B&Bs. I want to take advantage of opportunities where I can hike, stop at a nice place with a bed, then get up and keep going. And I don't mean 3 miles from the trail, I mean like .5 miles or less from the trail to a nice hotel / B&B. Any suggestions welcome. (I've already been through Harpers Ferry, Boiling Springs, and Duncannon by the way.)

Thanks,
Alpha Pig (Dan Perkins)
http://www.gdbdp.com/at

[max patch]

Mountain Meadows Lodge in Killington, VT which is on the trail used to belong to a network of other B&Bs which allowed you to hike inn to inn. The other inns were not on the trail but would pick you up at designated locations and bring you to their inn. Luggage would also be transported ahead. I don't know the details as I never used this service or even if they still do it. Worth a call if this is what you really want to do. These are not cheap hostels.

[Old Hiker]

Nantahala Outdoor Center has been pretty nice for our Scout Troop. They really worked with us last time to changed the reservations, as we were 1.5 days early. The Scouts actually hiked faster than we thought they would.

Fontana Dam south to the NOC - +/- 33 miles.
Standing Indian Campgrounds north to the NOC - +/- 50 miles.

[Slo-go'en]

There is a B+B or hotel in pretty much every town the trail pass by. These are typically 3 to 5 days apart. The only section of trail I can think of where it might be possible to hike "inn to inn" is Conneticut, and that will cost you a small fortune. The AMC hut to hut traverse of the Whites might also qualify.

The other option is slack packing, where you "base camp" at a B+B or hotel and have someone shuttle you back and forth to the trail for a few days, until you get in range of the next place up the trail. The only sections where this won't be practical will be the Smokies and maybe the Shenandoahs.

I know a woman who slack packed the whole state of Maine - even through the 100 miles wilderness. I tagged along and split expenses for some of this with her. Cost me over $300 to cover 75 miles. It was nice to have a warm bed and a dinner meal every night, but what an expensive way to travel.

[daddytwosticks]

To answer your question, starting at Springer Mtn. northwards to Fontana marina, I can think of only two places: the hostel at Neels Gap, Ga and the NOC at Wesser, NC. Many may not use the word "nice" in describing the accomodations. Good luck. :)

[Blissful]

Best bet is for you to join ALDHA (http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm), download the guidebook and look up these details yourself for what section you want to do. To map it all out for you here would be hard to do.

[dmperkins74]

Thanks for all of the good inputs. Just to be clear, I'm not looking to thru hike or hike bed to bed. I'm just wanting to identify opportunities to take advantage of a bed on 3 or 4 day hikes. So I park at a trailhead, get a shuttle to another trailhead and hike for a few days back to my car. So I just want to plan ahead for opportunites when one of these nights in the middle of a hike could be spent in comfort :)

Mountain Meadows Lodge sounds awesome. So does the NOC.

Thanks for the suggestions, any other suggestions welcome!

[Slo-go'en]

Like I said, there is a place to stay and someone who does shuttles in pretty much every town which services the AT and these are 3 to 5 days apart. Get a guide book and a road map and you should be able to plan the hikes without any trouble.

[trapper]

or just get a exped sleeping mat and sleep in a tent like you do at home. i never had a good nights sleep in a tent then i bought a exped down mat its like sleeping on a mattress. it does weigh 30oz but its worth it.