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lobster
03-22-2005, 12:40
Seems like hikers need a massage once in a while. What would you be willing to pay for an hour massage such as Swedish(relaxing), deep tissue, or sports massage? I would think that a set of good hands could make for a free trip. The therapist could exchange massages for free rooms and food or just get paid with cash. The AT would be just like a traveling office!

Does Damascus have a local massage therapist? If it doesn't, that's a good niche for somebody to move into. Any local ordinances against massage businesses?

hikerjohnd
03-22-2005, 13:41
Damn fine idea! Is there any spa access along the trail at all? I am NOT looking for a happy ending kind of place... but legitimate massage services.

Just Jeff
03-22-2005, 14:16
I'd think setting up in the NOC from March to May would get you some good money. Not while hiking, but there'd sure be demand!

Sly
03-22-2005, 14:45
You can get massages at the hot springs in Hot Springs. :dance

minnesotasmith
03-22-2005, 14:54
Unless it was from a female under 30 in a bikini with at least a C-cup who REALLY wanted tips. :D

The Hog
03-22-2005, 16:57
I hiked around 1,000 miles with A.T. Annie, a licensed masseuse. Am I a lucky guy or what?

minnesotasmith
03-22-2005, 18:23
"I hiked around 1,000 miles with A.T. Annie, a licensed masseuse. Am I a lucky guy or what?"

That would depend upon how attractive she is, and what she massaged for you.:banana :clap

Mountain Dew
03-22-2005, 19:36
The woman in Hot Springs that lives in Wingnuts old house with her husband is a great massage therapist. It's the white house across the street from the motel....near the outfitters. Oh.... she's VERY HOT as well. VERY VERY HOT...

MOWGLI
03-22-2005, 19:52
Oh.... she's VERY HOT as well. VERY VERY HOT...

Does she have a fever or something? Or do you have The Fever?

Mountain Dew
03-22-2005, 20:00
neither......

Kerosene
03-22-2005, 20:07
A visiting massage therapist could make a killing at Neels Gap, Hiawassee, and Fontana Dam, especially if they took credit cards. A good deep tissue massage can really make a difference if you have a muscular overuse injury.

Brushy Sage
03-22-2005, 21:41
When I was a certified massage therapist in Maryland, I went out to the Dahlgren Back Packer Campground with my massage chair one afternoon and offered foot massage to the hikers there after they showered (at no charge). About 25-30 percent of the hikers took me up on the offer. Perhaps if I had been young and female the rate might have been higher although not everyone is comfortable with this kind of touch.

Getting a full massage takes time, and thru hikers are focused on making time on the trail. I'm guessing that those who take time for a spa treatment at Hot Springs have been there a day or two, and were not just overnighters heading on up the trail.

orangebug
03-22-2005, 22:45
Hot Springs has massage, but requires reservations. Essentially anywhere you can get pedicure and manicure, you can find massage services. Wayneboro, VA come immediately to mind, but I expect most towns have this now.

Only children seem to think that massage is a sexual tryst, while others understand that massage helps recovery and pain relief. I suspect that these children ain't getting much, including massage.

I find pedicure and leg/foot massage essential during or after a week of hiking. I tip. I show respect. I try to demonstrate that hikers have some level of class.

hikerjohnd
03-22-2005, 23:05
Only children seem to think that massage is a sexual tryst, while others understand that massage helps recovery and pain relief. I suspect that these children ain't getting much, including massage.
Amen, Orangebug! When I started training for my hike I was carrying a 65 lb pack around the neighborhood (my pack is now down to a very comfortable 35 lbs). After a few weeks I was so sore my wife felt so bad for me she sent me to the spa for a deep tissue massage. The lady worked on me for a little over an hour - and then I just sat there - for what seemed like an eternity utterly relaxed and sore no more.

The Hog
03-23-2005, 07:25
The masseuse I hiked with was a Dartmouth grad who was very adept at hitching into town, using a "jump-flash" technique (essentially jumping into the middle of the road and forcing cars to stop). She was good looking, yes, but more than that, just a great, generous, Class I hiking partner. Her foot massages were sometimes painful, but you always felt better afterwards. We became best of friends on the Trail, and she remains a good friend today, over twenty years after our thru hike.

Was there anything sexual between us? No. Chemistry is a funny thing, sometimes you have it and sometimes you don't. I did meet several other women in the course of my trek that I did feel that chemistry with. One of them was the caretaker at Upper Goose Pond, MA.

I married her on top of Mt. Mansfield in Vermont. Now we have two wonderful kids and a good life in rural Vermont. My good luck continues...

minnesotasmith
03-23-2005, 10:20
But, it is denial of a simple truth to say that it never does, either. Touch is a basic human need that tends to both endear a person sharing that with another human being to them, and to foster them dropping their defenses, to be more approachable. I have given multihour gentle backrubs to a number of young women during my life that I had not at that time had relations with so far. Over half eventually decided to offer that option to me, generally on the occasion of having just given them several hours of touching on nonsexually-associated body parts, even when they had never previously had the intention of having that sort of relationship with me. I think there was a connection. :rolleyes:

Anyway, although my first two posts on this thread were light-hearted, I will make this serious point. Simple touch of skin-on-skin is certainly something that most long-distance hikers who set off without a sexual partner will likely feel much very behind on after some weeks on the trail. However, it is also undeniable that most males much past 12 (and many females) will find that said touch will make them aware that they also miss physical contact of a more intimate nature, and that they may well miss that latter type of contact if anything significantly more than the first kind...:-?

texangie
03-25-2005, 03:39
Aargh. As a massage therapist, I'd like to make a couple of notes.

That whole "I wouldn't get a massage for someone unless she was under 30, c-cup yadda yadda yadda" thing...puhleeze. :datz It's not a massage therapist you are looking for, it's a prostitute. Legitimate massage therapist don't wear bikinis to work or rub your "special friend."

Yes, people require human touch. Yes, massage is human touch. No, it doesn't have to be sexual to fulfill the need for human touch.

I too hope, when I finally get to do the trail, that there are massage therapists available in some of the towns. It is going to be a part of my budget. And when I go to get that massage, if some bimbo in a bikini shows up, s/he sure as HELL isn't getting my money! LOL

Sex is easy to find. A good massage therapist is a treasure!

As for the original post about working and thru-hiking? It is a cool thought, but massage is hard work, and the last thing I'd want to do after hiking 15-20 miles is give a massage. Besides that, the proper equipment is essential for a good masage, and those tables weigh 20-30 lbs. Not conducive to keeping pack weight down, eh?

Okay. I'll try not to take things so seriously...but I just hadda say something!

U-BOLT
03-25-2005, 05:12
Sex is easy to find.
That's easy for a woman to say. :D

bogey
03-25-2005, 05:39
Well said, and i'm sorry there was even a need for someone to say it. As for myself, I think I'm too self-concious to feel that good.

minnesotasmith
03-25-2005, 09:48
"Sex is easy to find. A good massage therapist is a treasure!"

Yes, probably true. Unquestionably true, however, is this:

"Massage is easy to find. A good sexual partner is a treasure."

I just think it works out better to find one person that you can get everything from, but that's MO.