View Full Version : What is 'don't miss' on the trail?
hikerjohnd
05-10-2005, 11:57
Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option :( . Thru-hiking has been a dream, but not one I am willing to jeopardize my long term health over. Besides - I think I agree that section hikers are more fun (and certainly have been more responsive to questions about the trail). So I am turing to all of you experienced hikers for guidence and advice.
As I progressed my thesis slowly turned from hikers to trail towns and hostels and the off trail support that makes a thru-hike possible. So - between Georgia and Maine - where should a hiker who has unlimited time to enjoy the trail stop and enjoy the hospitality offered in trail towns and hostels?
My plan is to drive from GA to ME and stop along the way, conducting interviews, doing day hikes, maybe some trail magic (if I can) and gather information. I just need advice on what not to miss!
Thanks for your help. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you at trail days!
--John
to much to list,for a start rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass.:cool: neo
What is your thesis/research on exactly?
You might wanna check out Lynne Setzer's book "a season on the Appalachian Trail" (I think). The author hiked some sections but also conducted lots of reaserch thru hiker invterviews in towns and used a lot of quotes from shelter logs. Anyway, places OFF trail that I would recommend would be:
Mountain Crossings @Neels Gap
Blueberry Patch
Natahala Outdoor Center
Hike Inn @ Fontanna Inn (talk to the Hoch's)
The entire town of Hot Springs
Erwin
Kincorra Hostel
Damascus
Harpers Ferry
Duncannon and the Doyle Hotel/bar
Vernon Episcopal hostel
Secret Shelter
Graymoor Friary
RPH shelter
Kent
Upper Goose Pond
Dalton
Mt Greylock
Inn at Long Trail
Hanover
Glencliff Hikers Welcome Hostel
Mt Washington
Gorham
Andover and The Cabin
Caratunk, the Kennebec River and Steve Longley's Place
Monson, Shaw's
Katahdin Stream Campground
All of these are accessible by vehicle and using some decent maps (the AT topos). The only one you'd have to hike into is Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Mass which is an easy 1.5 miles from the road and is worth the visit.
Good luck
to much to list,for a start rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass.:cool: neo
Guess I missed a lot. Rusty's was closed when I hiked by. Didn't go into Palmerton, walked past the Doyle, and stayed in Kay Woods shelter instead of in town.
hikerjohnd
05-10-2005, 17:04
What is your thesis/research on exactly?
Good luck
rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass
Excellent list! Gives me a good jumping off point!
My thesis was an ethnographic study of thru-hikers, but I am finding the towns a more interesting topic, and, given my health issues, probably a more do-able topic. So specifically (or at least for now) I am doing an ethnographic study of hostel owners and supportive trail towns - how they got started, why they do it, what benefits they receive besides the money(Damascus will probably be my foundation for a trail town - unless you all have a better suggestion - I hear they are expecting 25,000 people this weekend! :eek: ) .
I am headed home after trail days to regroup and discuss my plans with my professor and hammer out definitive guidelines - but a working title (which came to me last night at 2 AM) "It is not just a walk in the woods: Trail towns and hiker hostels along the Appalachian Trail"
Thanks for the start and keep 'em coming!
--John
What is your thesis/research on exactly?
You might wanna check out Lynne Setzer's book "a season on the Appalachian Trail" (I think). The author hiked some sections but also conducted lots of reaserch thru hiker invterviews in towns and used a lot of quotes from shelter logs. Anyway, places OFF trail that I would recommend would be:
Mountain Crossings @Neels Gap
Blueberry Patch
Natahala Outdoor Center
Hike Inn @ Fontanna Inn (talk to the Hoch's)
The entire town of Hot Springs
Erwin
Kincorra Hostel
Damascus
Harpers Ferry
Duncannon and the Doyle Hotel/bar
Vernon Episcopal hostel
Secret Shelter
Graymoor Friary
RPH shelter
Kent
Upper Goose Pond
Dalton
Mt Greylock
Inn at Long Trail
Hanover
Glencliff Hikers Welcome Hostel
Mt Washington
Gorham
Andover and The Cabin
Caratunk, the Kennebec River and Steve Longley's Place
Monson, Shaw's
Katahdin Stream Campground
All of these are accessible by vehicle and using some decent maps (the AT topos). The only one you'd have to hike into is Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Mass which is an easy 1.5 miles from the road and is worth the visit.
Good luck
I would add to this list The Hiker Hostel in Dohlenaga. It is relatively new but becoming a fast favorite for starting a thru hike.
Great title btw.
Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option :( .
What is your degree program??
SavageLlama
05-10-2005, 19:34
Definitely don't miss that section between Springer and Katahdin.
Good stuff. :D
Cedar Tree
05-10-2005, 21:19
Sage's Ravine/Race Mountain
and
Tinker Cliffs
were two of my favorite days.
CT
Ya know, my favorite memories other than people aren't places. They are situations. Skinny dipping in a pond. Great sunrises. Awesome sunsets. Coyotes calling at night. Being awoken regularly by owls - not alarm clocks. Loons calling in the darkness in Maine. Taking off my stinky sweaty clothes and standing naked in the cool evening air. The smell of the rain. Rounding a bend and seeing something completely unexpected. The joy of a full belly and great sleep after a hard day on the trail. The satisfaction of accomplishing more - much more than you thought was possible earlier that day. Seeing the footprints of a heron on the sandy bottom of a pond. Finding a patch of berries, and gorging until you are satisfied. Laughing out loud at yourself for some of the crazy places your mind can wander while hiking alone in the woods - day after day.
You'll find very little of that kind of stuff in town. HikerJohnd - I hope you're able to sample some of that type of trail magic along the way. Have a great trip.
Uncle Silly
05-11-2005, 00:00
Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option :( .
john, sorry to hear you won't be doing the whole thing. i hope you get this trail done in sections instead. your project sounds interesting and i wish you luck with it. see you in Damascus!!
SavageLlama
05-11-2005, 21:28
I dig the section of Vermont from the Mass border to Killington - and the Inn at Long Trail, of course! :D
Actually, the whole CT through VT is a nice section.. but once you've gotten that far, you might as well keep hiking to Maine. ;)
John,
Just a thought here as its your thesis not mine (already been there and in no hurry to go through that process again).
You can drive along most of the trail, visit most of the major highlights that people have listed and talk to hikers, townspeople, and hostel/outfitter owners and get lots of information. However, I think you might be missing some of the experience. An alternative approach would be to pick a couple of spots in the south, middle, and north and do 2-3 week section hikes around there. Hiking/hitching into town, spending a night or two at a hostel and around town and then moving onto the next spot. Fewer spots with more depth of experience at each.
Again, don't know if that is the approach you want or not. Maybe casting the wider net would be better...just something to consider.
Kevin
hikerjohnd
05-12-2005, 13:13
What is your degree program??I am a Public History Master's student in Savannah - and Public History has a wide range of subjects lumped under it. Basically it is how history is interperted for the public, making it more user friendly (like at a museum).
You can drive along most of the trail, visit most of the major highlights that people have listed and talk to hikers, townspeople, and hostel/outfitter owners and get lots of information. However, I think you might be missing some of the experience. An alternative approach would be to pick a couple of spots in the south, middle, and north and do 2-3 week section hikes around there. Hiking/hitching into town, spending a night or two at a hostel and around town and then moving onto the next spot. Fewer spots with more depth of experience at each.Kevin - great idea and this is definitly part of my plan. I sent some lab results to my Dr. today, so hopefully by the time I get home, he will have a plan for me to return to the trail, at least in part. At first I probably won't venture out for more than a day hike or fast overnight, but by summer, I definitly plan to be out on the trail for at least a week or two at a time.
Great title btwThanks - I couldn't sleep (I think the bed was too soft!) and we were discussing the "Walk in the Woods" film possibilities at Dinner, so that was going through my mind...