Zero/Nero day locations North of Harper's Ferry?

[JumpMaster Blaster]

I'm asking LASH-ers and thrus and any section hiker that has input- what towns between HF & Monson were good for taking zeroes? Things that come to mind are ease of getting to/from trail (miles < 2), or reliable shuttles; quality of resupply; quality of lodging (motel & B&B vs hostel), and the presence of an outfitter.

Poring over AWOL's guide gives me an idea, but I'd rather hear from the people who have actually done it. I've read a few blogs, but most don't go into detail.

[Slo-go'en]

If your going to spend two nights in town, you'll be looking for cheap accommodations. This eliminates all the places with only $90+ dollar lodging available, which shortens the list of possibilities.

On my recent Harpers Ferry to NH hike, I only zeroed 3 times, first at the "Rock n Sole" hostel in PA (RT 301 crossing) to wait out another rainy day, then at my sister's place near the Delaware Water Gap, and lastly at the Greymore monastery in NY. I spent one night in a number of towns (or hostels) as part of a "nearo" day.

[peakbagger]

Gorham NH is popular nero town. Folks rest up after getting beat up by the whites. They also catch up with buddies who got behind. Its also a good spot to meet family and friends as its a tourist town. There are couple of hostels in the area plus a range of hotels (no national chains). There is no outfitter in town anymore but a local hardware store has the basics and Walmart has a small section. Many thru hikers get off trail at Pinkham Notch, hitch to Gorham (or take the AMC shuttle if there is room) and then do the stretch from Pinkham to Shelburne as a slackpack the next day. There is a local shuttle between Berlin and Gorham or you can hitch (note the shuttle does not go into Shelburne where there are two hostels). The AT basically wraps around Gorham and used to run through it until the seventies so there are many options on getting into town if someone has to head off trail. In general, once hikers head south from Gorham, the trail goes through decidedly more rural areas all the way to Kathadin. resupply and services are a lot more limited so folks use Gorham as the last stop. It is also the last spot to catch a bus to an airport. AMC runs a hiker shuttle that goes all around the whites that runs through Gorham

If you need an outfitter for high end gear you need to go south to the North Conway area. There are also two firms that can do gear repairs in the area. Its not a good thru hiker town as its several miles of strip development and cheap lodging is not easy to find. You can catch the twice daily Concord Coach bus from Gorham to Conway for $21 round trip. It runs south from Gorham in AM and then north through Conway in the later afternoon.

[Jeff]

I am partial to my hometown of Manchester Center, VT...a town with two outfitters, bookstore, restaurants, grocery and this year a new Starbucks. It's 5 miles from trail to town, an easy hitch, but there are also taxi services for those who are not comfortable hitching. When you stay overnight with us, we get you back to the trail in the AM.

[map man]

I did a study of completing NOBO thru-hikers from 2001 to 2010 (240 of them) who journaled at trailjournals.com. Here is a list of towns north of Harpers Ferry where at least 5% of them took zero days:

Pine Grove Furnace State Park PA, 5%
Boiling Springs PA (PA 174), 7%
Duncannon PA, 27%
Port Clinton PA, 15%
Palmerton PA (PA 873), 10%
Delaware Water Gap PA, 35%
Unionville NY, 5%
Vernon NJ (NJ 94), 7%
Bear Mountain NY, 10%
Pawling NY (County 20), 5%
Kent CT (CT 341), 14%
Salisbury CT (CT 41), 6%
Great Barrington MA (MA 23), 6%
Upper Goose Pond Cabin MA, 5%
Dalton MA, 20%
North Adams MA (MA 2), 7%
Bennington VT (VT 9), 6%
Manchester Center VT (VT 11, 30), 23%
Killington, Rutland, Inn at Long Trail VT (US 4), 19%
Hanover NH, 28%
Glencliff NH (NH 25), 13%
Kinsman Notch NH, 5%
Franconia Notch NH, 15%
Crawford Notch NH, 13%
Pinkham Notch NH, 10%
Gorham NH (US 2), 44%
Andover ME (East B Hill Road, South Arm Road), 15%
Rangeley ME (ME 4), 14%
Stratton ME (ME 27), 15%
Caratunk ME (US 201), 7%
Monson ME, 32%
Baxter State Park and vicinity ME (Abol Bridge, Millinocket etc.), 14%

In order of popularity, the top eight towns were:

Gorham NH
Delaware Water Gap PA
Monson ME
Hanover NH
Duncannon PA
Manchester Center VT
Dalton MA
Killington/Rutland VT

Popularity of places to zero is heavily influenced by the factors you mentioned: lodging, ease of resupply, availability of outfitters, distance from trail.

[JumpMaster Blaster]

-Map Man, I figured you had some data on this, thanks!
-Jeff, thanks for the info as well.
-Slo-go'en- I wouldn't neccessarily eliminate a hotel chain if it's over $90, but it's not exactly what I would spend every time I zeroed, especially in the southern third of the trail.
-Peakbagger, thanks for the detailed info on Gorham, I'd already marked it as a good opportunity.

This is some good information. What about Delaware Water Gap (Mohican Outdoor Center), Duncannon, Port Clinton, Hamburg, PA, and Monson?

[Slo-go'en]

Duncannon has the Doyle, which is a good place to eat and drink. You'll likely spend more at the bar then for the room, but many find spending 2 nights at the Doyle a bit more then they can handle.

Port Clinton doesn't have much to offer, you need to go to Hamburg for anything you need and lodging there is expensive. A better option is the new "Rock n' Sole" hostel which is about a day south of Port Clinton, although he can currently only put up 4-5 hikers at a time.

The DWG has a church hostel and a local bus to a full service town (Stroudsburg) which makes it an attractive stop after being beat up by PA.

My latest experience at the MOC was not good. They blew me off and I left vowing never, ever to go there again. (not that it's very likely I'll ever be back in that area again anyway). In any event, it's only half a day out of the water gap so there is little reason to go there, except maybe to buy a sandwich and get water if they happen to be open when you get there.

If you do manage to get to Monson, you'll want to rest there for a day before doing the last 100 miles for sure.

[Jeff]

I did a study of completing NOBO thru-hikers from 2001 to 2010 (240 of them) who journaled at trailjournals.com. Here is a list of towns north of Harpers Ferry where at least 5% of them took zero days:

Pine Grove Furnace State Park PA, 5%
Boiling Springs PA (PA 174), 7%
Duncannon PA, 27%
Port Clinton PA, 15%
Palmerton PA (PA 873), 10%
Delaware Water Gap PA, 35%
Unionville NY, 5%
Vernon NJ (NJ 94), 7%
Bear Mountain NY, 10%
Pawling NY (County 20), 5%
Kent CT (CT 341), 14%
Salisbury CT (CT 41), 6%
Great Barrington MA (MA 23), 6%
Upper Goose Pond Cabin MA, 5%
Dalton MA, 20%
North Adams MA (MA 2), 7%
Bennington VT (VT 9), 6%
Manchester Center VT (VT 11, 30), 23%
Killington, Rutland, Inn at Long Trail VT (US 4), 19%
Hanover NH, 28%
Glencliff NH (NH 25), 13%
Kinsman Notch NH, 5%
Franconia Notch NH, 15%
Crawford Notch NH, 13%
Pinkham Notch NH, 10%
Gorham NH (US 2), 44%
Andover ME (East B Hill Road, South Arm Road), 15%
Rangeley ME (ME 4), 14%
Stratton ME (ME 27), 15%
Caratunk ME (US 201), 7%
Monson ME, 32%
Baxter State Park and vicinity ME (Abol Bridge, Millinocket etc.), 14%

In order of popularity, the top eight towns were:

Gorham NH
Delaware Water Gap PA
Monson ME
Hanover NH
Duncannon PA
Manchester Center VT
Dalton MA
Killington/Rutland VT

Popularity of places to zero is heavily influenced by the factors you mentioned: lodging, ease of resupply, availability of outfitters, distance from trail.

Excellent research.

Good reasons for all those towns to encourage zero days. I imagine Dalton has gone down in popularity due to the Bird Cage closing and Tom Levardi cutting back some. Tom had his name taken out of AWOL's guide this year although he still hosts a few every evening.

[Slo-go'en]

Excellent research.

Good reasons for all those towns to encourage zero days. I imagine Dalton has gone down in popularity due to the Bird Cage closing and Tom Levardi cutting back some. Tom had his name taken out of AWOL's guide this year although he still hosts a few every evening.

Yea, I was willing to pay the $90 for one weekend night stay at the Shamrock Inn in Dalton, but not for two nights. But then I paid $50 to stay at Bascom Lodge the next night because I got soaking wet and freezing cold that afternoon. I did get to see a spectacular sunset from the top of Graylock, so it was worth it.

[rafe]

Off the top of my head...

Duncannon
Delaware Water Gap
Kent
Falls Village
Salisbury
Great Barrington
Dalton
North Adams/Williamstown
Bennington
Manchester
The Inn at the Long Trail
Hanover
Glencliff
Lincoln/North Woodstock
North Conway
Gorham
Andover
Rangely
Stratton
Monson

Some of these are right on the trail. The five I've listed in Maine are not, but they're hard to avoid unless you carry five or six days worth of food. Hardly anyone will pass up Monson. (There's an easy blue-blaze into town if you're not a purist.)