Sounds like a place I won't want to miss when I pass through the area.
Why is it so often contributing to others - participating - establishing deeper connections beyond self while on a hike met with such indifference and hostility? Too self absorbed? Buy into the notion that everyone approaches their hikes as a "vacation" where being catered to is often expected? How about taking the focus off ourselves for awhile? Connect with the AT through being a goodwill ambassador of the trail and hiking community rather than being just a USER? NO ONE hikes within a bubble as if they are the center of the Universe. Shelling out a few bucks shouldn't make us unconditionally demanding of goods and service at a backwoods cabin and barn hostel? Is it WB Users, being on line, or is this society?
^^^^ +1 ^^^^
Why is it that one after another highly appreciated AT lodge eventually turns sour and closes or sells out? Shaws certainly had their fill of it after attaining saintly fame. Bear at the Cabin closed up after a few enthusiastic years. You could tell that the grumpy owner of Whitehouse Landing was unhappy, before he closed up. Hiker hostel?
I think it says more about some of their clients than it says about them... painfully cheap, dirty, smelly, poorly mannered, and highly entitled (thrus).
Oh, sign me up to do business with that lot!
I was planning to stay this past Wednesday, but a fellow I was hiking with had a newer version of the AWOL book, and it says "closed Wednesdays", so I went on to the next shelter instead. Docs Knob, I think. It has a cool new deck built.
because small businesses are always prone to ending/ closingOriginally Posted by RockDoc
hikers of course are not big spenders - but any customers can be unpleasant
the real question is, if you detest hikers, why don't you leave here and find another activity?
Tillie passed away a little over 10 years ago.
Do Note the LOL
Opening a hostel to make a buck is not a viable small business plan. Few if any who tried stayed in business for long. Over the years I have seen postings and heard of hostel owners on the abuses inflicted on them by the minority. Thefts of services is pretty much the norm, folks skip out on a frequent basis. Add in thefts of personal property, drugged and/or drunks who threaten the owners and others, harassing and stealing from the neighbors, felons masquerading as hikers and add on many other issues.
I stayed there this past April and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. We got there minutes before the bottom dropped of the sky and got several inches of rain over night. We bought a pot of coffee made with fresh roasted beans which was out of this world good and ate huge homemade brownies that afternoon. Neville took us all into Pearisburg to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. The next morning we hiked back up the mountain in a snow storm and then into Pearisburg thru alternating periods of sunshine, rain, sleet, snow and more rain. A great place to stay, do not miss it if you hike the AT.
Woods Hole is unique among hiker hostels, in that they don’t really need hikers to maintain their operation. They operate as a B & B in the main house, and oh, by the way, Neville is willing to help out hikers too.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I didn't say I'd never help or connect with others. I said that for $14 a meal I should not have to work for it.
Minimum wage is $7 so a $14 meal has already cost a poor hiker 2 hours worth of work. Asking for help while charging that much for a meal is my issue.
If the meal cost less then helping wouldn't be an issue
As long as there are a number of people there I would guess you don't have to help, as we had more volunteers than needed, it's part of the social culture there, and dinner is of course optional. When I met my son there during his through hike he said it was by far his favorite hostel, and we then returned again two years later to repeat that section, in part because of Wood's hole (but also Pearisburg to Dismal falls is a fantastic two day section hike). Neville has a set of reasonable rules she follows, and I think this is why she has been successful. I would be poorly suited for the hospitality business, which is why it's great to see someone like her who is a natural.
Agreed. Helping with dinner is not mandatory ... just make yourself scarce by hanging out at the bunkhouse if you don't want to help. Plus, the kitchen is too small for everyone to help. It can only accommodate about 4 or 5 people. Despite being an introvert, I volunteered to help with dinner and ended up cooking a large portion of the dinner for 12 people. It surprised me that this was the highlight of my section hike through that area last year. But, different strokes for different folks. YMMV.
Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Trail beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.
I came through there during a very chilly April night, in which it actually snowed a couple inches over night. I stayed in the house as did most of the others because of the cold weather. The dinner and breakfast were very good and my contributions to preparation and cleanup were probably 10 minutes each time. It was good opportunity to interact with some other hikers I had not met yet. It wasn't cheap, but I have spent a lot more at hostels/towns in some other cases.
Neville is a really sincere person that cares about her customers, but wants to maintain the "earthy" feel that her family provided, even though many hikers want some of the modern amenities (i.e. WiFi). Her husband was getting ready for an out of town trip and didn't interact with the hikers at all. It was a unique experience among hostels, but I am glad I spent a night there. I look at it as another opportunity the trail provides to interact with people that I typically would not spend time with. I think one of the biggest gifts of the AT is it opens up "doors" that we have never walked through before.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote