Has Miss Janet's in Erwin been mentioned?
Has Miss Janet's in Erwin been mentioned?
An update on my original post. In 2020 there are 45 hostels listed in the Companion. Down from the 56 listed in 2017.
More walking, less talking.
Didn't read through all the posts but in '77, the firehouse in Waynesboro PA (AND Waynesboro Va) let you stay there also.
I only hiked Springer to Delaware Water Gap that year, so, not sure about north of there but remember talk of the Monastery just after the crossing of the Hudson. (stayed there in '91, it was great)
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
The one I missed was in Warren NH where hikers had "breakfast with the Governor". I was slacking these sections but heard a lot of good things. The owner was the former Governor of NH and also a large landowner in the area.
The Barn in Gorham seems to have been around a long time and stuck to its origins. The attached Inn unfortunately went through a succession of owners and some were not that interested in dealing with hikers.
When Hikers Paradise in Gorham opened up Bruno tried real hard to offer a lot of services. He did a lot of shuttles and the breakfast on the front porch had a good reputation. Sadly folks took advantage of him and his family, folks would come in late and leave early not leaving a dime. He slowly dropped his services he offered and let the apartments get pretty filthy. I ran into more than few folks in later years who were a planning to stay but when they saw the conditions they quickly went down the street and got a motel room. He sold out two years ago and the new owner pulled the signage and does not host hikers anymore. He has not done any improvements, there does still seem to have people using the small cottages but its mostly the ATV crowd.
I am guessing there are more than 45. Some places don't have the word "Hostel" in their guidebook listing...and I know a few who choose to let word of mouth advertise their services.
Also interesting how few churches are hostel locations these days. The church in Cheshire MA now only allows tenting. The only "church" hostel in New England is the Yellow Deli in Rutland, although there is a church in Norwich VT that is part of the Hanover Trail Angel network.
Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com
Green Mountain House Hostel
Manchester Center, VT
http://www.greenmountainhouse.net
Couple years back I stayed at the St. Tomas Episcopal church hostel in Vern, NJ. The caretaker told us they would soon be shutting the whole church down due to a lack of funds. It's getting hard for small, local churches to support themselves.
The Holy Family hostel in Pearisburg was looking pretty run down last time I passed through there and that was like 5 years ago.
Follow slogoen on Instagram.