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Thread: mcD on trail?

  1. #21
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    in case anyone is curious, the companion mentions pizza hut 22 times. i didnt go through them but i think at least one is a duplicate.

    i may do burger king next.

  2. #22
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Apologies for quoting the "ew, bleck" comment. HYOFFF - Hike (to) your own favorite fast food

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  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    if the OP or anyone else is planning on giving that a go let me know so i can plan a trip down just to see it. you could also try the top of the center divider. getting around the posts will be tricky but doable.

    my mind is still reeling from the idea that if you use "distance from nearest McD's" as the metric the most remote part of the trail may just be northern PA through MA.
    I'm not following - why is walking on the opposite side of the concrete traffic barrier concerning to you?

  4. #24
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    Cool I'm even more bored than you are

    how bored and in procrastinate mode i am...
    I can top that! I went to
    https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html
    clicked on the /Locate\ Tab, and then entered some of the towns you noted, as well as others. I skipped towns more than ten miles from The Trail, but I then used Google{R} Maps to estimate the distance between The Trail and the McDonalds. For the record, I go to McD often while traveling; in order to get (1) free wifi, (2) no hassle using the bathrooms, even if I just walk in and then leave, (3) unlimited soda refills, at $1 for a large, and (4) cheap, fast junk food.

    Erwin - just over 4 miles
    Hampton - 3.0 miles
    Pearisburg - 2.7 miles
    Daleville - less than a mile, but that crossing under I-81 IS nerve-wracking. I've done it, but BE CAREFUL!!
    Waynesboro VA - 4.7 miles if you walk, but getting a ride into town is easy.
    Front Royal - 3.4 miles along US Highway 522
    Charles Town WV - 6.1 miles from where the AT crosses the Shenandoah River, just south of Harpers Ferry
    Waynesboro PA - 4.8 miles
    Chambersburg, PA - 8.5 miles on US Highway 30
    Carlisle - 3.6 miles up Highway 74
    Middlesex, PA - 1.8 miles west on US Highway 11 (innumerable other places along the way)
    Clarks Ferry Bridge, Duncannon PA - 6.7 miles NE (trail WEST) along Highway 147. The Susquehanna River will be on your left as you go up this road towards Halifax
    Swatara Gap, Jonestown PA - 2.5 miles, south (trail East) on Highway 72
    Port Clinton - 1.3 miles
    Walnutport / Slatington PA - 2.0 miles south on Highway 145 from the Lehigh Gap Parking Area
    Wind Gap, PA - 1.8 miles

    For some reason, the McDonalds Locator gave out at this point. But this is a start!
    Last edited by GoldenBear; 03-27-2019 at 13:34.

  5. #25

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    I only hiked the first 600 miles in the south, and I don't recall seeing a McDonald's. I'm sure there were some, but I was more interested in checking out new things and local places. I can get a McDonald's cheeseburger any old time. I suspect my vision just sort of slid over the golden arches as if they didn't exist. My hiker hunger kicked in right before Hiawassee, GA and I have fond memories of eating a huge breakfast at the Huddle House, which is a big chain restaurant, but not in my neck of the woods.

    After weeks of reconstituted trail food, I wanted big flavors, and McDonald's just didn't do it for me. I certainly wouldn't plan my hike around a specific meal, as your tastes might change on the trail.

  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    in case anyone is curious, the companion mentions pizza hut 22 times. i didnt go through them but i think at least one is a duplicate.

    i may do burger king next.
    You should do Subway, as it has more restaurants than Mcdonalds, and packing out a sub or two after town is more trail stable food IMHO

  7. #27
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    Smile

    I was craving McDonalds for a lot of the trail... In VA I knew I'd be a mile from one and couldn't wait... Then it rained so I didn't take the walk.... Never saw another opportunity for one close enough to the trail for me...
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  8. #28
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    Yes, thanks for saying. PennyPincher was out of line.

    Quote Originally Posted by TNhiker View Post
    you mean after members here were rude to him?
    granted-----the opinions given wouldnt have (or at least not supposed to) happened in the Straight Forward section, but one shouldn't call the OP rude when all he was looking for was where mcdonalds were at and not how to eat healthy......

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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    I'm not following - why is walking on the opposite side of the concrete traffic barrier concerning to you?
    i guess its a matter of perspective. i wouldnt walk there with cars whizzing by just to get to McDs, and not because i dont like McDs

    doesnt seem like theres really room unless you walk on the slope above the barriers.. if theres flat ground immediately on the opposite side of the barrier i dont see it. it must be very narrow

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    i guess its a matter of perspective. i wouldnt walk there with cars whizzing by just to get to McDs, and not because i dont like McDs

    doesnt seem like theres really room unless you walk on the slope above the barriers.. if theres flat ground immediately on the opposite side of the barrier i dont see it. it must be very narrow
    to be 100% clear im looking at the area between the two overpasses. in the foreground i see space one could walk safely but its only going to get you part way. in the space between the overpasses youd have to be up the slope from the concrete barrier.

  11. #31

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    That makes sense. I've never had a reason to want to walk under that area so I'm honestly not sure. Next time I'm out that way I'll give it a better look. McDonalds doesn't appeal to me, but a trip to Cracker Barrel might be worthwhile...

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    Quote Originally Posted by trailmercury View Post
    You should do Subway, as it has more restaurants than Mcdonalds, and packing out a sub or two after town is more trail stable food IMHO
    naah, subway is even less my scene than McDs. but you go for it if thats your thing.

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by PennyPincher View Post
    Bleck! Ewwww
    Quote Originally Posted by Trambo View Post
    i expressed neither the desire to hear your personal opinion, nor alternatives to my question. People talk about eating buffet foids all if the time, which are downright toxic, and McD chicken is one of the best values that ive found.
    I am thinking the authors of this article may be on to something...

    https://www.cbsnews.com/media/grumpy...uin-your-mood/

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    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


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    Funny, I don't recall ever having McD's on trail, perhaps a breakfast. Some fast food stops are grouped together, so in addition to McD's you have a selection of others, which I visited a bit more often instead of McD's.

    But they are all off trail but then are in common AT towns (resupply towns), so that is the opportunity if one wants. But just hiking thru, no McD's over 2000+ miles.

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    The locator tab for McDonalds is again working, and I still have no life -- so I'll continue helping those who simply MUST have their Big Macs.

    Matamoras PA / Port Jervis NY - 4.4 miles north (Trail west) on Highway 23/443
    Monroe NY - 3.9 miles north (Trail west) on the Orange Turnpike / Highway 19
    Fort Montgomery / Highland Falls NY - 4.7 miles on Highway 218

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    Quote Originally Posted by GoldenBear View Post
    The locator tab for McDonalds is again working, and I still have no life -- so I'll continue helping those who simply MUST have their Big Macs.

    Matamoras PA / Port Jervis NY - 4.4 miles north (Trail west) on Highway 23/443
    Monroe NY - 3.9 miles north (Trail west) on the Orange Turnpike / Highway 19
    Fort Montgomery / Highland Falls NY - 4.7 miles on Highway 218
    well there goes my theory about trail remoteness measured in distance from McDs.

    it does raise an interesting question though- how does the companion decide what to include or not? theres places further than these it ignores. probably has something to do with it being not the closest viable option in the area.

    i smell a market for a new sort of trail guide.

  17. #37

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    With many of the southern towns that are at the foot of the ridge that the AT is running along, the newer development seems to be a few miles outside of town between the major highway and the actual original town which usually is few miles in the opposite direction from the AT.

    There was documentary a few years ago on an individual who strictly ate at McDonalds an how bad it was for his health. A year or two later there was another documentary about someone who ate at McDonalds for a year and lost weight and was in better health when he started. Its just cheap generally reliable high calorie food probably far healthier than a typical thru hiker diet.

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by imscotty View Post
    I am thinking the authors of this article may be on to something...

    https://www.cbsnews.com/media/grumpy...uin-your-mood/

    I love crab... that explains a lot.

  19. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    in case anyone is curious, the companion mentions pizza hut 22 times. i didnt go through them but i think at least one is a duplicate.

    i may do burger king next.
    end of the day boredom has brought me back to finish what i started-

    The Pizza Hut list-

    Franklin, NC 9-10 miles
    Gatlinburg (no McDs in gatlinburg? go figure)- i dunno. FAR
    Erwin TN- a little further than the McDs
    Mt Rogers HQ- delivery available (hmm, does uber eats deliver McDs? thatd be a game changer)
    pearisburg- 1-2 miles
    daleville- on the freakin' trail. amazing.
    waynesboro- 5-6 miles
    luray- 8-9 miles
    front royal- 4-5 miles
    charlestown, WV- i dunno. probably far. there also seems to be a papa john's if thats more your thing
    port clinton- 1-2 miles
    dalton- 1-2 miles
    benington- 4-5 miles
    rutland- see above note about McDs
    gorham- 4-5 miles

    curiously the number is much lower than the initial word search of the PDF led me to believe. it seems the companion basically only ever puts the word "McDonald's" on the maps of towns where as pizza hut is in the text and on the map and on several occasions is mentioned an additional time on the side of map as a landmark for measuring distances.

  20. #40
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    There's nothing inherently wrong with McDonalds compared to a lot of the fast casual fare that people seem to think is healthier - if you look at the actual nutritional content or lack thereof. I don't normally eat at MCD or any other fast food but I've got to say, on the PCT coming into Cajon Pass, that MCD hit the spot and I don't think a single hiker passed by without stopping there, at least no one I spoke to passed it by.

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