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Thread: Buena Vista VA

  1. #1
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    Default Buena Vista VA

    I'm doing my next 100 mile nobo section soon, and Buena Vista VA is the half-way point. Looking for resupply options.
    The 2016 AWOL guide doesn't show a hostel, is there one now?
    Can/should I mail a box to one of the motels? Preference?
    Any input or advice on this would be appreciated.
    Thanks

  2. #2

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    BV via 60 is a longer but quick dump right into town.

    Budget Inn and the BV motel, both pretty average reviews....

    The Budget inn is walking distance to family dollar and 1 mile from food lion and DG. No need for a box, several grocery options in town
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  3. #3
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    Why not Glasgow? you have hostel and shuttle there.

  4. #4

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    The Budge inn at Buena Vista charges by the hour The Buena Vista motel is a bit more respectable, but it's a very long walk to the Food lion, which is also up hill on a busy road. It's not an easy hitch from Rt 60 either. The parking lot is at the top of a hill, right at a sharp turn in the road and cars fly by there and have no time to see or react to a hitch hiker.

    I've found Glasgow easier to get in and out of and has all you need, including a free town run shelter, centrally located.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  5. #5
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    Great input, thank you.

  6. #6

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    I had the privilege of spending a few hours in Buena Vista after day hiking in that area. If it's avoidable for you at all, and it sounds like it might be, I would recommend you avoid. The whole town had a really weird vibe and we couldn't wait to get out of there. I wouldn't want to be stuck there overnight, and I can't really explain why other than saying the whole family agreed it was a weird place. Edit - I truly mean no offense to anyone who lives there, maybe the stars were not aligned that day or something.

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    I had a fairly pleasant stay and BV at the Budget Inn. It's no Hilton, but I know that going into in. I originally thought I would go into the town before this (traveling NoBo), however my supplies were lasting longer then I expected, or I was pulling more miles so I bypassed that one.

    Again it was not a great stay, but was fair and comfortable. It had what i needed to recharge and resupply. It was a 15 minute hitch.

    I also think it was mothers day when I get there, so some services were closed, however I found everything I needed.

  8. #8
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    Glasgow is only 2 days into my hike, so I probably won't be making a resupply stop there.
    In the past, I've always either sent packages or carried the whole week's worth of food. Since I'm still undecided, and haven't sent a box in the mail yet, I'm either going to carry the whole week's worth of food, or pretend I'm a thru hiker and walk/ hitch into BV to buy resupplies.
    I'll either figure it out tonight as I pack my pack (and weigh it), or last minute - before I hit the trail Sunday morning.
    I'm usually more thorough with logistics, but since I started trying to get the full "hiker" experience, ie staying at hostels, I'm considering throwing logistics to the wind and winging it... I'll let y'all know which wins out when I get back (or if I have signal, I may update on the trail).
    ...
    On further thought, I bought an EE quilt and a ULA pack to save a few pounds, to get under 25 fully loaded; it'd be a shame to carry a full week's food putting me back over the weight I've been trying to get under...

    ...Over 30 lbs, or tackle the fear of the unknown...

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by MtDoraDave View Post
    Glasgow is only 2 days into my hike, so I probably won't be making a resupply stop there.
    In the past, I've always either sent packages or carried the whole week's worth of food. Since I'm still undecided, and haven't sent a box in the mail yet, I'm either going to carry the whole week's worth of food, or pretend I'm a thru hiker and walk/ hitch into BV to buy resupplies.
    I'll either figure it out tonight as I pack my pack (and weigh it), or last minute - before I hit the trail Sunday morning.
    I'm usually more thorough with logistics, but since I started trying to get the full "hiker" experience, ie staying at hostels, I'm considering throwing logistics to the wind and winging it... I'll let y'all know which wins out when I get back (or if I have signal, I may update on the trail).
    ...
    On further thought, I bought an EE quilt and a ULA pack to save a few pounds, to get under 25 fully loaded; it'd be a shame to carry a full week's food putting me back over the weight I've been trying to get under...

    ...Over 30 lbs, or tackle the fear of the unknown...
    Trust Gambit....Take your 3 days of food and hit up BV for the night A trail town needs 2 things for a hiker: a room to sleep, shower and charge, and a resupply. I have pulled week - 2 week long trips all the way up the AT to Maine and have never started a trip with more then 3 days of food. Enjoy that new gear, embrace the unknown, and have fun with the unknown!
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  10. #10

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    That's a pretty strenuous section of trail. With the short hours of daylight getting in the miles you expect might be difficult, but what do I know?

    Not carrying a full week's of food is nice, but your going to loose the better part of a day, or a full day, if you go into BV. That could make doing your 100 miles a bit more iffy. And your only going to save a few pounds of food. Being well feed when you hit the trail, your likely to be not be all that hungry for the first couple of days and if you throw in a couple of Freeze dried meals, you can make your food load reasonably light.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  11. #11
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    I just weighed the whole week's food, and it comes in at 10 lbs 2 oz... Which is lighter than I expected, but still 5 lbs heavier than half a week.
    Even if I reload in BV, I'll weigh the same on the second half of the week, when I have my long days scheduled.
    Think I'll see what the whole pack weighs, then make my decision.
    Be back later...

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    29 lbs. Fully loaded with one week of food and 1 liter of water.
    24 lbs would be awesome, but I think I'll just go with it and skip the town.

  13. #13

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    The nice thing about food weight is that it steadily decreases as you go on and you probably don't have to carry a full liter of water, at least not all day. It doesn't make a lot of sense to go to town on a trip which is only a week long. Unless you pretty much walk right by one and you can still do a full day. Good luck and have fun, that is my favorite section of VA as it sort of reminds me of my home area.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  14. #14

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    Just an FYI. I drive through Buena Vista about once a month and the Buena Vista Motel appears to have been converted into apartments. I did a quick search and found this news article.
    https://www.thenews-gazette.com/cont...ing-apartments

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    The nice thing about food weight is that it steadily decreases as you go on and you probably don't have to carry a full liter of water, at least not all day. It doesn't make a lot of sense to go to town on a trip which is only a week long. Unless you pretty much walk right by one and you can still do a full day. Good luck and have fun, that is my favorite section of VA as it sort of reminds me of my home area.
    I cant stay out of town that long....3-4 days and I gotta have a break for at least the night. As I get older though I do see this trend fading for me. I use to hit a town/ bed every 2-3 nights, and have done many week and 2 week long trips where I slept in a bed conveniently almost every night! lol but now days I enjoy my tent and walking until dark. Also helps that I am no longer a sot who constantly has to think of his next booze resupply....Which I logistically calculated and successfully planned for all the way from Georgia to New Hampshire....
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  16. #16
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    I am not sure what your shuttle situation is, but for future trips you may want to arrange a shuttle+resupply with the same provider. Last week my hiking buddies and I hiked from Mt Holly Springs, PA to Harper's Ferry, WV. We arranged service with a shuttle driver (Soggy) who lived in a town (Waynesboro) about midway in our hike. On Saturday he picked us up in Harper's Ferry and shuttled us north to our start point. We left resupply bags with him and on Wednesday he met us at Pen-Mar Park with our resupply bags. He was great to work with, dependable, a hiker, and great on the communication. We were able to charge up and wash clothes at Pen-Mar park and move on down the trail after a only an hour and a half instead of going into town. It worked well for us. YMMV.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by carouselambra View Post
    I am not sure what your shuttle situation is, but for future trips you may want to arrange a shuttle+resupply with the same provider. Last week my hiking buddies and I hiked from Mt Holly Springs, PA to Harper's Ferry, WV. We arranged service with a shuttle driver (Soggy) who lived in a town (Waynesboro) about midway in our hike. On Saturday he picked us up in Harper's Ferry and shuttled us north to our start point. We left resupply bags with him and on Wednesday he met us at Pen-Mar Park with our resupply bags. He was great to work with, dependable, a hiker, and great on the communication. We were able to charge up and wash clothes at Pen-Mar park and move on down the trail after a only an hour and a half instead of going into town. It worked well for us. YMMV.
    I hadn't thought of that, but I may consider it in the future.
    Thanks for the tip.

  18. #18
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    Carrying all weeks food worked out ok.
    Having tropical storm Zeta come through in the middle, well it was ok, too.
    It did, however, get me to hike miles like I've never done before!
    When I heard it was coming, I decided to go 17 miles on day three. That's a bit more than I've done on day three before. Then on day 4, knowing the weather was moving in, I did 26.9 miles, then zeroed a day in a shelter while the storm did it's thing. Then a 20, followed by 15 to finish up...
    Except the 2016 AWOL guide showed a trail to the Humpback visitors center that isn't there anymore, so I had to double back a couple miles and go a different way. :/ So my 15 was more like 17 or more...then I drove 12 hours.
    Got up this morning after maybe 4 hrs of sleep (dang circadian rhythm) and picked up my new mountain bike! Woohoo!

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by MtDoraDave View Post
    Carrying all weeks food worked out ok.
    Having tropical storm Zeta come through in the middle, well it was ok, too.
    It did, however, get me to hike miles like I've never done before!
    When I heard it was coming, I decided to go 17 miles on day three. That's a bit more than I've done on day three before. Then on day 4, knowing the weather was moving in, I did 26.9 miles, then zeroed a day in a shelter while the storm did it's thing. Then a 20, followed by 15 to finish up...
    Except the 2016 AWOL guide showed a trail to the Humpback visitors center that isn't there anymore, so I had to double back a couple miles and go a different way. :/ So my 15 was more like 17 or more...then I drove 12 hours.
    Got up this morning after maybe 4 hrs of sleep (dang circadian rhythm) and picked up my new mountain bike! Woohoo!
    Glad you were abe to adapt and have a great trip!
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
    Richard Ewell, CSA General


  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post
    I cant stay out of town that long....3-4 days and I gotta have a break for at least the night. As I get older though I do see this trend fading for me. I use to hit a town/ bed every 2-3 nights, and have done many week and 2 week long trips where I slept in a bed conveniently almost every night! lol but now days I enjoy my tent and walking until dark. Also helps that I am no longer a sot who constantly has to think of his next booze resupply....Which I logistically calculated and successfully planned for all the way from Georgia to New Hampshire....
    Most of my 2025 section miles have been with 5 to 7 days between town/hostels. Not having a need for booze may have been why over weeks I was able to often surprisingly keep up with much faster hikers.
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
    Richard Ewell, CSA General


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