How can Thruhikers manage to "stay wired"?

[highway]

......To the internet, that is. When a thruhiker is away for months on end, where are the places he(she) might look for computer time to check E-mail, visit WhiteBlaze, post trip reports, etc. I know that many librarys have computers available, if there is one where you happen to be, but there has to be other places not so obvious where computer time might be borrowed or even paid for periodically. And, I am sure that many of the smaller towns and villages along the AT might no be large enough to even have a library.

[Jack Tarlin]

For the time being, public libraries are still your best bet, and there are more of them than you think. Also, many hostels, B&B's etc., have computers, sometimes for free, sometimes for a nominal fee. On occasion, a trailside motel might let you use theirs, but don't count on it as their terminals are usually in their offices, which are generally private. There are also some private businesses---cafes, outfitters, bookstores, etc. that have public-access machines. Also, some town halls/community centers have them as well.

Your Trail guides, such as the Thru-hiker's Companion will provide more of this sort of information.

[Lilred]

Rainbow Springs Campground has Internet access for $.35 a minute. It's just past Deep Gap, North Carolina.

[Footslogger]

It's already been said but about the most reliable source (and fastest connections) of internet access is going to be in a library. The one comment I wanted to make though was that some towns have libraries that are not referenced in the Handbook or the Companion. Some of these small town libraries are tiny and may have only one terminal but they are available. I made a habit of asking a "local" whenever I hit a town, if there was a library. I was surprised the number of times that there was a library and it was not even mentioned in the AT reference books. One such town that comes to mind is Glasgow, VA. The town itself is just a wide spot in the road with a little no-tell motel and a little market but ironically there is a nice library right up the street.

Just my .02

[tlbj6142]

some folks use www.pocketmail.com to keep in touch via email. Ask Skeemer (another WB member) about it, he used one this past year.

[The Weasel]

It's already been said but about the most reliable source (and fastest connections) of internet access is going to be in a library.

Damascus, which gets jammed often, has more than average. The library has 3-4 terminals, the former Quincy's (forget the name now) used to have a Mac (not sure about now),and surprisingly City Hall/Fire Station has had a couple terminals.

The Weasel

[veteran]

Try this site:
http://fred.net/kathy/at/access.html

[alpine]

with drawn