I was on an Appalachian Trail thru-hike attempt this year (2015). After reading a favorable description of the property in AWOLs book, I mailed a resupply box there, intending to tent there for the night, resupply, and re-forward my "bounce box". I arrived about sunset on August 8, 2015, requesting my bounce box, and tent space for the night.

I was incredulous when told that the WHOLE property had been reserved for a wedding that weekend, and that I would have to move on into the night and find a place to wild camp. Of course, I was very experienced in doing that, since I had had hiked 1,304 miles before arriving there.

But, the issue is this: What indeed is the mission of the Appalachian Mountain Club, who owns the Mohican Outdoor Center? Despite their loftily stated goals, it obviously is merely to make money any way they can, rather than serving the needs of the hiking and outdoor community. I join the sentiments of a previous poster, who stated that AMC actually stands for American Money Collectors.

Of course there was ample space to tent camp on the property - they own what must be hundreds of acres. They could have offered me a place in their woods to set up my tent, go through and bounce box and mail it out again the next day, but NO! The manager was adamant that the WHOLE property was unavailable.

So, out into the evening I went, now carrying the heaviest pack of my whole journey because I now had the whole of my 15 pound bounce box strapped to the top of my pack, not being able to ship it forward.

I must say that in the whole of my hike, this was the ONLY time I was turned away for lodging, and this was from a place purportedly to serve the needs of outdoor enthusiasts!

In contrast, several small towns (Unionville, NY, Port Clinton, VA, and Glasgow, VA, to name just a few) provided free lodging to hikers at locales that they constructed just for that purpose, and several business establishments offer free tenting to hikers on their property (South Mountain Hotel in South Mountain, PA was a shining example).

No, I was not looking for "free" lodging at all - I was expecting to pay for my tent site, of course. But, to be turned away by an organization that supposedly serves the outdoor community was an insult, and shows the AMC and the Mohican Outdoor Center in a very poor light.

I would encourage AT thru-hikers to avoid this place like the plague - they obviously do not care about the AT hiker community. Take your money elsewhere, and let them cater to the needs of the well-heeled who can rent out the whole place to fill their coffers.