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  1. #1
    Livin' life in the drive thru! hikerjohnd's Avatar
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    Question What is 'don't miss' on the trail?

    Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option . Thru-hiking has been a dream, but not one I am willing to jeopardize my long term health over. Besides - I think I agree that section hikers are more fun (and certainly have been more responsive to questions about the trail). So I am turing to all of you experienced hikers for guidence and advice.

    As I progressed my thesis slowly turned from hikers to trail towns and hostels and the off trail support that makes a thru-hike possible. So - between Georgia and Maine - where should a hiker who has unlimited time to enjoy the trail stop and enjoy the hospitality offered in trail towns and hostels?

    My plan is to drive from GA to ME and stop along the way, conducting interviews, doing day hikes, maybe some trail magic (if I can) and gather information. I just need advice on what not to miss!

    Thanks for your help. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you at trail days!
    --John
    So be it.
    --John

  2. #2
    Registered User neo's Avatar
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    to much to list,for a start rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass. neo

  3. #3
    Registered User A-Train's Avatar
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    What is your thesis/research on exactly?

    You might wanna check out Lynne Setzer's book "a season on the Appalachian Trail" (I think). The author hiked some sections but also conducted lots of reaserch thru hiker invterviews in towns and used a lot of quotes from shelter logs. Anyway, places OFF trail that I would recommend would be:

    Mountain Crossings @Neels Gap
    Blueberry Patch
    Natahala Outdoor Center
    Hike Inn @ Fontanna Inn (talk to the Hoch's)
    The entire town of Hot Springs
    Erwin
    Kincorra Hostel
    Damascus
    Harpers Ferry
    Duncannon and the Doyle Hotel/bar
    Vernon Episcopal hostel
    Secret Shelter
    Graymoor Friary
    RPH shelter
    Kent
    Upper Goose Pond
    Dalton
    Mt Greylock
    Inn at Long Trail
    Hanover
    Glencliff Hikers Welcome Hostel
    Mt Washington
    Gorham
    Andover and The Cabin
    Caratunk, the Kennebec River and Steve Longley's Place
    Monson, Shaw's
    Katahdin Stream Campground

    All of these are accessible by vehicle and using some decent maps (the AT topos). The only one you'd have to hike into is Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Mass which is an easy 1.5 miles from the road and is worth the visit.

    Good luck
    Anything's within walking distance if you've got the time.
    GA-ME 03, LT 04/06, PCT 07'

  4. #4
    Registered User Peaks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by neo
    to much to list,for a start rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass. neo
    Guess I missed a lot. Rusty's was closed when I hiked by. Didn't go into Palmerton, walked past the Doyle, and stayed in Kay Woods shelter instead of in town.

  5. #5
    Livin' life in the drive thru! hikerjohnd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A-Train
    What is your thesis/research on exactly?

    Good luck
    Quote Originally Posted by neo
    rusty,s hard time hollow,jail house hostel in palmerton pa,doyle hotel in duncannon pa,rob,s in dalton mass
    Excellent list! Gives me a good jumping off point!

    My thesis was an ethnographic study of thru-hikers, but I am finding the towns a more interesting topic, and, given my health issues, probably a more do-able topic. So specifically (or at least for now) I am doing an ethnographic study of hostel owners and supportive trail towns - how they got started, why they do it, what benefits they receive besides the money(Damascus will probably be my foundation for a trail town - unless you all have a better suggestion - I hear they are expecting 25,000 people this weekend! ) .

    I am headed home after trail days to regroup and discuss my plans with my professor and hammer out definitive guidelines - but a working title (which came to me last night at 2 AM) "It is not just a walk in the woods: Trail towns and hiker hostels along the Appalachian Trail"

    Thanks for the start and keep 'em coming!
    --John
    So be it.
    --John

  6. #6
    Springer - Front Royal Lilred's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A-Train
    What is your thesis/research on exactly?

    You might wanna check out Lynne Setzer's book "a season on the Appalachian Trail" (I think). The author hiked some sections but also conducted lots of reaserch thru hiker invterviews in towns and used a lot of quotes from shelter logs. Anyway, places OFF trail that I would recommend would be:

    Mountain Crossings @Neels Gap
    Blueberry Patch
    Natahala Outdoor Center
    Hike Inn @ Fontanna Inn (talk to the Hoch's)
    The entire town of Hot Springs
    Erwin
    Kincorra Hostel
    Damascus
    Harpers Ferry
    Duncannon and the Doyle Hotel/bar
    Vernon Episcopal hostel
    Secret Shelter
    Graymoor Friary
    RPH shelter
    Kent
    Upper Goose Pond
    Dalton
    Mt Greylock
    Inn at Long Trail
    Hanover
    Glencliff Hikers Welcome Hostel
    Mt Washington
    Gorham
    Andover and The Cabin
    Caratunk, the Kennebec River and Steve Longley's Place
    Monson, Shaw's
    Katahdin Stream Campground

    All of these are accessible by vehicle and using some decent maps (the AT topos). The only one you'd have to hike into is Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Mass which is an easy 1.5 miles from the road and is worth the visit.

    Good luck
    I would add to this list The Hiker Hostel in Dohlenaga. It is relatively new but becoming a fast favorite for starting a thru hike.

    Great title btw.
    "It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by hikerjohnd
    Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option .
    What is your degree program??
    'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~

  8. #8
    Long Trail '04
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    Definitely don't miss that section between Springer and Katahdin.

    Good stuff.

  9. #9

    Default Best Places

    Sage's Ravine/Race Mountain
    and
    Tinker Cliffs
    were two of my favorite days.
    CT

  10. #10

    Default

    Ya know, my favorite memories other than people aren't places. They are situations. Skinny dipping in a pond. Great sunrises. Awesome sunsets. Coyotes calling at night. Being awoken regularly by owls - not alarm clocks. Loons calling in the darkness in Maine. Taking off my stinky sweaty clothes and standing naked in the cool evening air. The smell of the rain. Rounding a bend and seeing something completely unexpected. The joy of a full belly and great sleep after a hard day on the trail. The satisfaction of accomplishing more - much more than you thought was possible earlier that day. Seeing the footprints of a heron on the sandy bottom of a pond. Finding a patch of berries, and gorging until you are satisfied. Laughing out loud at yourself for some of the crazy places your mind can wander while hiking alone in the woods - day after day.

    You'll find very little of that kind of stuff in town. HikerJohnd - I hope you're able to sample some of that type of trail magic along the way. Have a great trip.
    'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~

  11. #11
    1700 down, 460 to go...
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    Quote Originally Posted by hikerjohnd
    Well, some health issues are making me contemplate changing the direction of my thesis as hiking the whole trail in one season will not be an option .
    john, sorry to hear you won't be doing the whole thing. i hope you get this trail done in sections instead. your project sounds interesting and i wish you luck with it. see you in Damascus!!

  12. #12
    Long Trail '04
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    I dig the section of Vermont from the Mass border to Killington - and the Inn at Long Trail, of course!

    Actually, the whole CT through VT is a nice section.. but once you've gotten that far, you might as well keep hiking to Maine.

  13. #13

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    John,

    Just a thought here as its your thesis not mine (already been there and in no hurry to go through that process again).

    You can drive along most of the trail, visit most of the major highlights that people have listed and talk to hikers, townspeople, and hostel/outfitter owners and get lots of information. However, I think you might be missing some of the experience. An alternative approach would be to pick a couple of spots in the south, middle, and north and do 2-3 week section hikes around there. Hiking/hitching into town, spending a night or two at a hostel and around town and then moving onto the next spot. Fewer spots with more depth of experience at each.

    Again, don't know if that is the approach you want or not. Maybe casting the wider net would be better...just something to consider.

    Kevin

  14. #14
    Livin' life in the drive thru! hikerjohnd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MOWGLI16
    What is your degree program??
    I am a Public History Master's student in Savannah - and Public History has a wide range of subjects lumped under it. Basically it is how history is interperted for the public, making it more user friendly (like at a museum).

    Quote Originally Posted by kevin
    You can drive along most of the trail, visit most of the major highlights that people have listed and talk to hikers, townspeople, and hostel/outfitter owners and get lots of information. However, I think you might be missing some of the experience. An alternative approach would be to pick a couple of spots in the south, middle, and north and do 2-3 week section hikes around there. Hiking/hitching into town, spending a night or two at a hostel and around town and then moving onto the next spot. Fewer spots with more depth of experience at each.
    Kevin - great idea and this is definitly part of my plan. I sent some lab results to my Dr. today, so hopefully by the time I get home, he will have a plan for me to return to the trail, at least in part. At first I probably won't venture out for more than a day hike or fast overnight, but by summer, I definitly plan to be out on the trail for at least a week or two at a time.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lilredmg
    Great title btw
    Thanks - I couldn't sleep (I think the bed was too soft!) and we were discussing the "Walk in the Woods" film possibilities at Dinner, so that was going through my mind...
    So be it.
    --John

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