Front Royal refuses a hostel..... boycott

[Larry Vaughn]

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2013/04/...lan-denied.php

On my thru hike most of the people I met were well educated, upstanding citizens. I never felt threatened or in any kind of danger, and were overall some of the best people I have met in my life.

This women knows nothing of the community of people on the trail, and forms her opinions ( I assume ) from the way a person looks. It is obvious that she doesn't hike.

I would recommend skipping the town, and I hope that the ATC will remove them as a trail town. As it takes more than one or even a few to make a decision like that for the hostel.

Makes me happy that I didn't go there last year on my thru.

[levibarry]

NIMBY has hit the trail it seems.

[Meriadoc]

Yes, the complaints appear unfounded and slanderous. (I am not sure it is technically possible to slander an amorphous group called 'hikers'.)

But let's take the high road and engage in outreach and education. In this case it is the Jenkins who are hurt the most by this decision with lost revenue. Then comes Front Royal for lost revenue. Last come the hikers. The concentration of services in that area is so great that Front Royal is extremely easy to skip. I know I needed a good reason to stop in Front Royal - I didn't have one and skipped it completely.

If we can engage and reach out to those neighbors who are responding emotionally and negatively to the proposed hostel we can allay their concerns and gain allies where before we had opponents. Complaining about disgruntled neighbors on internet message boards will just serve to reinforce their bad opinions.

[bigcranky]

Oh my, the hikers "would have access" to the children. Think of The Children! We must protect them from the evil predatory hikers!

The ignorance is strong in this one.

[Dogwood]

Don't have all the details but I read enough of the personal comments of those opposing the hiker hostel TO KNOW misconceptions based in ignorance about hikers and the hostel are involved. FEAR, the UNKNOWN, IGNORANCE, and SELFISHNESS are a DANGEROUS combination!

[the goat]

haha, that town's a friggin dump anyways. they would be better served to address the riff-raff that lives there on a permanent basis.

[johnnybgood]

Human ignorance on any subject can be eradicated with education . Yes, Front Royal could be at the top of a list of trail towns to skip, no doubt.

[Chaco Taco]

I was not really impressed with the layout of Front Royal. We went in late afternoon and left out about 24 hours later. It was tough navigating around to the store and getting back to the trail. We did not interact with anyone really. I think the hiking community does get a bad rep because of the actions by a few that call themselves hikers. Same folks that get in and start fights at hostels.

[Dogwood]

Hiker Hostels don't typically cater to long term(squatters), homeless, or riff raff guests. I've never know a well managed hostel that PRIMARILY caters to hikers that operates as a Salvation Army, saloon, dispensary for drugs, criminals, or where there should be ANY ANY CONCERN to children! On rare occasions I've witnessed hikers who trespass but this is the exception!

[Lyle]

As I said in the last thread, no real reason to go to Front Royal. Just make sure you spend no money there. ATC apparently needs to screen their "Trail Towns" a bit better.

[Tuckahoe]

Honestly I just can't get upset or worked up over this. Just no reason to. I'll continue to visit and spend money when passing through.

[kayak karl]

they are judging hikers on the actions of a few. should we judge a town on the actions of a few locals ?

[Lemni Skate]

We're judging based on their board of supervisors, who they voted for.

Hilarious thing is that they named their high school "Skyline" because they think they have some connection to SNP. The only connection they have is that the town makes people want to find another way into the park. I live in Virginia and I'm proud of most of the Commonwealth, but I'm embarrassed by Front Royal.

[max patch]

If the townspeople who were against the hostel googled hiker hostel looking for information to support their case I bet they would have found plenty of links back to WhiteBlaze where improper hiker behavior at hostels was discussed.

That would certainly be ironic.

[chief]

Had a nice time in Front Royal. Was treated well by the townspeople. It's a little spread out, but an Enterprise rental took care of that for me. Did all my errands and shuttled some other hikers around.

Were I a neighbor of the proposed hostel, I would oppose it too. Who wants a flop house in their back yard?

[max patch]

I don't know anything about the neighborhood, but if my next door neighbor asked for a zoning change to put a hiker hostel in my residential neighborhood I'd certainly be against it.

[Southerner]

I'm confused ... Why are we supposed to boycott the town of Front Royal based on actions taken in and by Warren County? I know Front Royal is in Warren County, but it wasn't a decision of their town council, but rather the county board of supervisors. Front Royal probably has one supervisor of the five on that board. I guess we just pick the closest town to punish.

[gunner76]

Cin

dy Tewalt, who lives behind the Jenkins' property, voiced concern that hikers "would have access" to the children who gather at the bus stop on Remount Road near the entrance to the proposed hostel. Tewalt said her research into hostels showed that crimes happen in or around such operations

I would like to see her research. I didn't know that I am dangerous to children because I hike.

[chiefiepoo]

Front Royal is OK. I ended a nobo section hike at Terrapin Station hostel in 2010 and after a night at the hostel the owner drove a bunch of us into FR. It's a good supply point if your going on or need medical care. I got a haircut and coffee with some locals and a few tips on getting around. Good people there. There is a local bus loop that will take you most places if you need to get around. Yeah, it would be nice to have other hostel options but it's not the end of the world. The woman making the "endangered children " is just ignorant about who is on the trail. Many of us come from the helping type careers like military, teachers, health care, police, fire, social services and EMS. I'm more disappointed that there is no longer a shuttle bus service from FR to Dc each weekday morning at 4 am.

[HikerMom58]

they are judging hikers on the actions of a few. should we judge a town on the actions of a few locals ?

I like thinking about this....

If the townspeople who were against the hostel googled hiker hostel looking for information to support their case I bet they would have found plenty of links back to WhiteBlaze where improper hiker behavior at hostels was discussed.

That would certainly be ironic.

and this.... Things to ponder and think about.....