Date: 2017-10-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up to now, most of what I¢ve written is fairly factual, and I don¢t think too many Appalachian Trail hikers would take exception, although hikers tend to be very opinionated and feel free, even obligated, to share those opinions. So as a reminder, everything I write is JUST MY OPINION. Wherever two or three hikers are gathered, there will be at least four or five opinions. So, please feel free to disagree. You will anyway. Just don¢t call me nasty names.  In 1994, when I started to section hike the Appalachian Trail, it was commonly said that it cost $1 per mile to hike the AT, not including gear and transportation to and from the trailheads. Expressed in 2017 dollars, that¢s $3,460 for a thru-hike today. That¢s probably on the low side, but It can be done for that. Some members of trail forums like www.whiteblaze.net continue to report doing it for half that. Hiking for $1 per mile today or even $1.50 per mile means going into and out of towns on the same day, eating very few restaurant meals, enjoying very few beers and hiking very fast to get it over with as quickly as possible. God bless those hearty souls and more power to them. A more common estimate today, and one that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy provides on its website, is $1,000 a month.  This strikes me as very reasonable and a good figure for budgeting. I expect my hike to cost more. While I enjoy the primitive life on the Trail, I also enjoy a bit of luxury in town. Not all trail towns offer the option of luxury, but a surprising number of bed & breakfasts along the trail welcome hikers. My estimate for trial food, town meals, supplies and lodging for my thru-hike is $9,000. I will be working part-time this coming tax season in a local CPA firm. I had not planned on that so my earnings are ¢found money,¢ and I plan to spend it without guilt.  Hostels along the trail commonly cost about $35 per night. One of the better hostels is the Green Mountain House Hiker Hostel in Manchester Center, Vermont, an immaculate two story house east of town center. The $35 rate includes a comfortable twin or bunk bed with clean linens, blanket and pillow; showers & bathtubs with towel, soap and shampoo provided; washer, dryer and detergent; a comfortable lounge with TV and free long-distance phone calls; breakfast supplies for hikers to cook their own; ice packs for sore knees; a shuttle into town; and most importantly a caring innkeeper, Jeff Taussig. Bears Den Hostel is located 18 miles south of Harpers Ferry and operated by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Thirty dollars gets you a bunk, sheets, towel, shower, laundry, a frozen pizza, a soft drink, a pint of Ben & Jerry¢s, and pancake supplies for breakfast.  Then there are hostels where you would hesitate to board a tomcat that you truly loathe and one that even smells like cats-gone-wild.  I¢ve never stayed in a bed & breakfast that hasn¢t been at least pleasant and often a true delight. Yes, it costs several times more than a hostel, but after a week in the woods, don¢t you deserve a little pampering? This year, two nights in the Iris Room of the Belle Hearth Bed & Breakfast in Waynesboro, Virginia restored my spirits. The breakfast at Woodward House in Front Royal, Virginia will leave even a thru-hiker groaning and not wanting food for at least several hours.  Trail motels and hotels are highly variable in both amenities and price. One hotel that will remain nameless ¢ but ask any thru-hiker ¢ featured doors that didn¢t lock, a single hanging naked low-wattage light bulb, a mattress that required a ground cloth to avoid touching it, and a shared bath so filthy that squatting was advised. It cost less than most hostels and, fortunately, did not include breakfast.  Then there are places like the Hanover Inn in Hanover, New Hampshire, owned by Dartmouth College, and the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, Virginia, adjacent to the Blackfriars Theatre of the American Shakespeare Center, both listed as Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It¢s easy to exceed $1,000 per month with places like these convenient to the Trail.Highly sought out restaurants in trail towns are those with all-you-can-eat buffets, such as Ming Garden in Waynesboro, Virginia and Daniel¢s Steak House in Hiawassee, Georgia, and any place featuring pizza. Staying in town occasionally for two nights (taking a zero day) has the advantage of allowing you to sate your hunger the first night and to seek out fine dining the second night, but first verify that you will be seated in your cleanest trail clothes or rain suit. There was a short-lived northern Italian restaurant in Pearisburg, Virginia with chef-owner Giovanni Guarini. He was very proud of his knowledge of Italian wines and cuisine, so I challenged him to prepare a tasting dinner. Six courses and five wines later, he succeeded in proving that his pride was not misplaced, even if his restaurant was. It hadn¢t a chance in Pearisburg. It took a taxi ride from Lee, Massachusetts, but dinner at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge with my cousin Debbie, who will be joining me a the start of this hike, was certainly memorable. They wouldn¢t seat us in the main dining room because of our trail attire, but did offer us the same menu and wine list in their tavern. It was a cold day, and we started in the downstairs Lion¢s Den with an excellent French onion soup and bottle of Merlot. Then in the tavern we paired a well-aged Grgich Estate Cabernet Franc with sea scallops, lemon sorrel, and shiitake mushrooms rolled in phyllo tubes, roasted to crispiness, and served with a champagne sauce. Dinner like that, you remember! My latest surprise find was the Green Leaf Grill in Waynesboro, Virginia. Go for the house-made cheesecake with expresso sauce if nothing else.I remember the fine lodging and fine dining I¢ve experienced along the Appalachian Trail because it stands in stark contrast to most nights spent snuggled in a sleeping bag, on a thin mattress pad, in a tent not large enough to hold me and my pack, and a dinner consisting of a Knorr¢s noodle dinner and a pouch of tuna. I¢ll discuss trail food in a later posting. Bon app©tit!