Date: 2018-02-24
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Miles today: 0.0

I¢m nearing the two-months-until-the-start-of-my-hike mark. I play with my gear, just to see if I can detect a faint whiff of the Trail from hikes past. Thanks to having a new pack this year, I can¢t. It rained two days this week, with gusty winds that render an umbrella useless, so I had an excuse to wear my trail rain suit on the walk to the office. Walking in the rain with the right gear is quite pleasant. Some of my favorite days on the Trail have been rainy and foggy, with the muffled sounds and saturated colors. My tent (Zpacks Solplex) can be set in the rain without the inside getting wet, and doesn¢t gain much weight when wet.  My dreams are now full of hiking, not literally if dreams can ever be said to be literal, but in terms of wandering over unusual terrain (like having to find a pathway through and over a lumberyard, a wooden Mahoosuc Notch?), exploring new things (singing the role of a buffoon in a Verdi opera), trying to do laundry while the machines keep vanishing, and meeting new creatures (some of whom are even human). This is a part of recalibrating my life to the trail and happens before each hike. When I¢m in the city, my soul craves the trail, but the opposite is true as well. Many Appalachian Trail thru-hikers start with the intention of minimizing time in trail towns, partly for financial reasons, planning on quick ¢ins and outs¢ to buy groceries and perhaps to do laundry, with few overnight town stays. It¢s akin to a New Year¢s resolution to eat and drink sensibly, to lose 10 pounds, and to visit the gym six days a week.  However noble the intention, few manage to keep their resolutions. A compulsive numbers guy, Map Man, who often posts on WhiteBlaze.net, did a study of 240 northbound thru-hikers who completed the Trail, analyzing their on-line journals to determine where the hikers spent their nights during their hikes. The northbound thru-hikes averaged 170 days, requiring 168 nights spent somewhere. Fifty-three of those nights were either in motels, hostels or private homes. In other words, nearly one-third of nights during a thru-hike were spent off the Trail. I wondered how my hiking schedule would compare. Excluding planned visits home, my planning schedule shows 170 nights, 49 (29%) of which would be off-trail. So my hiking plan is quite aligned with Map Man¢s findings.  As I¢ve said before, I consider my schedule to be fiction once I start the hike.Rather than seeing trail towns as a necessary evil, I embrace them and plan to enjoy them. Toward this end, I¢ve been asking myself what makes for a pleasant town visit?  First and foremost is my approach to trail towns. I try to allow enough time to do the necessary chores (grocery shopping and laundry), enjoy as many meals as possible, to explore the town, to meet its citizens, to rest, and even to express gratitude to the townspeople for their welcome. I like to get into town before lunch, spend the night, and leave after a large breakfast or even after lunch. I plan two nights ¢ a zero day ¢ in towns that I particularly enjoy or when my body is screaming for a respite from hiking. I¢ve come up with a list of 17 criteria for evaluating trail towns. I¢ve assigned a maximum value to each, ranging from three for the most important ones down to one for nice, but unimportant, items Using my memory of past visits, The Thru-Hikers¢ Companion, Guthook¢s Appalachian Trial Guide app, and Google Maps (for example, ¢museum near Front Royal, VA¢), I evaluated 34 towns reasonably close to the Trail, towns that I have previously visited or am considering visiting this year. The maximum points for a town across all categories is 36, and I expressed my evaluation of each town as a percentage of this maximum. It is, of course, arbitrary and capricious, but doesn¢t it sound scientific? It¢s my personal version of Trail Ethnology.  Your criteria and weightings might well be different. For example, if you hike with a canine companion, you might include veterinary services. If you are vegan, you might assign a seriously high weighting to a health food store. If you plan to dehydrate your own food and mail it yourself along the way, grocery stores may be unimportant to you. You get the idea.The whole concept is disingenuous and rendered even more so by the fact that in most cases, I don¢t get to decide which towns to visit. That decision is made for me by location, location, location, the Realtor¢s mantra. No matter what I think of Port Clinton, Pennsylvania (my lowest score at 33%), I can¢t avoid visiting it, since it sits astride the Trail. Fortunately, I have a friend who lives nearby who can rescue me for a couple of days. Otherwise, the best things I can say about Port Clinton are that it is reasonably near Hamburg and that the Port Clinton Hotel has excellent French fries (not one of my rating criteria). I avoided fantasy criteria, like sidewalks that slope gently downhill in both directions (found only in Escherville). Scores of 90% or more earned an A, 80% a B, 70% a C, 60% a D, and less than 60% an E. I was surprised by a couple of the results and also by the number of town museums and historical societies worth at least a brief visit.  The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has an Appalachian Trail Community¢¢ program ¢designed to recognize communities that promote and protect the Appalachian Trail.¢ The program has several objectives, including engaging community citizens, recognizing and thanking communities that support the Trail and hikers, enhancing economic development, and aiding conservation planing. One hope is that future maintaining club volunteers will emerge from these communities. I applaud this program both as a concept and as a hiker. Towns that have embraced the AT Community¢¢ designation ¢ 45 are currently listed on the ATC website ¢ have become more welcoming to hikers and generally scored higher in my ranking. My rankings, however, are personal and are from the rather flawed perspective of one hiker and probably have more to do with me than with the towns. I¢ll illustrate my approach using my only 100% score, Waynesboro, Virginia.My Trail Town Criteria and WeightingProximity to the Trail - 3 points maximumProximity is not only geographical nearness to the Trail but also considers the ease of getting into and out of the town. Waynesboro, Virginia, for example, is 4.5 miles west of the Trail, but has a cadre of volunteers to shuttle hikers into town and back to the Trail. While I was waiting at the Kings Kettle Corn food truck at Rockfish Gap for the host of Belle Hearth Bed & Breakfast to pick me up, I was offered at least three rides into town. Thus, Waynesboro earns three points.A variety of lodging - 3 points maximumTo earn my three points, a town must offer lodging ranging from hostels to hotels to luxury. The City of Waynesboro allows camping and hammocking in a park by the South River that includes a pavilion built by ALDHA with solar charging stations. Grace Evangelical Lutheran operates a hostel Monday through Saturday nights, and a private hostel is also available. The Quality Inn is convenient and reasonably priced, and Belle Hearth is a gem of a B&B!A variety of local restaurants - 3 points maximumThe Ming Garden in Waynesboro is an enormous all-you-can-eat [AYCE] Asian buffet, including sushi, grill, and dessert. Weasie¢s Kitchen has classic diner fare, including an AYCE pancake special. Scotto¢s Italian was the site of one of my biggest pig-outs ever, at the end of a hike. The Green Leaf Grill has excellent crab cakes and an amazing house-made cheesecake with expresso sauce. A three, for sure.Grocery store - 3 points maximumKroger¢s is good for long-term resupply and right in downtown Waynesboro.Laundromat - 3 points maximum There are at least two convenient coin laundromats in Waynesboro.Pharmacy - 3 points maximumThere are four pharmacies in downtown Waynesboro.Outfitter - 3 points maximumBetween the Trail and Waynesboro is Rockfish Gap Outfitters, offering full service and fuel by the ounce.Pedestrian friendly - 2 points maximumDowntown Waynesboro has sidewalks and crosswalks.Compact downtown - 2 points maximumDowntown Waynesboro is compact, with all services within a one square mile area.Friendly, welcoming people - 2 points maximumSince its designation as an Appalachian Trail Community¢¢, the citizens of Waynesboro have gone out of their way to show me kindnesses, with special thanks to the ladies of the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation who arranged for me to tour the Plumb House, built circa 1802. Hair stylist or barber - 2 points maximumThere are several barber shops and styling salons in the downtown area.Medical clinic - 2 points maximumThe Carilion Clinic Family Medicine practice in downtown Waynesboro offers a wide range of specialities, accepts most insurance and even has Saturday hours.U.S. Post Office - 1 point maximumThe Waynesboro Post Office is in the heart of downtown.Local coffee shop - 1 point maximumThere are three locally-owned coffee shops in downtown Waynesboro.Library - 1 point maximumThe downtown Waynesboro Public Library has WiFI, 20 computer workstations, and wide array of current newspapers and magazines, along with friendly staff and comfortable seating.Historical society or museum - 1 point maximumThe Waynesboro Heritage Foundation has excellent interpretive exhibits and knowledgable docents. They found answers to my questions.  An Episcopal Church - 1 point maximumVisiting a church in a trail town is a great way to meet townspeople at their friendliest, and there¢s at least a chance of being invited to Sunday supper! Waynesboro, Virginia has everything I want in a trail town, and I truly enjoyed my time there this past year, but would I want to live there? No. Waynesboro suffers by comparison to nearby Charlottesville (28 miles east), home of the University of Virginia, and Staunton (12 miles west), home to the American Shakespeare Center, Mary Baldwin University, and the Heifetz International Music Institute. Charlottesville has a fine airport and daily train service to Washington, DC, seven craft beer breweries, and is the center of a burgeoning wine industry. As much as I appreciate all that Waynesboro offers a hiker, in deciding where to retire, we had different criteria.  My other A-rated trail towns were Franklin, North Carolina; Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Damascus, Virginia; and Manchester Center, Vermont. Gatlinburg surprised me. I haven¢t visited there in decades, and it doesn¢t appear to have lost its tackiness, but it does offer a full array of services for hikers. It¢s a relatively easy hitch from Newfound Gap, since anyone going west from the gap has to pass through Gatlinburg. There is a shuttle service available, for a price, to return to the Trail, if magic does not provide.  My other surprise was the town of Marion, Virginia, eight miles west from the Visitors¢ Center of Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, accessible via a shuttle operated by the Marion Transit Authority. Marion lacks only an outfitter and a laundromat, although one is available at the hiker-friendly Travel Inn. The General Francis Marion Hotel has been restored to its 1920¢s splendor and is reasonably priced, and their Speakeasy Restaurant menu looks quite tempting. It might be worth doing a little hand laundry for the luxury. I rank Marion a solid B and look forward to exploring it. I¢ve visited Marion once before, but never as a hiker, and that can make all the difference.  Aside from Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, I awarded failing grades to Andover, Caratunk and Stratton, Maine and Glascow, Virginia. All are very small towns with limited services, but are convenient to the Trail. They do the best with what they have and make an effort to welcome hikers. The southern trail towns averaged 80% on my peculiar scale, while the northern towns averaged 64%. This is partly due to the southern trail being primarily within National Forest and National Parks, so that the towns frequented by hikers are destinations visited by most thru-hikers. There are many more towns convenient to the Trail in the north, dispersing the thru-hiker population, and because of attrition, there are fewer thru-hikers in the north to support town services. With the ever increasing number of hikers and the popularity of the AT Community¢¢ program, I expect town services to hikers to only improve.  All this talk about trail towns has made me anxious to return to the woods.