Date: 2015-05-06
From: Carlisle PA

To: Startlesville PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Not to be mistaken for hotel hiking, hotel hopping is the necessary event of moving our base of operation once per week to minimize driving. So far we have stayed in Waynesboro VA, Elkton VA, Charles Town WV, Carlisle PA, and now Startlesville PA. Moving day is on Wednesdays, mostly because we left the bug infected budget inn in Waynesborro two days early to be in the renovated Elkton room. Each motel is about 100 miles further down the trail. The next one will likely be in Mew Jersey. The optimum location allows the longest one way shuttles to stay close to an hour. Of course the times go down and then back up again as I pass the motel. We have yet to find one in a town right on the trail, allowing me to walk to the motel at the end of a hike. Each motel has had its own personality, just like people. They also seem to run similar bait and switch scams which we have come to accept. One popular one is advertising TV channels they don't have (not working at the moment). My wife usually makes deals with the cleaning staff to minimize their housekeeping efforts. She would rather clean the room herself. It's interesting that the two of us are almost diametrically opposite in our hotel usages. Having quite a bit of business travel experience I live out of my suitcase, removing and replacing things as I use them. No drawers are ever used. My wife, on the other hand, literally moves into each room, filling the closet and all available dressers and shelves with her stuff. When we move, I have three bags: normal clothes suitcase, extra hiking stuff duffel bag, and trail food sack. My pack doesn't normally count because I always carry that out the door each morning. I have never counted the bags and containers my wife maintains. Luckily I don't have to because she usually packs them and loads the car while I am hiking. Concerning my pack, please do not interpret hotel hiking as an excuse to slack pack. I carry the same pack contents I carried last year; sufficient to camp or shelter if necessary and enough food for several days on the mountain if required. My wife doesn't understand this but I feel the luxury of having a hotel to return to most nights is enough without artificially lightening my load. When we got here in April the pack with water weighed in around 30 lbs. now in mid May, with 30 deg sleeping bag and cold weather gear removed it weighs about 26 lbs. By the end of each day's hike water usage usually reduces this to 22-23 lbs. I have see hikers with lighter packs but most are heavier. I believe this because most thru hikers like to camp more than I do and carry things like camp shoes, cooking stoves and pots. I have comfort socks but only my hiking shoes. I eat only cold food like nuts, seeds, jerky, sweets, cookies, pretzels, cookies, and honey buns Hotel hiking allows me to replenish my food and water each night and take a new bottle of Gatorade. I also have access to full dinners most nights and arbitrary breakfasts each morning. I usually eat a very light breakfast because we leave so early (before 6AM). But make no mistake, every day I carry a pack that would allow me to survive on the mountain for at least three days.