Date: 2013-10-07
To: SAS Awards for Hostels
Miles today: 0.0

I stayed at over two dozen hostels during my hike. They were a new experience for me but I learned to love staying at them. They provided affordable housing with a shower and most offered laundry facilities - a recharging point. There was such a myriad of places. Some were normally Bed and Breakfasts or resorts during off hiking seasons, some were specifically hiker hostels, and others were personal homes opened during the main hiking season. The opinions that follow are mine and mine alone but I think it is helpful for future thru hikers to get the opinions of others that have experienced the lodgings. That said, remember you are getting the opinion of a 60 year old woman. Sanitation was a big factor but probably wouldn't be such a big deal to a young, adventurous person. New hostels open every year and may be advertised on the trail but most were in AWOLs or the ATC Companion guidebook. I think it would be helpful to have some type of a 'review' section for the books. The descriptions are provided by the owners and may be way more than what they promise. Case in point was Trent's Grocery. This place was horrible and not worth the 1/2 mile walk. The water pressure was so low that the shower was a joke and laundry took 3 hours! Resupply was so limited and the next town was Pearisburg (which was also difficult to navigate). You might be better off going to the Dollar General in Bland if you need to resupply and just soaking off in Dismal Falls.However, there were so many nice places that I am giving a North and South best. The winners just stood above the rest in all categories - accommodations, food, laundry, great showers, nice beds, ease of accessing, slacking opportunities, nice people! I can't say enough about these places and highly recommend future thrus include them in their plans.Note - the majority of hostels (and the best ones) are run by former thru or section hikers.South - Aquone Hostel. Many people just went into Franklin because this town came first but if you hike one more day, you can go to the best hostel down South. Send a maildrop to yourself for resupply. Wiggy and Maggie offer slackpacking to two dropoff points if you want to try this. They also pick you up and drop you off at the trailhead (phone service is available). The place is beautiful! You pay big bucks if you want to stay at this place during the off-hiking season. Real linens are always a treat, although you don't realize how much during the early days of your hike. Meals are optional but nice homecooking and lowcost.North - Bearded Woods Hostel. Many hikers were thrown off by the price - $50 - but you definitely received full bang for your bucks. Dinner and breakfast were included in the price, as well as shuttles for two trailheads if you wanted to slackpack. Plus, a shuttle was provided to the really great grocery store in Salisbury, CT if you needed to resupply. Again, you had linens (and by now weren't taking them for granted). Big Lu is an exceptional good cook and you had all you could eat. Loved this place.And of course I have to put in a word about The Cabin. I tried to be unbiased in my picks for top two but I have such a personal love for The Cabin. The Cabin is an unbelievable value, offering optional dinner and one of the best breakfasts on the trail (included). But it is really all about Bear and Honey. They are two of the most giving people on the trail - I loved them and really had a hard time pulling myself away. I missed them for the next week - telling all SOBOs to be sure to stay there and to let them know Little SAS wanted them to adopt me. I fondly remember our early morning coffee sessions (I would go up at 5:30 AM), watching Bear prepare breakfast. Sometimes he would give me a job to do, usually putting biscuits on a tray, but mostly just liked having us there chatting away.So - running a hostel is exhausting work during the peak hiker season. Everyone deserves kudos if they offer a place out of the elements. You pretty much get the lowdown from other hikers and quickly learn which ones are good, which ones to avoid. Seeing all the different ones that I had heard about over the years was part of the fun of my hike.