Date: 2013-02-27
To: great places to stay at the start
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

A few places last year stood out while on my abbreviated hike. Maybe by passing on the info to upcoming hikers I can repay in a small way the kindness they provided to me.Aqoune Hostel:-Steve and Maggie are fantastic folks. Steve thru-hiked in 2010 I believe. He loved it so much that he bought a place and is fixing it up. You can call to be picked up at Wayah, Burnington or Telico Gaps in NC. It was the best $20 I spent for a night of relaxation in a beautiful cabin. Steve and Maggie have a great outlook on life and they treat you like royalty while there. The slackpacking for another night was a great idea as well. Steve is punctual as well. If he says he¢ll be there in 10 minutes, he¢s there in 9. If you are injured they will work with you as well. By this time my ft was killing me, so a few days in a great atmosphere was a welcomed relief. I plan to return there later in the summer when I do my southbound flop of the trail. I plan to keep it in my mind as sort of the carrot dangling in front of a mule to keep me going. Thanks Steve and Maggie for all you did!Outside of Hot Springs Hemlock Farm and Cabins are .7 miles off trail- definitely worth the walk. The place was clean, the bunkhouse heated and the food great. They have a fantastic creek/stream that runs through their property and you can see the trout from the bridge. I stayed there overnight and I remember meeting Weatherman there- he carried a weather radio, thus the name. Their store is well stocked to resupply. They are very friendly folks and the warm breakfast in the morning (extra) was worth it.If you like a 20 course breakfast---if not more, then you need to stay at Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel in Tenn. The service was fantastic, the wood stove warm, and they work extremely hard to provide for all of the hikers. It was snowing and freezing rain when we hiked there so we stayed two days and still left in a snowstorm. You stay over a barn, but it is clean and nicely set up and the horse was friendly. The breakfast though will leave you speechless. Folks actually left and got their cameras to take pictures before they started eating. They shuttle you into town at night and there is a place that has a huge burger and tons of bacon as well as other stuff on it. I looked at it and thought instant heart attack and had the smaller one, which still made my arteries creak that night. Fantastic place as well---- a must stay.Since it was snowing we also stayed at the Abbey hostel a few miles down the trail. Best frozen pizza of the trip, or so it seemed. The wind was howling and snow blowing but for $10 bucks we stayed warm and dry for the night in the bunkhouse. I found it interesting because the owner is a hiker with over 19K of miles under his belt. The place is serene and I can only imagine how nice it is to live there. Right before you get to the turn off to this place a bench is placed on the trail so you can see the balds from your previous days of turmoil. It was beautiful with the snow on everything.And then thanks to Mothership for letting me stay at her house and slackpack for a few days with her son- Country, as well as with Spools, Miles, and Davey Jones. Memories will always remain, even if you don¢t complete the thru hike. The goal should be to finish what you started, but enjoy every step, remember how lucky you are for the chance. I know there are more places, but these are the ones that I remember. Enjoy and good luck