Hemlock Hollow

I want to give a shout out to Fred, Busy, Rod and Mark at Paint Creek Cafe/Hemlock Hollow. Thank you for enhancing my "wilderness experience" on my summer backpack. Eating a hot lunch/breakfast on a long porch overlooking Paint Creek was my idea of relaxing.

Hemlock Hollow is a little ways off the trail in between Allen Gap and Camp Creek Bald. I chose to walk up the Viking Mountain Rd from Allen Gap. It's not shorter, but it didn't have any PUDs.

Rod fixed me the Crazy Potatos for Sunday Brunch and then asked me how I liked it since I was the first to ever order it. I'll tell you what, after a few days on the trail, the Crazy Potatos were just the ticket for a hungry hiker! I even saved half of them for later.

Also had cold sodas and even got a little resupply there. It's not an outfitters, but, you can get a few things there if a boy scout troop has not just been in and bought everything up. I did get a coupla nalgene bottles cuz the platypus I inherited from my son leaked (I had already gotten rid of my gator-aid bottles).

They rent cabins and have bunk space for thrubees. I didn't check that part out, but, maybe someone else has and can give more info.

All in all, I loved it there and will be back (I went twice since I don't shuttle. I hike one way and then turn around and go back to get the 180 degree view).

Leave your comments here about Hemlock Hollow. Maybe some smart person can even link up their email address.

BTW, if you cowboy at Rich Mountain Firetower, remember there are no windows and no lightening rod.

Thank you very much for that info. I've often wondered about HH....

One of my planned future hikes is to hike with my wife up Roaring Fork trail to the AT (comes out at Jerry Cabin shelter) and over the Hemlock Hollow to spend the night, then hike back.

nice people. only the footings and columns were in for the porch when i was there. all the pipes in the bathroom were frozen but they put buckets of water in bath for me. hows their dog AT?
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=261316

[email protected]
http://www.hemlockhollow.net/index.html

they have always had trouble with their web page. maybe one of the computer geeks on WB can help them out :)

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Originally Posted by kayak karl

nice people. only the footings and columns were in for the porch when i was there. all the pipes in the bathroom were frozen but they put buckets of water in bath for me. hows their dog AT?
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=261316

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AT is fine. He was friendly to our dogs and wanted to follow us up to Camp Creek. We told him to go home and he did.

HH was not marked well when we came down from CC. Just turn right at the first dirt road you come to and follow it to HH.

We ate here yesterday. We were not hiking, but are hikers. We had the 1/3# burger and potato salad. The burger was superb! and the potato salad good. The tea tasted a bit fake to me, but could be the water. Friendly atmosphere. I would highly recommend it, just a bit far off the trail for some.

We stopped in here for a stay on a rainy, 40 degree fall day hiking the AT SOBO. We loved our stay. Hattie and her son were gracious hosts in all respects, serving us two family style meals for a very reasonable price, including food that was hands-down the winner over the food we bought at restaurants for the rest of the hike. The hiker hostel bunks have mattresses, pillows, linens and heat is provided by an ample wood stove. The hostel cabin itself also includes a double sink and microwave and already had a laundry line strung up from bunk to bunk near the stove for drying clothes. The showers are a short walk from the cabin and also are heated though a sign warns users to take only a 5 minute shower and wait 20 minutes or else there will be no water. I wish I could convince my kids to do this at home...

Resupply in the store is more than ample, including condiment packets!!, fuel, the usual granola bars, Cliff Bars, dinners, etc. plus some of Hattie's homemade stuff as well. I can't stress enough: if she's serving food get some! Our dinner was country style pork ribs with sauerkraut marinated in red wine, served with mashed potatoes. Breakfast was eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and sausage gravy over homemade biscuits. So good. Just take a right (SOBO) on the dirt road and keep going until it dead ends into the Inn. There's a creek there. You can't miss it.

We didn't spend the night here but had a very good lunch there... it's a nice place! :)

I spent the night there when I ended my hike due to back problems. Fred and Tilley were great. Had a good breakfast and Fred shuttled me into a Greyhound station so I could get home. Spent the night in the bunk house. Nothing fancy but it was warm and clean. Definitely plan on stopping back when I am in the area.

Hemlock hollow is a rare treat on the trail. I stayed there for a couple of days this spring waiting out a sore knee. Very hiker friendly place and good prices. The walk from the trail is not that far. They gave me a free shuttle back to the trailhead when I headed back out. Definitely two thumbs up.