Thing Sure Have Changed!!!

In 2000, when I went thru, I didn't even wave when I passed Elk Park and Roan Mtn. I had heard such horror stories of the animosity toward hikers. Well, last week, I did a short stretch with a buddy who is thru hiking this year. We stopped at Mountain Harbour near Elk Park which is only 0.3 miles from the trail. This is a lovely 1903 vintage house that has been turned into a B&B and hiker hostel. Every amenity that you can imagine and a breakfast to die for. Mary and her husband have been providing this service for 8 years and they have it down to a science. What once was a "no no" stop has become one of the best.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tenderheart

In 2000, when I went thru, I didn't even wave when I passed Elk Park and Roan Mtn. I had heard such horror stories of the animosity toward hikers. Well, last week, I did a short stretch with a buddy who is thru hiking this year. We stopped at Mountain Harbour near Elk Park which is only 0.3 miles from the trail. This is a lovely 1903 vintage house that has been turned into a B&B and hiker hostel. Every amenity that you can imagine and a breakfast to die for. Mary and her husband have been providing this service for 8 years and they have it down to a science. What once was a "no no" stop has become one of the best.

---

Thanks for the nice words about Mountain Harbour!

I think the issues in Elk Park were related to a couple of families that had their land forcibly taken away from them by the government in order to re-route the trail...this was land that had been in their families for generations and they were not happy that it was taken away from them. So they were doing things like dumping trash on the trail and stringing fishing line across the trail with hooks. I think the problems were isolated to the families involved and were not necessarily community wide sentiments.

When I stopped there in 2002 a local mail carrier gave me a ride into town and let me know that his route would take him back by the trail in about an hour and if I waited by the road he would take me back to the trail. The people in the post office and hardware store, as well as the convenience store and the operators of a fruit and vegetable stand were all friendly to me.

I had no problems whatsoever in Elk Park.