WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 47
  1. #21
    TOW's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-13-2005
    Location
    Damascus
    Age
    63
    Posts
    6,527
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    53

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    Typically, the atmosphere is quite stinky.

  2. #22

    Default

    From what I observed, there is no "most" when it applies to hostels. A whole lot depends on your own perception, perhaps flavored with how many days you've been on the trail, how tired you are, how miserable the weather is, etc. Talking to hikers who spent the exact same night at the exact same hostel I did, I often got wildly conflicting opinions about the quality of the stay.

    I noticed some correlation between how professional the host/owner was, as to how the hiker's behaved, but even that isn't foolproof. There are a few owners who oozed southern charm, but in the evening they went home so they could get a good nights sleep away from the noise.

    There's an education aspect as well; early in Georgia, there were a good number of new hikers who would just flip on the light switch at midnight as they settled into their bunk. Further on the trail, absolutely everyone used their red headlight to move around in the dark. I suspect some of them never even heard of hiker midnight.

    There's something to be said for the bubble party crowd, but it still comes down to your reaction. You can lie in your bunk among the noise, and get yourself worked up into a rage, and end up yelling "get off my lawn" at the noisy people. I didn't want to spend my vacation being angry, so I avoided this method.

    Join the campfire for a bit, make friends, and then at a semi reasonable hour tell your new friends you need some sleep and ask them to quiet down for the evening. Not feeling social, you can lie in your bunk and read until midnight, then calmly walk out to the campfire and ask them to settle down. I found even the noisiest hikers to be receptive to a calm discussion about what time they plan on wrapping up the party.

  3. #23
    Registered User virginia jen's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-05-2012
    Location
    near Charlottesville, VA
    Posts
    50
    Images
    4

    Default

    Some motels are cheaper, and better than the hostels. I stayed at a hiker hostel in Pearisburg, VA. It was $20/bed. In one crowded room full of twenty hikers. 2 toilets, 2 showers (better then some places where is just one). Hikers watch the stupidest movies all night long when they drink.... didn't sleep well. It would have only been $44 total to split a hotel room at the place.

    Most of my hostel experiences were wonderful though. I look forward to going back.

  4. #24

    Default

    Most of the ones I've been are clean & well run, but like hotels some are going to be of higher quality than others. They always have interesting people & conversation. Kinda worth the hiker stink, for me anyway.

  5. #25
    Wanna-be hiker trash
    Join Date
    03-05-2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Age
    42
    Posts
    6,922
    Images
    78

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by virginia jen View Post
    Some motels are cheaper, and better than the hostels. I stayed at a hiker hostel in Pearisburg, VA. It was $20/bed. In one crowded room full of twenty hikers. 2 toilets, 2 showers (better then some places where is just one). Hikers watch the stupidest movies all night long when they drink.... didn't sleep well. It would have only been $44 total to split a hotel room at the place.

    Most of my hostel experiences were wonderful though. I look forward to going back.
    The other thing to keep in mind is that different people look for different things. The hostel you describe is the sort of thing that would have been awesome to me back when I was 21 years old, now that I'm 35 I'd gladly opt for the peaceful motel instead.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  6. #26
    Registered User dudeijuststarted's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-15-2008
    Location
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    Age
    44
    Posts
    558
    Images
    33

    Default

    hostels are awesome when no one else is around. you get treated like a king. tip: flip flop.

  7. #27
    Registered User Diamondlil's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-25-2015
    Location
    Virginia Beach, Virginia
    Age
    65
    Posts
    114

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mandolindave View Post
    Privacy????? You might get lucky. Think of the worst motel that you have decided not to stay at. Then imagine that the room hasn't been cleaned in a while. Then imagine that you have to share the room with dirty, farting hikers. Then imagine there's a party going on. Then try not to be paranoid about the Nora Virus. I guess if I had blisters, shin splints, sore knees, I smelled like a donkeys butt, it was raining really hard, or it was really cold out, I would stay at one again. But not with my girlfriend.
    Not all are like this.
    All hostles have showers. And the majority, if you are staying inside, sleeping inside their home, require you to shower before you eat or sleep in their home. Just remember, you are not paying for four star accommodations so don't expect it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #28
    Registered User KDogg's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-30-2015
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    267

    Default

    Some can be really nice and some can be a nightmare. There is a really broad range of. One piece of advice is to avoid free or donation based hostels. I found that these generally attracted the party crowd and the cleanliness was not so good. Hostels in the North tend to be much nicer. The South, not so nice although there are exceptions. I hiked with a group and we were able to stay in hotels for not too much more than the price of hostels. Having a private bathroom was worth the extra cost usually.

    If you like the social atmosphere of a hostel then you may be able to overlook the negatives. Guthook's guide has some information about hostels in the user comments and word of mouth will help you decide as well.

  9. #29
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-21-2007
    Location
    Swedesboro, NJ
    Age
    68
    Posts
    5,339
    Images
    25

    Default

    I never pick the cheapest Hostel out of the guide. Never. It has worked well for me/us.
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  10. #30
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-04-2013
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Posts
    4,316

    Default

    I like hostels with a no alcohol policy. It weeds out the party crowd quite nicely. For example, Teahorse in HF is one of the cleanest hostels I've ever seen and didn't allow alcohol when I've been there.

    I spent quite a bit of time in the alps a year ago staying in the hut system. Anyone who thinks that US hostels lack personal space hasn't been to a Matratzenlager. Wall to wall beds and, when full, you can literally be sleeping right next to someone. Google the term for pics. Now, 90% of the time places were not full, but I had a few very crowded nights. Now I'm burned out of shared accommodations and really prefer tenting almost all the time.

  11. #31

    Default

    The main difference between a hostel and a shelter is that hostels are generally enclosed and sometimes they are heated and sometimes they have bunks.

  12. #32
    In the shadows AfterParty's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-11-2016
    Location
    Norton, Kansas
    Age
    43
    Posts
    490
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    12

    Default

    I just want to shower and do laundry I'll sleep in the woods.

  13. #33

    Default

    Thanks, Ron, from Open Arms Hostel.

  14. #34

    Default

    My preference is my tent, a shelter, a hotel, then a hostel. For no other reason then I snore and move a lot when I sleep and am kept awake by the same. I almost always support and visit the hostels along the trail as they serve a valuable purpose, information, shuttles, etc, especially in the social part of the AT experience.
    Being a retired firefighter and fire inspector though, I do cringe at the conditions at many of the venues. Of course, there are motels that are worse (Doyle immediately comes to mind).

    chris
    Chris "Flash" Gordon
    LT -1987, 2012; West Highland Way & Cape Wrath Trail, Scotland - 2008; AT - 2009

  15. #35
    Registered User DSPeabody's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-20-2016
    Location
    The Deep South
    Age
    51
    Posts
    47

    Default

    Anybody have an estimate of how many hostels there are up and down the AT?

  16. #36
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-08-2012
    Location
    Penn's Woods
    Posts
    253
    Images
    7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiker8261 View Post
    M
    Being a retired firefighter and fire inspector though, I do cringe at the conditions at many of the venues. Of course, there are motels that are worse (Doyle immediately comes to mind).

    chris
    As a retired firefighter I just loved the Doyle, I felt right at home, yep, back at work ready to start overhaul operations.

  17. #37
    Wanna-be hiker trash
    Join Date
    03-05-2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Age
    42
    Posts
    6,922
    Images
    78

    Default

    The atmosphere in most hostels is 20.95% oxygen. However many appear to have 5-10% methane at night.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  18. #38
    Wanna-be hiker trash
    Join Date
    03-05-2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Age
    42
    Posts
    6,922
    Images
    78

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Busky2 View Post
    As a retired firefighter I just loved the Doyle, I felt right at home, yep, back at work ready to start overhaul operations.


    Are you suggesting that you don't trust top quality craftsmanship such as this electrical work? IMG_1166.JPG
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  19. #39

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    Are you suggesting that you don't trust top quality craftsmanship such as this electrical work? IMG_1166.JPG
    whats that in the lower left hand corner? Looks like a budski

  20. #40
    Wanna-be hiker trash
    Join Date
    03-05-2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Age
    42
    Posts
    6,922
    Images
    78

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    whats that in the lower left hand corner? Looks like a budski
    Just various parts of a borrowed jetboil Sumo laid out on a stovetop.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •