setting the record straight on whitehouse landing camps

[The_Saint]

Basic principles of purchasing? Lower the price and sell more? I think the idea of any business is not to "sell more" but to maximize profit. Maybe Starbucks could sell more at 50 cents, but they would earn less. I will be hiking by WHL in the fall and may or maynot stop by, but I still have a free will. Any service that is available to hikers is a good service. You have a choice.

Last time I checked this buying/selling practice made Walmart the most success business in the history of the world.


Let the other people tell their experiences there as I'm done discussing it.

[weary]

....Maine is nearly 90% forested and a very low population of just over 1.3 million in an area of ~35,000 sq. miles, hell we got nearly that population here in Jacksonville in an area the size of just under 900 sq miles. And we still have a lot of open land.

Not taking anything away from MATC, but those facts makes it easy to have the most wilderness section of the AT.

The situation is far more complex than you realize. There's been a revolution in Maine land ownership. Those of us who prefer wildness to development worry because the paper companies that once used the forest to grow trees, have mostly sold their lands to developers, and land speculators, at prices well above those that would make continued growing of trees profitable.

It's only the purchases by AMC and The Nature Conservancy, and the Quimby Foundation that provide hope for continued wildness for the 100-miles. I'm appalled, sometimes, at how difficult it seems to be to get some White Blazers to understand this basic economic fact.

BTW, I'm not sure who the landlord of WHL is. They are in an area largely controlled by The Nature Conservancy. I suspect that the future of the business is better assured under Nature Conservancy ownership, than by land speculation ownership. Investors dream of using such beautiful lakefront lands to maximize profits, which requires developments with far more impact on the environment than a simple hiker hostel that caters to hunters in the fall, and snowmobilers in the winter.

Weary

[white_russian]

And also.......that place where the sign should be and isn't is the exact same spot that is missing the blue blaze spot to indicate a trail leading to a water source which happans to be a lake where you can soak your feet and/or swim without going to the other side of the lake to visit the camp. Even if there isn't a road sign, there should be a blue blaze water source sign there.

Grasping at straws huh?

Tumbledown Dick Stream is like a tenth of a mile northbound from this intersection and the trail crosses over it. I don't know what the distance is if you just went directly to the lake using the tote road instead of WHL but I am guessing more than half a mile. It doesn't make sense to mark a blue blazed trail that long when it is in an area that has such an abundance of water sources directly on the trail.

Try harder next time.

[Johnny Thunder]

I wasn't picking on you directly, just pointing out that you had a high post count. Besides, comparing my post count to yours isn't relevant as I have 113 posts and you have over 12,000.

Last time I checked this buying/selling practice made Walmart the most success business in the history of the world.

Umm...really? Seriously White House Landing vs Walmart? What?

[Tin Man]

Umm...really? Seriously White House Landing vs Walmart? What?

xactly... saint wants to see a white house landing every 0.5 miles for the length of the trail.... hahahaha

[Phreak]

I had to pay 39 dollars for one night, nothing included. That's twice to three times what almost any other hostel on the trail.

I stayed at WHL in 2007 and my night in the bunkhouse included a hot shower and all-you-can-eat breakfast. And camp mom generously offered to take my cell phone over to her home and charge it for me.

I also enjoyed taking a kayak out on the lake. My experience was well worth every dollar I spent there.

[white_russian]

I stayed at WHL in 2007 and my night in the bunkhouse included a hot shower and all-you-can-eat breakfast. And camp mom generously offered to take my cell phone over to her home and charge it for me.

I also enjoyed taking a kayak out on the lake. My experience was well worth every dollar I spent there.

The stories that people tell about WHL swing greatly. You are reporting a very good experience and I have read reports in the past of WHL charging extra for things that were supposed to be included like bed linens. It begs the question if they are incorporating price discrimination into their business practices.

[Jack Tarlin]

Begging the question, Russian?

Well, I've got one for you. More than 300 posts ago you got your panties wadded up cuz this place allegedly served you a "bland" burger.

And you're STILL boo-hooing over it.

This begs the question: Don't you have more important things to bitch about?

Pretty obviously not.

[white_russian]

Begging the question, Russian?

Well, I've got one for you. More than 300 posts ago you got your panties wadded up cuz this place allegedly served you a "bland" burger.

And you're STILL boo-hooing over it.

This begs the question: Don't you have more important things to bitch about?

Pretty obviously not.

Hey we could all be doing something better, yourself included. There are starving children in Africa and you have managed to waste enough of your life on this board to post 12K times.

[The_Saint]

Umm...really? Seriously White House Landing vs Walmart? What?

Ummm try reading the entire thread before you jump to a conclusion about something that wasn't said or implied.

The point is that WHL could run their business more efficiently, which in turn would allow more people to stay. If they lowered their prices, more people would stay and less people would complain.

I see most people can't grasp this as a business practice, which is why so many small businesses fail. Being in the sales field, I see small businesses go under all the time due to not knowing successfully how to manage margin, turns and reorders. If you don't think this applies to WHL, or any other "business" on the AT or elsewhere, then don't assume you know anything about retail businesses.

Enjoy the E-Fight! I'm not going to become one of the famed cyberhikers on this site. Let's all go outside.

[Jack Tarlin]

Russian: At least I don't waste my life screeching about a cheeseburger I ate years ago.

You really need to stop while you're behind. And if you're REALLY concerned about those starving children overseas, maybe you should cut back on all those bland 10 dollar cheeseburgers. That money adds up.

[TD55]

grasping at straws huh?

.

am not ......

[TD55]

10 dollar cheeseburgers.

All this misinformation from people who don't know what they are talking about if flabbergasting. What the heck is the current price of the burger? I'm ok with $10.00 as long as the boat ride is still free

[ed bell]

So, if you are only gonna stay to eat lunch you get a free boat ride to go along with it?

[TD55]

They have no way of knowing when you blow the air horn for a ride that you are only going to have a burger and catch a boat ride back to the other side of the lake.

[Tin Man]

Ummm try reading the entire thread before you jump to a conclusion about something that wasn't said or implied.

The point is that WHL could run their business more efficiently, which in turn would allow more people to stay. If they lowered their prices, more people would stay and less people would complain.

I see most people can't grasp this as a business practice, which is why so many small businesses fail. Being in the sales field, I see small businesses go under all the time due to not knowing successfully how to manage margin, turns and reorders. If you don't think this applies to WHL, or any other "business" on the AT or elsewhere, then don't assume you know anything about retail businesses.

Enjoy the E-Fight! I'm not going to become one of the famed cyberhikers on this site. Let's all go outside.

you know nothing about doing business on the AT... and from what you are saying here I would never trust anything you had to say about running my small business.

thank you for saying you won't hang on here... we will believe it when we see it.

[Phreak]

So, if you are only gonna stay to eat lunch you get a free boat ride to go along with it?

Yes.......

[earlyriser26]

Last time I checked this buying/selling practice made Walmart the most success business in the history of the world.


Let the other people tell their experiences there as I'm done discussing it.

Walmart, as all businesses, are profit optimizers (not just looking for a larger number of transactions). WHL seems to be employing the proper strategy to maximize profit. It is not a charity. I don't know where you recieved your business / accounting / finance degree from, but your economic argument is flawed.

[stumpknocker]

I wasn't going to post anything else on this thread, but now that it's turned towards the ripoffs that come across the lake to pick you up when you blow the air horn, I just had to.

I'm not sure what the burger costs...I don't care. I eat junk on Trail, so when I get a chance for a real meal, I take it. Usually a steak in town, but those darn ripoffs at White House Landing only have homemade burgers and pizzas, sodas and beer.

When I'm walking north on the Trail, I"ll walk into the 100 Mile Wilderness with enough food for three days. I've done the 100 Mile Wilderness eight times. Eight times I've stopped in to visit those ripoffs that operate White House Landing, even though they just have that over priced bland one pound homemade burger loaded with onions, pickles and homegrown tomatoes.

Maybe those ripoffs charge me $8.00 or $9.00 or $10.00....I don't know. Wait a minute. I'm pretty sure I pay $9.00 for a HALF pound hamburger right here in town. Well, maybe those ripoffs at White House Landing aren't ripping me off after all.

I always resupply while I'm there. They seem to know what kind of trail food hikers like to carry out and seem to have plenty to go around. If I'm walking north that year, I'll resupply for an overnight to Abol Bridge Store. If I'm walking south, I'll resupply for three days to Monson.

The resupply food that I eat on my first night out from White House Landing is always a homemade pizza. I ask that dang ripoff at White House Landing if she would make a pizza for me to pack out, and it's always there when I get ready to leave, wrapped up nicely to carry in my pack.

I sleep in the Lakeshore Cabin so I am right next to the lake. That hot shower feels especially good. Those pesky loons just won't be quiet. Nothing worse than falling asleep having to listen to those buggers. Danged place always has clean sheets in it.

I have to do my own laundry in the laundry tub they provide and hang my clothes to dry on an outside clothes line. Don't those ripoffs know I have standards??

I just don't understand why anyone has to put up with all the coffee you can drink in the morning before you leave....and an ayce breakfast. Don't those ripoffs know I want to order from a menu??

Am I getting this complainin' thing down yet?? This is fun.

Some of my most memorable days on a thru hike are days spent at White House Landing...eating that one pound hamburger for lunch, maybe a pizza for dinner, and taking the canoe out in the lake to spot moose along the shore and watch Katahdin fade away into the dusk.

I usually tip according to service and friendliness....usually 20%. I once left a one penny tip on the credit card receipt at a restaurant in California, just so the owner of the restaurant would notice how I felt about the poor service I got from his employee. I only did that once....this waitress should not have been dealing with the public.

I usually leave a 30% tip at White House Landing. Danged ripoffs!

One last thing....that lodge is always filthy.........well, maybe not always filthy. Hummm, actually, it's ALWAYS been spotless....but that's just one more thing to complain about!!

[stumpknocker]

I wasn't going to post anything else on this thread, but now that it's turned towards the ripoffs that come across the lake to pick you up when you blow the air horn, I just had to.

I'm not sure what the burger costs...I don't care. I eat junk on Trail, so when I get a chance for a real meal, I take it. Usually a steak in town, but those darn ripoffs at White House Landing only have homemade burgers and pizzas, sodas and beer.

When I'm walking north on the Trail, I"ll walk into the 100 Mile Wilderness with enough food for three days. I've done the 100 Mile Wilderness eight times. Eight times I've stopped in to visit those ripoffs that operate White House Landing, even though they just have that over priced bland one pound homemade burger loaded with onions, pickles and homegrown tomatoes.

Maybe those ripoffs charge me $8.00 or $9.00 or $10.00....I don't know. Wait a minute. I'm pretty sure I pay $9.00 for a HALF pound hamburger right here in town. Well, maybe those ripoffs at White House Landing aren't ripping me off after all.

I always resupply while I'm there. They seem to know what kind of trail food hikers like to carry out and seem to have plenty to go around. If I'm walking north that year, I'll resupply for an overnight to Abol Bridge Store. If I'm walking south, I'll resupply for three days to Monson.

The resupply food that I eat on my first night out from White House Landing is always a homemade pizza. I ask that dang ripoff at White House Landing if she would make a pizza for me to pack out, and it's always there when I get ready to leave, wrapped up nicely to carry in my pack.

I sleep in the Lakeshore Cabin so I am right next to the lake. That hot shower feels especially good. Those pesky loons just won't be quiet. Nothing worse than falling asleep having to listen to those buggers. Danged place always has clean sheets in it.

I have to do my own laundry in the laundry tub they provide and hang my clothes to dry on an outside clothes line. Don't those ripoffs know I have standards??

I just don't understand why anyone has to put up with all the coffee you can drink in the morning before you leave....and an ayce breakfast. Don't those ripoffs know I want to order from a menu??

Am I getting this complainin' thing down yet?? This is fun.

Some of my most memorable days on a thru hike are days spent at White House Landing...eating that one pound hamburger for lunch, maybe a pizza for dinner, and taking the canoe out in the lake to spot moose along the shore and watch Katahdin fade away into the dusk.

I usually tip according to service and friendliness....usually 20%. I once left a one penny tip on the credit card receipt at a restaurant in California, just so the owner of the restaurant would notice how I felt about the poor service I got from his employee. I only did that once....this waitress should not have been dealing with the public.

I usually leave a 30% tip at White House Landing. Danged ripoffs!

One last thing....that lodge is always filthy.........well, maybe not always filthy. Hummm, actually, it's ALWAYS been spotless....but that's just one more thing to complain about!!

Dang Stumpknocker....get a life. You've got almost 350 posts on your counter since 2004!! Things like that matters to some people, ya know.