If your planning to stay at Neels Gap Hostel

[Gary62]

July 2012. If you're allergic to cats you will not want to stay at this hostel. At least two mousers have the run of the place. My son and I planned to start a hike from there til I saw them. Raining like ahem, Cats and Dogs, we drove to Dahlonega for the night. The following night we bunked at Low Gap shelter with 4 other hikers that stayed at Neels Gap shelter. The girl in the group was bit from head to toe with either bed bugs or flea bites. A couple of local idiots had peed in Low Gap shelter. Saw a couple of guys yucking it up on the way in. They had no gear. Still raining the 6 of us washed it down as best we could and toughed it out. Needless to say I was expecting better from my first hike on the AT. Undaunted we're going back in 2013, this time with tents no mater how much it rains.

[Chaco Taco]

July 2012. If you're allergic to cats you will not want to stay at this hostel. At least two mousers have the run of the place. My son and I planned to start a hike from there til I saw them. Raining like ahem, Cats and Dogs, we drove to Dahlonega for the night. The following night we bunked at Low Gap shelter with 4 other hikers that stayed at Neels Gap shelter. The girl in the group was bit from head to toe with either bed bugs or flea bites. A couple of local idiots had peed in Low Gap shelter. Saw a couple of guys yucking it up on the way in. They had no gear. Still raining the 6 of us washed it down as best we could and toughed it out. Needless to say I was expecting better from my first hike on the AT. Undaunted we're going back in 2013, this time with tents no mater how much it rains.

Wait, so you hiked in without a tent? If that is the case, you should have known better.

[Seatbelt]

Saw a couple of guys yucking it up on the way in. They had no gear. Still raining the 6 of us washed it down as best we could and toughed it out.

I can't imagine "washing down" what someone else "yucked up".........or did I read this wrong??

[Seatbelt]

I just re-read it again. Hopefully you meant "cleaned it up" in the shelter perhaps?

[MDSection12]

That post was almost intelligible... Almost.

[max patch]

the first time i read the post I thot yucking = laughing and joking.

Now i'm wondering if yuking = puking.

No matter, the moral of the story is to take a tent or other type of shelter. Every time.

[Almost There]

Guys, I think he was suggesting that the two guys without gear had gone in, peed in the shelter, and then left. They were up to no good, and so had no gear/tent with them because they weren't planning on staying.

[FatHead64]

Guys, I think he was suggesting that the two guys without gear had gone in, peed in the shelter, and then left. They were up to no good, and so had no gear/tent with them because they weren't planning on staying.

+1 And they couldn't keep a straight face on the way back down.

[Red Hat]

Sorry your hike didnt turn out the way you hoped. The hostel at Neel Gap, is just that, a hostel, and the cats do keep down the rodent population. The cats are not allowed in the hiker sleeping area, as far as I know. Never heard of anyone getting bed bugs from there, though, I assume they knew to sleep in their sleeping bags, not on the bare mattresses. As for the Low Gap Shelter, the ridgerunner cleaned up trash there yesterday, and he said it was pretty sad, but didn't hear about the pee incident. Unfortunately, there are always a few idiots out there that make things unpleasant. Most folks you meet are great though

[max patch]

the first time i read the post I thot yucking = laughing and joking.

Now i'm wondering if yuking = puking.

Guys, I think he was suggesting that the two guys without gear had gone in, peed in the shelter, and then left. They were up to no good, and so had no gear/tent with them because they weren't planning on staying.

Ahhh...now it makes sense.

[Slo-go'en]

The cats are not allowed in the hiker sleeping area, as far as I know.

No, they have free range of the whole place. Fine by me, I like cats.

[Jack Tarlin]

In my experience, the precise same people who object to the presence of cats at hiker facilities tend to be the exact same people who, in their absence, will loudly complain about the presence of mice. In short, there are scores of places on the A.T., and nobody has been entirely happy at all of them. This being said, there's one word for people who hike on the A.T., especially in the late-winter South, without tents: The word is unprepared. When one is unequipped with essential equipment and gear, one has to make adjustments. These adjustments, and the subsequent carps and complaints that inevitably result from them, would most likely be unnecessary if people left home adequately outfitted and prepared.

[curtisvowen]

Florida says it all.
July 2012? You catch that?
Wash down the puke I've got on my keyboard reading this.

[Dogwood]

Cats chasing mice can almost be as much fun to watch as squirrels trying to get at the food in a bird feeder. Doesn't bother me. I'm not allergic to cats. Besides cats reducing the mice population lowers the possibility of them chewing through my pack and food sacks. Never had a cat leave those little TIC TAC like turds in my pack either. Keep the felines AWAY from sleeping bags and have to take out a second mortgage priced expensive inflatable sleep pads though! They like practicing their mousing on inflatable pads and LOVE snuggling up and sharpening their claws on sleeping bags.

[Blissful]

The moral of the story is ... always carry tents.

[Theosus]

The moral of the story is ... always carry tents.

The idea of hiking without a tent (even just a tarp and some rope) never crossed my mind. What if the shelter is full, or you just cant make the next one, or you get lost... An ultralighter I know has a little tent that folds up to the size of my rainfly by itself. The thing weighs ounces, and uses his trekking pole to hold it up.
Glad to know about the cats at Neel Gap, I would run through my supply of benadryl really quickly if I stayed there.

[Altarboy]

We stayed there in October. I looked thoroughly for bb's but saw nothing. It was nice to get a hot shower and wash clothes. Too bad about the guys peeing in the shelter. They should have their asses kicked.

[AngryGerman]

This message is brought to you by an OCD having clean freak who happens to approve Neels Gap as clean, four star, hiker establishment!

When finishing up my MEGA thru-hike this year I was 2 days out from completion when myself and GreenThumb hit that place I think we may have scared away all the mice from our SOBO funk! Seriously though; I thought Pirate, Lumpy and the rest of the crew did a fantastic job keeping that place going and yes, clean. I mean, Pirate offers a dinner on a donation bases and the young couple running the place are fantastic people offering all sorts of stories and laughs to enjoy by all. As a hiker, thru-hiker to boot, the last thing you want is to come off the trail and stay a night in a crappy hotel/motel and/or hostel to find out that the place is a dump, Neels Gap is not that! But if all you are worried about is a bit of cat fuzz and some mice while not carrying your own shelter you will be in for a huge disappointment, as you stop at other establishments along the AT you WILL encounter some issues that you will not like. Or as stated above, carry a shelter and avoid all that you dislike and move on. No need to start a thread to mini-trash Neels Gap or any other hostel you come upon unless the situation is really bad...i.e. completely unsafe and what not! By the way OP, if you would have stayed there you probably would have heard some interesting stories about those cats!

Sorry we missed you Jack!

[Jack Tarlin]

Angry German: What a nice post, and thank you! Those of us that choose to live and work at Neel Gap for part (or in some cases, all) of the year like to think we make things better for hikers that pass on thru, and a post like yours makes our day. See ya next time.

[AngryGerman]

No worries Jack, I really enjoyed your company at Kincora, I will always remember the breakfast you whipped up for Elvis and I. I will see you somewhere on the trail again, I might be at Trail Days this year, not sure though.