The AT has a very rich trail culture and hiker hostels are in the center of it all. These hostels range from modified upstairs storefront apartments to old farmhouses to wood cabin communes. Some only offer bunk beds while others offer a mixture of bunks, private rooms, or even spaces to tent. Many hostels are within walking distance of the trail making it almost irresistible to stop in for the night. Recently, Alex and stayed in a room at the Weary Feet Hostel, a giant farmhouse in Bland, Virginia just off of the trail.
One thing all of these hostels have in common are hiker-specific amenities.
Shower, Laundry and Loaner Clothes
Usually the first thing on my mind after spending 4 days in the wilderness is a shower. How do my feet get so dirty through my socks and shoes?! Luckily Alex and I both smell so bad we probably can’t really smell each other. Anyways… it’s rare to have a private bathroom at a hostel, so the showers and bathroom can range from reasonably clean to borderline horrifying. The standards aren’t high when paying 40 bucks for a room!
Once a shower is accomplished, it’s time to wash everything you’ve been sweating in for the last 4 days. Often there is only one washer/dryer for up to 20 dirty hikers, so you can find yourself waiting for washer space or trying to sneak your clothes in with someone who’s in front of you. It can be a bit of a game, but this is one we have become very good at.
But as a thru-hiker, you don’t carry much clothing and generally wear everything you carry. So what do you wear while all of your clothes are being washed? This is where “loaner clothes” come in. Most hostels have a wardrobe full of clothing options you can wear while your clothes are in the machine. This was a hilarious concept to me! You will find hikers in anything from onesies to scrubs to moo moos and you will never find anything that actually fits you. Genius concept, I love it.
Hiker Boxes
Every hiker hostel also has a “hiker box.” A hiker box is a collection of things that previous hikers left behind that they no longer found useful or couldn’t carry, but someone else may need. I have really appreciated these! You can often find boxes of ziplock bags, rolls of toilet paper, pre-packaged snacks – things you want to have but can’t bring the whole bulk package! You can also find strange things, like giant bags of unidentifiable grains that have probably been there for years.
Resupply
Most hostels usually have some kind of resupply option for trail food. And if they don’t, they more than likely have a free shuttle to the nearest grocery store. Hostel resupplies often carry all the hiker favorites: dehydrated meals, beef jerky, trail mix, crackers, candy bars, granola bars, pop tarts, ramen, instant mashed potatoes, etc. Yes, those are all staples of my trail diet right now.
Meals
Many of the inn-style hostels advertise home-cooked meals with your stay. We have only done this once so far and were served a massive plate of spaghetti, rolls, salad, and a healthy serving of homemade cake! Breakfast was pancakes, eggs, and sausage made from the host’s farm! We did not go hungry. I didn’t get any photos of our meals, but here is the hiker dining room!
Slackpacking
Hostels usually offer a mixture of other services, like accepting packages or offering to ship packages out. One service that is often an option is “slackpacking.” Slackpacking is when you hike without your backpacking gear, essentially a day hike. You can either leave your pack at the hostel, have someone drive you out and hike back. Or you can hike to a pre-determined destination and the host will deliver your backpack to you. Have Alex and I done this, you ask? Hell yes we have! And it was absolutely glorious. After hiking for weeks with 30+ pound backpacks, hiking with a tiny backpack with just your water and lunch for the day feels like a vacation. The only thing holding me back from slackpacking the entire Appalachian Trail is that it’s expensive!! Ok, maybe not the only thing holding me back 🙂
We have had good experiences with hiker hostels and we have had bad ones. But overall, I find them to be such a cool part of the trail experience. They are meeting places for hikers, a great place to catch up with trail friends, and a good source of trail information!
Trail Update
As I type this, we are hanging out in our tent at mile 650.5 on a ridge that straddles Virginia and West Virginia. We have had some fabulous hiking weather, interesting trail scenery, and beautiful views. Here are some photos from recently!
Wandering Between Meals 
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