Mountain Crossings

The only building the Appalachian Trail goes through is a combination outfitter and hostel. WalasiYI at Mountain Crossings. They are some of the most important people you will meet on the trail. Along with running the outfitter and having a quaint hostel, they offer a service that is so very valuable. They will help you go through your pack and get rid of the things that you really do not need.

  Everyone will have their luxury items that they want to carry and most will have many items they thought they couldn’t live without. This is where the staff comes in to help. They will help you take everything in your pack and organize it, and reduce the weight of your pack to something that is reasonable for the trail. Winton Porter, the owner, has a great book that can tell the story better than I could “Just Passin Thru”.

  Here I lost about half of my budget. If you recall I only had about 900 dollars to start with. I needed a tent and a rain jacket (and should have gotten a better water carrying system). The prices they had for the things I needed were fantastic, compared to some of the prices I seen online for the same items. After the tent and coat and a nights stay in the hostel, and a few other essential snacks and things, I had spent almost 500 of the 9 I left with.

  I had a great time at the hostel. I was able to meet some of the trail legends as they were there to help Winton with the influx of hikers that were beginning to show up already. A local church had come to the hostel and prepared dinner for all the thru-hikers. It was fantastic to get some fresh veggies and real meat, you know the kind that doesn’t come in a vacuum sealed foil pouch. A couple hours to get cleaned up and inspect the new gear, followed by an evening of sitting outside having a few brews and hearing stories from the seasoned hikers that were around, were well worth every penny I spent.

  My pack was considered huge by today’s standards; however I felt much better after testing the weight on the scale and finding that it was only 42 pounds with 5 days food and a liter of water. The man behind me, called Hawkeye at the time, had a 70 pound pack. It made me feel good to know that I was not the heaviest of them all.

  I could not believe how good a hot shower could feel. After a week on the trail my senses had dulled and the grime had become commonplace. It wasn’t until I had the shower that I realized how dirty this whole hiking thing could be. Of course this is something you get used to as time goes by. Not saying you have to be grungy, as there are plenty of places to rinse off the dirt, but it is a different standard out there.

Living for something more than the almighty dollar.