I ran across an interesting article about Elmer Hall who run the Sunnybank Hostel in Hot Springs, NC.
guru
Elmer's - Appalachian Trail
system
#3
Guru–thanks for sharing!! That was one of the best, most complete articles about Elmer I have read.
Elmer’s is one of my favorite Trail places and Elmer is definitely one of my favorite Trail friends. At first, he is hard to get close to but once you get to know him–He’s GREAT!
Sunrise
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#4
Thanks Guru, that was a great read. I came through Hot Springs on my 2003 section hike and stayed two nights at Elmer’s. Following is an excerpt from my journal where I give my impressions of the place sort of “on the fly” as I considered it that first evening - you might enjoy it. I got a couple of pictures too. Fond memory.
“Elmer’s has a 25+ year history of catering to hikers. They provide vegetarian meals for the guests. The Inn is located in a large old (like 1840’s) Victorian style house with many rooms, porches, dark woodwork, beautiful staircases and furnished with antiques, wood stoves, many books, musical instruments and a relaxed, unhurried, and slightly disheveled atmosphere. I met Elmer, Paul and Casey – two young men apparently serving on his “staff” here until they decide to complete (or begin) their hikes. The place has somewhat of a New Age, environmentalist, Mother Earth, organic farm, liberal, folksy, mountain simplicity, back-to-the-land, 60’s style hippie, classical music, Eastern mysticism, banjo playin’, charm. Everyone is very nice and there is a feeling of acceptance. They do in fact have a small farm in the mountains where they practice organic farming/gardening and the produce of that labor shows up in the dining room regularly.”
Thanks again. CBiscuit
CBiscuit
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#6
Elmer’s place will always hold a special place in my AT experiences. I spent most of my time upstairs reading the hundreds of books he has on the AT. Sleeping upstairs with the windows open and the soft, feather bed and pillows was heaven. The food was out of this world. I felt that I was transported back in time. Elmer also hold retreats there on some weekends. It is a great place to relax and to spend some quality solitary time. Someone should send this article to the Appalachian Trail Conference. Thanks, Elmer for all that you do.
Bilko
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#7
Excellent article! Thanks for passing it along. I really enjoyed my stay at Elmer’s in 04. That is where my trail friendships really started to blossom and staying at Elmer’s really did give me that feeling of a “secret society” of sorts. He made sure I was a hiker before he made it clear that I could stay. I loved his musical instruments and very sociable living rooms. One of the worst things was forgetting to sign up for dinner the first night. Being a vegetarian, I was utterly disappointed. But it was all made better the second night. Thanks Elmer for all that you contribute to the Trail!!!
Poky
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#8
A private club where only the “right” people can be admitted and people who don’t fit the mold are turned away. How open minded. Buddha cries.
BTW I ate at Somethyme frequently in my college days and he did run a heck of a good place (I never met him). As an official public accommodation (as opposed to Sunnybank which is private), he wasn’t allowed to refuse to serve me. Little did I know that I had benefited from civil rights laws.
Locomotive Breth
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#9
“Once you find a sense of place somewhere and dig in, and start sinking roots – which I certainly have done here – besides nurturing it and preserving it, you have to resist things that come in that endanger that and threaten it,” says Hall. "And I think that must happen wherever you live … because things will change. And unfortunately, in this country, things seem to tend to change for the worse. …
“The role of resistance, I think, can’t be your only role, or you become completely burned out. But you have to have a sense that one of your roles is as protector of what’s important.”
Hence you must resist the Floridians who threaten the chi of your home.
Loki
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#10
So he’s immediately devaluing someone he does not know based solely on a car license plate and you agree with him? What are you afraid of? Maybe you could teach those evil “Floridians” to look at things in a different way. Or maybe, if you weren’t so closed minded you could learn something from them. How enlightened. Buddha weeps.
Locomotive Breath