Squint Eye
Miss Janet Closing
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#1
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#2
thanks for the news about Miss janet’s closing. I hope her idea for a hiking center becomes reality. Rainbow
Rainbow
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#3
I couldn’t make the link work but I’m pasting a little about what she said in the Erwin “Record”.
Looking to the future, Hensley said she would like to reopen with a larger facility that would serve as more than just a hostel for hikers passing through town.
“The hiking scene is about to get a big bounce,” she said, noting that Hollywood, broadcast and cable television, the Internet and other popular media are increasing the exposure of the pastime and other forms of outdoor recreation.
To take advantage of this trend for both hikers and communities, Hensley plans to create the Erwin Hiking Center.
She said the new center’s mission would be “to provide a unique facility and program that will be a model for sustainable tourism as related to hiking, backpacking and camping activities as well as outdoor education."
:tongue
Lady Di
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#4
This is not a bad idea. Miss Janet’s hostel has an honored place in AT history, but change is in the air. Hiking is about to take a big bounce downward, into the amusement park zone, with A Walk in the Woods movie and other media exposure cheapening the AT. We all know Miss Janet’s would be subject to merciless paparazzi attacks after that movie. Who needs it?
Mr. Los Angeles
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#5
A Walk in the Woods is going to be a B-movie. It isn’t even listed at IMDB yet as being in production. Hopefully, this will all turn out better for the hiking community, which has been in decline for several years now.
nrkybill
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#7
A decline is a good thing, if you’re talking about an overused trail in an area where further development would only spoil things. Do you want those little trail towns to turn into cities and start looking like the L.A. basin or the Wash-Bos corridor?
Miss Janet is doing the smart thing by closing her hostel now. However, I’m not too hot about her talking to Nashville about ideas to draw in more tourism, or for a hiking educational center. Sounds like government and programs.
Mr. Los Angeles
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#9
So, you are implying that these things are always bad??
Unicoi County is nearly 50 percent federally held lands. This makes it difficult to bring in more tax revenue generating businesses. I think it makes us a great place to live with this huge playground in our back yard! So, why would it be bad to talk to “Nashville” to get a few ideas on how to protect this asset of federal lands and learn how to generate income through sustainable tourism?
and remember… not everyone that enjoys the outdoors is a hiker… some people enjoy learning about wildflowers, wildlife, conservation, local history, etc…
I hope you will get a chance to visit in a few monthsand see what you think then.
Miss Janet