Looking for a little input. I own a small outfitting shop and looking to expand. I am currently scouting locations anywhere along the trail. Everybody tell me what town, you think is most lacking an outfitter. Thanks Shop name to nameless for now.
SPLINTERCELL
That is a tricky question. Early on the trail, people have to buy a lot of stuff due to suddenly understanding why a 3 lb tent is $ 300 better than a 6 lb tent when you are the one schlepping it up and down the hills. Winton has a lot of this business, seeing as how the trail passes straight through his building.
Helen, GA could stand to have an outfitter, although, the one there closed up shop this year, must be a reason why it didn’t survive.
My suggestion would be to ignore the thru hiker phoenomenon when seeking a business location, and IF you locate a town suitable to support an outfitter, AND it is near enough to the trail to secure some thru hiker business, then you can count that brief influx of business as gravy, rather than counting on it as your meat and potatoes.
Just my 2 cents though
Tabasco
I’d have to agree with Tabasco. Unless you’re at Neels Gap you won’t make that much money of thru-hikers. Your real customer is the “tourist walker” who will spend $100 for a Patagonia shirt.
Tell it like it is
Hey, if you are really interested in helping out thru-hikers, Pearisburg, VA is in desperate need of an outfitter (the only one they have now is strictly for canoeing). The town sees a lot of thru-hiker traffic, and because of the hostels hikers often take zero days there, so maybe it’d be a good place to be able to buy some gear. Good luck!
Day Tripper
Some folks wait to get new stuff, and some need stuff replaced later on, so what about Erwin TN? The closest outfitter is in Johnson City. Miss Janet was nice enough to shuttle several of us there last April.
Red Hat
Retail rent is very expensive here, and there’s an Eastern Mountain Sports and an L.L. Bean in nearby West Lebanon, but I think it’s a great pity that there’s no longer an Outfitter in Hanover, NH.
B. Jack
It’s hard for me to believe that anyone can make a living relying exclusively on thru-hikers. The only possible exception might be Winton. But, even at Mountain Crossings, I wonder just how much of his revenue comes from thru-hikers. Sure, it’s busy in between mid March and mid April, but how about the rest of the year?
An outfitter in a place like Hanover would derive most of it’s business from the college, not thru-hikers.
As someone once said, thru-hikers are a critical minority among AT users.
Peaks
Waynesville Rd., Spring Valley, Ohio,(my address) is in great need of an outfitter, and if you don’t mind, i would like a job, one hell of a shuttle to and from the trail, but we’ll make it well worth it, no, but really, an outfitter along the trail would be an amazing place to call home, i have often thought if it would be possible to make a living, good luck
clong
clong
Clong, sell Spring Valley better. A hard surface bike trail that goes well over a hundred miles in both directions (and links to a hub in Xenia for 5 more trails) Half way in a section that has no other services. High use area for Roller bladers and hikers. Right on the underused/underpublicised Buckeye Trail (the only 1200+ mile loop trail I know of) 10 minutes from Bellbrook, only town I know of where people throw away dollar bills 'cause they don’t want to be bothered with them. And right on the Little Miami River, a state and national scenic river, so you got the canoeists too. Heck, maybe the old drygoods store is still for sale. Hey forget I said anything, I think I could do that for a living.
tim
I have heard that Mtn Crossings makes most of it’s money off the gift shop in the front.
Darth Pacman
tim, u know yur SW ohio, i’m from bellbrook, and i’m the kid u see running around to pick up all the dollar bills those yuppy preps throw away, and u make spring valley sound damn good
clong
Splintercell, all kidding aside I’ve hiked the AT a lot in the last 5 years and seen a lot of places come and go. Just look at the old guidebooks on the changes in available services. Not saying you can’t find a place on the AT, but… The guys in Damascus (and the city itself) survive because they are a hub for a lot of activites besides just hiking. Find a place like Spring Valley that is in the middle of nowhere, yet in the center of everything {like Damascus) and set up shop. Then get involved in all the activities and push them. Spring Valley is a short drive from Cinncinnati (and getting closer every day with urban sprawl) a short drive from Dayton, with Wright Patterson AFB, and all the tech support
companies it attracts, and a huge number of auto assembly plants. In short, an area with a lot of people who have a lot of free time and a lot of extra money. People like that pay well for their recreation. I think you’ll need more than a few smelly thru hikers to make it work. Just my thoughts anyway. And don’t forget to visit Spring Valley’s Potato Festival, it’s a humdinger of a good time. Tim
tim
i love it when people talk about possible future business plans on a open public forum…
marba