Hi all,
I am putting together a photo journal of Rainbow Springs Campground. The pictures are to be stored on a website for everyone to enjoy and remember this lost treasure.
If you have any pictures and would be willing to share them, either email them to me or you can post them yourself at: http://thru-hike.com/rsc
Thanks,
Papa John
Papa John
Just wanted to ask the crowd out there in cyberland: Did anybody have a good time at this place but the hosts weren’t the nicest.
When I stayed there in “92”, the hosts were helpful and accomodating in a way, but they had an attitude. Did this happen to anyone else?
different socks
I stayed there in 1995 and had a good time. A good group of hikers always helps.
I remember sittin’ round the woodstove with the host/owners sharing hiker stories and laughs and they even gave us a shuttle back to the trail the following morning.
That was my expperience
southpaw
I stayed here numerous times and always had a good time. The owners were always helpful and friendly. You have to remember that they ran that place by themselves. It may have been that you were in there on a bad day. Perhaps the hiker that went through the office ahead of you came in with an attitude and you got some of the wake from that. I spent a lot of time talking to both Buddy and Jenny about their lives there and I was shocked at how they were treated by a lot of “prima donna” thru-hikers who thought they were special and were to be treated as such.
Papa John
I spent two nights and a zero day at RSC on my 2002 section hike. There is a picture in my 02 journal and most of my thoughts are contained in a caption for that picture and one or two journal entries. Papa John you can have the one of me with Jensine and Buddy on the store front porch if you like.
I had some good talks with Jensine and Buddy (mostly with Jensine because Buddy tended to talk a little less and just listen). This was later in May and I was the only hiker there the first night and a good bit of my zero day. Along the way Jensine brought up two issues that I could have taken issue with – I just didn’t. First was a “complaint” that hikers went into Franklin instead of RSC, and the second was the attitude some hikers had that they were somehow “special”. I have always had a knack for being able to get along with people who come across as a little “crusty and cranky”, mostly because I don’t suck all the air out of the room in reaction, and come back with some matching remark. I remember the cowboy show “Rawhide” decades ago. The guy who drove the chuck wagon was the orneriest, most cantankerous, complainer in the west, but everybody loved his cooking and most thought of him as a friend.
I’m sure these two just wanted their establishment to be patronized as much as possible. I’m sure they also witnessed the best and worst of human nature over the years. They never claimed to be perfect themselves that day either, but at times anyone could just react to something. I prefer to assume the best and learn what I can. Everybody has an interesting story. I’m a history buff, and especially about the people of the Appalachians – see my Rufus Marlow encounter at Hampton TN in 2004. Jensine and Buddy were a part of that story to me – just the way they were that day.
When I recall all the forum traffic when Rainbow Springs was in danger of closing awhile back and many were concerned, I can see that maybe they were onto something when they wished for more business so RSC could remain open financially. As far as hiker’s attitudes, we all have our good and bad days, just like Jensine and Buddy. My wife says I’m almost perfect, but even I have a bad day sometimes (imagine that). See you up the trail.
CBiscuit