[at-l] Campground Hours -- RSC

[hikers99@yahoo.com (Marielle & Paul)]

I was very interested in the current discussion about RSC.  We had read =
about it in Bryson's book and had planned to avoid stopping there during =
our 1999 thru hike. Wouldn' t you know that a snow storm would start =
early in the morning when we were getting ready to leave Rock Gap and we =
had to reluctantly decide to head for RSC. We decided before arriving to =
try to have a friendly attitude right from the beginning and we had no =
problem with Jesnine and Buddy, but we could see by their manner why =
others would have problems. Jesnine could sometimes be gruff which could =
turn some people off.=20

I found RSC to be a significant enough part of our trip to devote an =
entire chapter of our journal to our stay there. I just re-read that =
chapter and also tried to remember other details and I would like to =
offer the following, some is positive and some negative.

The owners tried to be friendly and helpful but they left a definite =
impression of mistrust of thru hikers.
Jesnine took my credit card impression and let me run up a tab while we =
were there, which was very convenient as we made many small purchases.
The chili was very good. Bryson did not like it and some of our bunk =
mates said it was canned, but It seemed to me that Buddy made it from =
scratch and kept it warm in a crockpot. It was also very inexpensive and =
there was lots of it. A serving consisted of a milk shake sized =
container. While we were there, TINMAN ate 4 and half of them (finished =
someone elses).
Some of our bunk mates were a little critical of them and others loved =
them.=20
The grocery prices were what would be expected from a small store. The =
prices for the camping equipment, and backpacking supplies was very =
reasonable.
I guess $12 was not too bad for the bunk house but we were 2 and it came =
to $24 in a region where we could get a motel room in town for $29.(but =
of course we couldn't get to town )
The only heat for the bunk house is a wood stove, which can only keep =
the place warm in cold weather if the power is on to make the fan work.=20
The mattresses come in many sizes, some too large for the bunks, and =
many are full of holes.=20
>From my bunk. I could see outside through spaces in the slats in the =
walls.
It is a long walk through the snow at night to the washroom  and =
showers.=20
**************
The following is an excerpt from our journal


At the store we ordered chili.  "Put it on my tab." I said. Jesnine was =
in charge of the money, but Buddy was the waiter.  He turned slowly =
around and got two extra large foam cups. He then slowly dipped a ladle =
into a slow cooker and slowly filled both cups. He slowly placed the =
cups on a little tray,  with a roll and slowly brought it to us.  It was =
really good chili: spicy with lots of meat, and there was lots of it. As =
we ate, we watched Buddy start making a new batch.  Many people we met =
later in our trip claimed that it was canned chili, however, it did not =
appear so to us. We checked out the store and found they had a good =
selection of hiker food and some hiker equipment at a fair price. =20


It is likely that many hikers prejudged Jesnine and Buddy because of =
Bryson's book and it is also likely that the two of them were leery of =
hikers since the book was published. However, Jesnine's gruff manner did =
not help her. Jesnine sat in her corner, surveying her realm, taking in =
everything and seeming to be very nosy. From her spot she could see all =
that was going on inside and out. It seemed that they could not relate =
to the hiker community and found them dirty (which was true).  Many said =
that they would say things about certain hikers after they left. We =
later found out that, that very morning, SUNDOG and BADGER had shown up =
and had an encounter with Jesnine and they had quickly left. Ma and I =
did not have any problems with them.


PA (MA and PA 99)

hike your own hike
http://www.hikers99.homestead.com


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