[at-l] Campground Hours -- RSC

[rainbowsprings@dnet.net (Jensine)]

Sorry, Buddy does not make the chili.  Trust me.   LOL   I make it from
ground sirloin, fresh green peppers, etc.  Buddy does dish it up when I'm at
the register.  No in 17 yrs. we are not offended
by dirty hikers.  Fortunately they all look and smell alike.  In 2000, we
put eggshell mattresses
over  other mattresses, with washable covers.   Sorry if I seemed abrupt,
but when a snowstorm
hits, it has always been our fault, as we have changed the  hikers
intineraries. Yes, I do have to watc
over the store, no, it's not from my realm, but with 8-10 hikers on "TABS" I
try to make it easy
on the hiker and let them check out all at one time.  And yes, I do have to
watch., as it is only
the two of us,  we are not like Walmart etc. who have surveillance cameras
and security guards
through out the store, thank goodness.   We are sorry the power was out.
Thanks for staying with us, wish could have made your stay more pleasant.
This is not to sound gruff, it is sincere.  And yes,
Buddy and I do work well together.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marielle & Paul" <hikers99@yahoo.com>
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2001 4:31 PM
Subject: [at-l] Campground Hours -- RSC


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.

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.
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.
The mattresses come in many sizes, some too large for the bunks, and many
are full of holes.
>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.
**************
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.


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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