No affiliation here except that I used their services during one of my section hikes.
Mother Marian's Hostel opened in 2012. Retired Registered Nurse Marian was out shopping on a cold and rainy day and came across a bunch of miserable-looking hikers at a nearby convenience store. With her nursing background, she couldn't ignore them without making sure they were OK. She asked them if they could use a warm and dry place to spend the night and they readily accepted her offer. A hostel was born.
Marian and her husband Fred live in their retirement house in the Wolf Laurel community below Big Bald. They have to fly under the radar of the HOA but there aren't many winter / early spring residents in Wolf Laurel when the majority of thru hikers pass through Sams Gap.
Per the 2017 Thru Hiker's Companion, contact information is as follows:
Landline - 828-680-9944
Fred's Cell - 828-231-2736
Fred can do pickups from Sams Gap, Street Gap, or Big Bald. It's not your traditional hostel, it's the downstairs level of their retirement home.
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-hNdxdd8/0/c24016a1/M/RIMG0674-M.jpg]
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-kH7GK2C/0/cefaf93d/M/RIMG0673-M.jpg]
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-DxdqS8V/0/7dea632e/M/RIMG0675-M.jpg]
Great folks!
Mother Marian's Hostel opened in 2012. Retired Registered Nurse Marian was out shopping on a cold and rainy day and came across a bunch of miserable-looking hikers at a nearby convenience store. With her nursing background, she couldn't ignore them without making sure they were OK. She asked them if they could use a warm and dry place to spend the night and they readily accepted her offer. A hostel was born.
Marian and her husband Fred live in their retirement house in the Wolf Laurel community below Big Bald. They have to fly under the radar of the HOA but there aren't many winter / early spring residents in Wolf Laurel when the majority of thru hikers pass through Sams Gap.
Per the 2017 Thru Hiker's Companion, contact information is as follows:
Landline - 828-680-9944
Fred's Cell - 828-231-2736
Fred can do pickups from Sams Gap, Street Gap, or Big Bald. It's not your traditional hostel, it's the downstairs level of their retirement home.
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-hNdxdd8/0/c24016a1/M/RIMG0674-M.jpg]
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-kH7GK2C/0/cefaf93d/M/RIMG0673-M.jpg]
[IMG:https://photos.smugmug.com/Hiking/AT-Section-Hike-33/i-DxdqS8V/0/7dea632e/M/RIMG0675-M.jpg]
Great folks!
Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard