When I was living at Gray Knob in 1982, I sent word with the few southbound Appalachian Trail hikers to tell the north bounders to come by and I would feed them some good food. A few of them did come by for some Knob hospitality, but most didn't want to drop off the Gulfside, preferring to motor on past the crowds to the Mahoosuks and beyond.
I remember a guy called The Turtle, who showed up asking if it cost anything to stay. When I said yes he said he would go and crash down the hill aways. He looked like a thru hiker, probably smelled like one too. I was cooking a ham that night and told him I would pick up his fee for the night and invited him in for a big dinner. He seemed most interested in the fat that I had discarded, saying almost on cue "want your fat?"
That was many years ago and I don't know if the turtle even finished his trek.
This is the time that many northbounders begin their AT hikes, stepping onto the trail at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Here's a site where many of these 2008 hikers are posting trail diaries.
