Percy Peaks Hostel

[davidnh]

The website mentions a planned Percy Peaks hostel to be built near rt 110. Is this still a dream or does it exist (summer 2009)?
If being planned, when might it be built?

David

[percy peaks]

David,

The only hostel that exists now is Mountain Bungalow at Mt. Prospect in Pittsburg. The Mt. Cabot Cabin, run by the forest service, is an existing hut that sleeps eight.

Other than those above, there are no hostels or huts run by the Cohos Trail Association.

However, once the Cohos Trail is complete, we will look into doing a feasibility study about the development of small huts stretched over the length of the CT in conjunction with existing private inns and B&Bs and state and private campgrounds in the region.

Creating a hut system would be a very tall order for a small association like ours, of course. Just trying to get a reasonable idea of visitor potential would take a lot of study. The hardest part would be raising funds. The easy part would be creating simple, rustic structures that would feature a main room, bunkrooms and a composting toilet or two per site. I've built five buildings in my day, including two houses, an A-frame, a very large maintenance shed, and a warming hut for young people at a camp. The warming hut I built, if doubled in size (length), could easily make a very nice hostel and sleep up to 18 people. It could be built in a single month by three people and cost, without labor cost figured in, about $7,500-$8,500.

The interior of such things would be spartan, featuring a counter with double sink and two counter-top gas burners for cooking food, benches and long narrow tables, and that's about it. Two bunkrooms would hold three double-deck or triple-deck bunks each. Water would be hauled or gravity feed only. The composting toilet would be outside, away from the building.

The hut would be built on piers, some eighteen of them. There would be no heavy full-structure foundation. That would keep cost low and be manageable even in remote locations.

But actually finding the dollars to do this would be prohibitive, I imagine. We'd have to pay skilled people to put the structure up, perhaps with volunteer labor, to boot. So, my best guess would be that a small hut, say 16 feet by 24 or 28 feet would cost $$13-16,000 when complete.

But one hut does not a hut system make. There would have to be four, five or even up to eight huts to make the whole thing feasible. So multiply the figures above by that and you see where the costs would go.

Then these structures would need caretakers, at least roving caretakers that oversaw two or even three buildings on an ongoing basis for at least 152 days a year.

And finally, there is the matter of land leases or even land purchases, and the legal work necessary to complete it all.

So, you see, this becomes a very large endeavor very fast, and for a small organization like TCTA, it would be quite a stretch.

percy peaks

[davidnh]

thanks Percy Peaks for your extensive information.

Given the costs, I'd personally prefer that the cohos trail association put its (limited) resources into improving the trail (marking and tread way) and erecting simple tent platforms or lean-to's rather than full hostels. I simply thought that a hostel might be in the works though apparently that was more of a dream than a plan.

I am very much looking forward to hiking the trail. Now if we can just keep the Dry River at relatively low levels!!!!

David