He has done so since 2007, mainly in honor of his late wife. He works with two other men, Butch and Bill, who help do the chores and cook the dinners and breakfasts. None of them have ever hiked the trail, but they admire people who do.
His house even has a couple of trees in the yard with white blazes on them to guide hikers to the door. At the deli in town they wear the T-shirt that advertises his house as "The Outhouse" for hikers, and they tell hikers how to get here. That's how I got here.
When I did get here, the place was filling up rapidly, and hikers kept arriving until we matched the record of 26 hikers for one night. It was almost a reunion of Palmerton.
Every night, he gives hikers a brief speech about the house rules, why he hosts and then plays two inspirational films: One about "Britain's Got Talent" winner Paul Potts and another about two men who did the trail to celebrate their 60th birthdays.
[After the hiking film, Leif e pumped his fist and shouted, "Yea! Let's go hike!"]
[Dick Ludwick, former mayor of Unionville, inspires hikers in his living room to finish the trail, July 3. "We want to be part of that victory," he said.]
The free laundry, internets and shower could not have come at a better time. My pack has been smelling frighteningly bad of late, and I've been looking more and more raggety.
We passed the evening watching "Rambo: First Blood."
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