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Marta
03-17-2016, 10:01
"Trail magic" is used to mean two things.

The first describes the incredible occurrence of things when you need them most. Every hiker has this happen. My lighter broke...and in the next shelter I found a book of matches.

The second describes organized feeds and gifts to hikers. As far as I'm concerned there is no magic in this at all, any more than there is in Christmas gifts appearing under the tree because your parents put them there.

It grates on me to hear these organized events referred to as magic. What's a good replacement? Trail feeds? (I think I've heard that term used?) Trail largesse? Trail support?

Puddlefish
03-17-2016, 10:08
Trail Party

mattjv89
03-17-2016, 10:09
I use the term hiker feed to describe the latter and generally agree there is nothing magical about handing out food and soda. Good luck getting that change to stick though when most hikers call it magic and many folks running the feeds refer to their setup as "doing some trail magic."

Marta
03-17-2016, 10:09
Trail Party

Perfect! ......

lonehiker
03-17-2016, 10:14
It's been a long hot day. You are running a bit low on food and won't hit your resupply point until tomorrow. You come to a road crossing and some nice AT alumni are having a feed. TRAIL MAGIC!

Sarcasm the elf
03-17-2016, 10:37
I think "Hiker Feed" is the clearest and most accurate term for the latter.

Unless of course they book a magician, in which case it would certainly be trail matic.

rafe
03-17-2016, 10:41
Hiker feed probably the best term overall. But what of the unattended coolers and such? Is that still a "feed?"

Water Rat
03-17-2016, 10:42
Hiker feed probably the best term overall. But what of the unattended coolers and such? Is that still a "feed?"

That sounds like illegal dumping to me :rolleyes:

Sarcasm the elf
03-17-2016, 10:50
Hiker feed probably the best term overall. But what of the unattended coolers and such? Is that still a "feed?"

A person handing out food on the side of the trail is a hiker feed. I'm not a huge fan, but it doesn't bother me much either.

Unattended waterjugs left at a roadcrossing during a drought are awesome plain and simple.

Unattended food left on the side of the road is litter and most likely illegal. I wish I had taken photos of the attended cooler I passed a couple years back that had been clearly ransacked by an animal. It looked like someone had lit an M-80 and dropped it into the cooler.

Just my two cents

rafe
03-17-2016, 10:52
When Lagunatic would show up at occasional road crossings in '90, I didn't turn down the beer she offered. Magic or not. She had taken on the role of traveling trail angel. And I suspect she may not have been the first such.

Slo-go'en
03-17-2016, 10:55
I'm surprised trail magic hiker feeds haven't been commercialized yet. Park a couple of lunch trucks here and there at road crossings and you could make out pretty well.

rafe
03-17-2016, 11:04
Just as an aside, I have seen (and partaken) of unattended edibles, deep in the woods, which, while unsightly perhaps, were done in such a way that they were safe from animals and clearly not "litter." I could post photos, but too lazy right now.

Agree with Elf, the water jugs left at trailheads in PA in August of a drought year were more than welcome.

And yeah, I've seen and cleaned up a few abandoned styrofoam coolers and trashpiles, too.

Traveler
03-17-2016, 11:15
I'm surprised trail magic hiker feeds haven't been commercialized yet. Park a couple of lunch trucks here and there at road crossings and you could make out pretty well.

I think we will likely see this sooner than later as someone appends themselves to routinely placed hiker feeds, offering a small range of products and gear repair service for a few bucks. Eventually someone will have a "store on wheels" approach to this (perhaps even one of the commercial enterprises on or next to the trail currently).

The hiker feed operators on the roadsides may not be able to exert any pressure to shoo away people doing this, given they are likely serving food without proper permits and regulatory oversight themselves.

rafe
03-17-2016, 11:19
Trail magic or hiker feed?

- bear box in NJ (or was it NY?) near Pochuck shelter, I think
- sodas left in stream in VT
- Lagunatic and the Buckeye Bees at Unicoi Gap

Uncle Joe
03-17-2016, 11:20
I think we will likely see this sooner than later as someone appends themselves to routinely placed hiker feeds, offering a small range of products and gear repair service for a few bucks. Eventually someone will have a "store on wheels" approach to this (perhaps even one of the commercial enterprises on or next to the trail currently).

The hiker feed operators on the roadsides may not be able to exert any pressure to shoo away people doing this, given they are likely serving food without proper permits and regulatory oversight themselves.

True but giving food away doesn't require permits and oversight, thankfully. Freedom first. We may see a day when lunch trucks part and look to make some money but I think as long as there are volunteers doing so I'd rather see the latter.

Traveler
03-17-2016, 11:31
States have differing rules on how raw food is prepared and how the preparation oversight works when providing food to people unrelated to the event holders (meaning recipients are not part of the organization, group, or team sponsoring event). This is why sometimes we see stories of how some efforts to feed the homeless are shut down due to raw food preparation, when others who are not preparing food and handing out pre-packaged commercial food are not bothered.

But agreed with that not getting onto the radar of local health departments and probably won't until someone sells a hot dog, or sells merchandise in the same place without the proper business licensing.

rafe
03-17-2016, 11:33
Sorry, one more pair of pix, from the spot where I ended a long section and finally patched together the entirety of the AT. My "Katahdin moment." Heh.

Water Rat
03-17-2016, 11:37
But agreed with that not getting onto the radar of local health departments and probably won't until someone sells a hot dog, or sells merchandise in the same place without the proper business licensing.

Or some entitled thru-hiker eating something that gives them E. coli severe enough to land them in the hospital. That hiker would most likely blame it on the person trying to do a good deed for hikers, rather than say the source could have been any number of things consumed.

That is something that should also be considered if one is looking to provide for hikers. Most will be appreciative, but there are some who will bite the hand that feeds them.

dudeijuststarted
03-17-2016, 11:40
Trail magic or hiker feed?

Trail Magic. A different part of my brain fires off now when I see a bunch of sodas floating in icy water.

rafe
03-17-2016, 12:03
While we're at it, are Pat and Vicki (at the Doyle) proper trail angels? I say yes.

(Accidentally posted this on the "Save the Doyle" thread as well.)

Puddlefish
03-17-2016, 12:10
Or some entitled thru-hiker eating something that gives them E. coli severe enough to land them in the hospital. That hiker would most likely blame it on the person trying to do a good deed for hikers, rather than say the source could have been any number of things consumed.

That is something that should also be considered if one is looking to provide for hikers. Most will be appreciative, but there are some who will bite the hand that feeds them.

It's more socially acceptable to state "That bad restaurant gave me food poisoning" than to state "I'm nasty and don't wash my hands after defecating!"

Then there's the whole "looking to profit" group. Ugh.

dbright
03-17-2016, 12:46
When you are on the trail as I was this year and it is very cold out it with 6 inches of snow it was trail magic to come across the bus and get some warm soup and a warm vehicle to warm up in . I would not call it a feed.

Berserker
03-17-2016, 13:13
Yeah, it’s really just a semantics thing. The term “Trail magic” used to describe any one of a number of things that aren’t really magic is as annoying as the age old debate on what “thru hiker” really means. To me the organized handing out of food is a hiker feed. Often times these are just as cool to run across as trail magic, so it’s not to take away from it but rather just call it what it is. To me trail magic is something random happening at an opportune time. For example, the guy that offered me a ride in VT in the middle of a T-storm when I was feeling like doo doo.

Oh and by the way, a “thru hiker” hikes the entire trail in one trip without any significant breaks (i.e. more than a few days off here and there)…that’s my definition and I’m sticking to it :D

squeezebox
03-17-2016, 13:17
Once again I would like to mention the church group that did a 3 week feed. But in the process completely took over the nearby shelter and all the nearby campsites, Didn't hear about the privy. I imagine they trashed it. Leaving the hikers no place to camp for miles. Trail magic?? I think not. Just a bunch of very inconsiderate people greasing their egos.

Mags
03-17-2016, 13:23
Definitions are fluid and change.

I agree "Hiker Feeds" or similar may be more appropriate terminology (http://www.pmags.com/trail-magic-sodas-water-caches-and-trash-oh-my) and is different from Trail Magic, but the vast majority call any free drinks, food, organized shuttles as "Trail Magic" now...and not just on the AT.

Arguably the hiker feeds ARE Trail Magic now for the vast majority of hikers. A person offering a cold beer while walking by their camp is just plain good luck as opposed to Trail Magic (TM).

I can lament the Camino-ization of the longer trails. But, I have to ultimately accept the trails for what they are and not what I want them to be.

It just means the AT, the PCT **during prime seasons** and many other alphabet soup routes probably don't do well for me, and others, at this point. (Grand Enchantment Trail? Allegheny Trail in the fall? Idaho Centennial Trail? Different balls of wax..I'd love to do those routes)


Finally, some of my favorite forms of Trail Magic that I've posted before... :D

http://i0.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/22048-2/image-bw022.jpg?resize=479%2C372

http://i0.wp.com/farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7720956306_fa9a282b42.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/19658-1/acf.jpg?w=530

rocketsocks
03-17-2016, 13:45
An "Angle" is what someone else calls ya, not what ya call yourself, pretty simple really.

rocketsocks
03-17-2016, 13:49
Definitions are fluid and change.

I agree "Hiker Feeds" or similar may be more appropriate terminology (http://www.pmags.com/trail-magic-sodas-water-caches-and-trash-oh-my) and is different from Trail Magic, but the vast majority call any free drinks, food, organized shuttles as "Trail Magic" now...and not just on the AT.

Arguably the hiker feeds ARE Trail Magic now for the vast majority of hikers. A person offering a cold beer while walking by their camp is just plain good luck as opposed to Trail Magic (TM).

I can lament the Camino-ization of the longer trails. But, I have to ultimately accept the trails for what they are and not what I want them to be.

It just means the AT, the PCT **during prime seasons** and many other alphabet soup routes probably don't do well for me, and others, at this point. (Grand Enchantment Trail? Allegheny Trail in the fall? Idaho Centennial Trail? Different balls of wax..I'd love to do those routes)


Finally, some of my favorite forms of Trail Magic that I've posted before... :D

http://i0.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/22048-2/image-bw022.jpg?resize=479%2C372

http://i0.wp.com/farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7720956306_fa9a282b42.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/19658-1/acf.jpg?w=530 Georgeous! Ive used several of your photos over the years as screen savers, bless your heart, your an angle.

full conditions
03-17-2016, 14:01
Last April I was day hiking from Telico Gap down to NOC and was chatting with some aspiring thrus at the Rufus Morgan shelter when when of their buddies walked up from having gone down to NOC. He mentioned that someone had set up "trail magic" at the base camp cabins and was cooking burgers and dogs. One of the guys at the shelter asked if beer was part of the deal and was told no - he then replied that he wasnt walking a mile for a mere burger and dog. His friends agreed and continued to hang out at the shelter. When I mentioned that I was surprised at their reaction, they told me that they had passed no fewer than twenty major hiker feeds since starting their hikes and there just wasnt anything "magical" about them anymore.

rocketsocks
03-17-2016, 14:02
An "Angle" is what someone else calls ya, not what ya call yourself, pretty simple really.


Georgeous! Ive used several of your photos over the years as screen savers, bless your heart, your an angle.ugh...angel

rafe
03-17-2016, 14:07
Last April I was day hiking from Telico Gap down to NOC and was chatting with some aspiring thrus at the Rufus Morgan shelter when when of their buddies walked up from having gone down to NOC. He mentioned that someone had set up "trail magic" at the base camp cabins and was cooking burgers and dogs. One of the guys at the shelter asked if beer was part of the deal and was told no - he then replied that he wasnt walking a mile for a mere burger and dog. His friends agreed and continued to hang out at the shelter. When I mentioned that I was surprised at their reaction, they told me that they had passed no fewer than twenty major hiker feeds since starting their hikes and there just wasnt anything "magical" about them anymore.

The trail to Katahdin is lined with good intentions.

LittleRock
03-17-2016, 14:32
"Trail magic" is used to mean two things.

The first describes the incredible occurrence of things when you need them most. Every hiker has this happen. My lighter broke...and in the next shelter I found a book of matches.

The second describes organized feeds and gifts to hikers. As far as I'm concerned there is no magic in this at all, any more than there is in Christmas gifts appearing under the tree because your parents put them there.

It grates on me to hear these organized events referred to as magic. What's a good replacement? Trail feeds? (I think I've heard that term used?) Trail largesse? Trail support?

Still waiting to see the first type... unfortunately, every time I look up that magic escalator to the top of the mountain still isn't there.

Seen plenty of the second type... I agree, nothing magical about it.

Lone Wolf
03-17-2016, 16:48
When Lagunatic would show up at occasional road crossings in '90, I didn't turn down the beer she offered. Magic or not. She had taken on the role of traveling trail angel. And I suspect she may not have been the first such.

me and pirate will be handing out beer this weekend at gooch gap. we are trail devils

JaketheFake
03-17-2016, 16:55
Wo, wo, wo its magic....

JaketheFake
03-17-2016, 17:13
Thanks to this thread my AT attempt won't be complete until I see a dude pull a rabbit out of a hat or saw a lady in half at some crossroad in between Georgia and Maine. And he better be passing out beer.

Lone Wolf
03-17-2016, 17:16
Thanks to this thread my AT attempt won't be complete until I see a dude pull a rabbit out of a hat or saw a lady in half at some crossroad in between Georgia and Maine. And he better be passing out beer.

i'm working on my magic act. and i will have beer

JaketheFake
03-17-2016, 17:31
i'm working on my magic act. and i will have beer

Good! I start April 5th on the "slow as you go" plan so you have plenty of time to perfect your act. I am a magician myself and I have mastered the "disappearing beer trick". Since you are going to have beer I will show you some magic.

saltysack
03-17-2016, 20:47
Definitions are fluid and change.

I agree "Hiker Feeds" or similar may be more appropriate terminology (http://www.pmags.com/trail-magic-sodas-water-caches-and-trash-oh-my) and is different from Trail Magic, but the vast majority call any free drinks, food, organized shuttles as "Trail Magic" now...and not just on the AT.

Arguably the hiker feeds ARE Trail Magic now for the vast majority of hikers. A person offering a cold beer while walking by their camp is just plain good luck as opposed to Trail Magic (TM).

I can lament the Camino-ization of the longer trails. But, I have to ultimately accept the trails for what they are and not what I want them to be.

It just means the AT, the PCT **during prime seasons** and many other alphabet soup routes probably don't do well for me, and others, at this point. (Grand Enchantment Trail? Allegheny Trail in the fall? Idaho Centennial Trail? Different balls of wax..I'd love to do those routes)


Finally, some of my favorite forms of Trail Magic that I've posted before... :D

http://i0.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/22048-2/image-bw022.jpg?resize=479%2C372

http://i0.wp.com/farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7720956306_fa9a282b42.jpg?w=530&ssl=1

http://i2.wp.com/pmags.com/gallery2/d/19658-1/acf.jpg?w=530

That second pic looks awful familiar????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rocketsocks
03-17-2016, 21:00
Thanks to this thread my AT attempt won't be complete until I see a dude pull a rabbit out of a hat or saw a lady in half at some crossroad in between Georgia and Maine. And he better be passing out beer.


i'm working on my magic act. and i will have beer
I do a pretty mean "pull my finger" that seems to clear a room.

Mags
03-17-2016, 21:32
Georgeous! Ive used several of your photos over the years as screen savers, bless your heart, your an angle.

usually people ask me what my angle may be instead...


That second pic looks awful familiar????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've posted that photo a few times... It is from the Wind River Range.

BonBon
03-17-2016, 21:47
Since I missed a lot of trail magic or hiker feeds or whatever we want to call them-because Im slow and the food was usually gone by the time I got there- It was always pretty freakin magical to get to a road crossing where there was still a cookie-or a beer-or a hot dog left. I hated it when people would say-oh bummer! You just missed burgers! (or whatever) There were a couple of feeds that were incredible-complete with hiker resupply stuff too. I wish I felt more ashamed to say I LOVED THEM ALL!!!

rocketsocks
03-17-2016, 22:20
Wo, wo, wo its magic....never believe it's not so...

saltysack
03-17-2016, 23:02
usually people ask me what my angle may be instead...



I've posted that photo a few times... It is from the Wind River Range.

Aaahhh thought was on JMT....damn I love it out west!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TexasBob
03-18-2016, 10:15
Wo, wo, wo its magic....


never believe it's not so...

I didn't think you guys were old enough to remember that song :)

WingedMonkey
03-18-2016, 10:35
me and pirate will be handing out beer this weekend at gooch gap. we are trail devils

That's called "holding court".

:D

JaketheFake
03-18-2016, 10:53
I didn't think you guys were old enough to remember that song :)

I was very young, but that's one of those songs that kind of bounces around your mind for 40 years especially when a young mind is exposed to it for like 10 times a day. When was that 1975? 1976?

Puddlefish
03-18-2016, 11:22
I was very young, but that's one of those songs that kind of bounces around your mind for 40 years especially when a young mind is exposed to it for like 10 times a day. When was that 1975? 1976?

Came out in 74... which means it was 75 or 76 by the time it made it's way around the radio stations and got some play time. Brings back memories of pinball and pool at the local Boys Club, with 68 WRKO Boston on the radio.

TexasBob
03-18-2016, 20:46
I was very young, but that's one of those songs that kind of bounces around your mind for 40 years especially when a young mind is exposed to it for like 10 times a day. When was that 1975? 1976?

Without looking it up, can you remember any more of the song than the those two lines? I can't. Definitely an earworm though.

Furlough
03-19-2016, 08:07
never believe it's not so...

it's magic you know

jbbweeks
03-19-2016, 19:10
Soaking wet, freezing and just a few shakes from hypothermia when around the corner appears a dry shelter with a roaring fire. Two old codger trail volunteers cooking a pot of ham & beans with a quart of moonshine whiskey that are looking for someone to talk to! Now that's trail magic!!!


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