spittinpigeon
08-04-2007, 13:09
Trail magic isn't just sodas and candy bars. It's people giving you the shirt off of their back. When I try to explain to folks here at home, I just can't seem to find the words to express it.
Sometimes it's that person who happens to be driving by a trailhead at the exact moment you come out of the woods with a limp. Or the family up the mountain for the day when it hasn't rained for weeks and you're suffering dehydration.
Often or almost all times, I had no worries about a potential problem on the trail. I hitched from Swatara gap to Harrisburg in order to catch a bus to the Gathering. Then when I found out that there's no longer a bus to Waynesboro, I had another multiple 30 mile hitch from Charlottesville. It all works out.
I guess what I'm trying to convey here is, I've been un-employed for over a year, most of that being my hike. I've come close to expending all of my resources, but I always seem to have something to get me by. Life is magic, it's not just on the trail. Long before I ever stepped foot on the trail, I relinquished my belongings, and slept on the steps of churches. And in the day collected soda cans just to feed myself. I was asleep at a bus station after a girl broke my heart. I had no home, and no money. I looked just like any other bum out there, but a woman woke me up. "The bus will be here soon." "I'm not taking any bus." "Here's some money, why don't you get yourself something to eat."
During my first long distance hike of the AT, I found myself on a vacation from my vacation via central park NYC. A quick thunderstorm passed over, in which time many people gathered under a bridge. An elderly woman passed me a wonderful egg sandwich on gourmet bread, and said "good luck on your journey". How did she know? It's magic.:)
Sometimes it's that person who happens to be driving by a trailhead at the exact moment you come out of the woods with a limp. Or the family up the mountain for the day when it hasn't rained for weeks and you're suffering dehydration.
Often or almost all times, I had no worries about a potential problem on the trail. I hitched from Swatara gap to Harrisburg in order to catch a bus to the Gathering. Then when I found out that there's no longer a bus to Waynesboro, I had another multiple 30 mile hitch from Charlottesville. It all works out.
I guess what I'm trying to convey here is, I've been un-employed for over a year, most of that being my hike. I've come close to expending all of my resources, but I always seem to have something to get me by. Life is magic, it's not just on the trail. Long before I ever stepped foot on the trail, I relinquished my belongings, and slept on the steps of churches. And in the day collected soda cans just to feed myself. I was asleep at a bus station after a girl broke my heart. I had no home, and no money. I looked just like any other bum out there, but a woman woke me up. "The bus will be here soon." "I'm not taking any bus." "Here's some money, why don't you get yourself something to eat."
During my first long distance hike of the AT, I found myself on a vacation from my vacation via central park NYC. A quick thunderstorm passed over, in which time many people gathered under a bridge. An elderly woman passed me a wonderful egg sandwich on gourmet bread, and said "good luck on your journey". How did she know? It's magic.:)