View Full Version : Best Trail Magic of 2010?
Thank u so much for all the trail magic. What was the best trail magic of 2010?
having all three of my kids, and all 7 of my grandkids hike with me this year... that was magic! and unexpected...
Blissful
10-22-2010, 20:07
Mine was my hubby showing up at my tent at the mt Collins shelter this AM at 6:15 with Dunkin Donuts for my breakfast.
trailangelbronco
10-22-2010, 23:46
Mine was toilet paper in a ziplock bag hanging on a low branch, when I really really needed it!
Mine was toilet paper in a ziplock bag hanging on a low branch, when I really really needed it!
Not magic. Its littering.
trailangelbronco
10-23-2010, 00:45
I wasn't complaining
Trailweaver
10-23-2010, 01:54
Perhaps someone forgot it and left it by accident. . . not littering at all.
tickspit
10-23-2010, 04:19
2 beers in a spring in Va.
JonnyWalker
10-23-2010, 05:24
A week long stay in my choice of 3 cabins at a section hikers place in tennesse. Along with a St. Patrick day party at his neighbors house and a bunch of homecooked meals by his kind and loving whife. Oh did I mention this was the 2nd week of march, it was 40 something degrees and raining almost the whole week and it involved a woodstove and a hot tub?
Country Roads
10-23-2010, 19:27
Having the pleasure of meeting a 70ish trail maintainer from PA at the Lewis Mtn Campground. He had had multiple joint replacements and did not get around too well, but it was very cool to see how excited he was to be able to still get out and give back to the trail he loved. That was the best magic yet.
DBRIGGS9
10-23-2010, 20:37
I ran into some incredibly nice people/trail magicians in April in North Carolina. I was rather spoiled actually, especially considering I was only on the trail for five days. I wish I could remember the names of the people I ran into, perhaps they'll read this post; can't thank them enough.
All of these pictures were from the trail magic I stumbled upon in April. The PBR's were still ice cold when we got to them, but we left them for the next hikers since we weren't really thru hiking. The people who actually drank the beers caught up to us that night and were thrilled to have had them.
Two part story, involving Mt. Everett on consecutive weekends.
7/31/2010 - A friend and I ascended Everett from the valley floor via Race Brook Trail and AT. Still my hardest hike to date. Damned hard for a guy carrying 300 lbs plus 20 in his pack and clad in 5 lb of boots and clothes. On the way up, heard from several descending the beast southward as I labored northward that there was trail magic at Guilder Pond picnic area - a local guy had set up there and was giving out lots of food and drink for free. So after making it to the top and taking in the views, Chris and I headed north and downward. I grabbed a couple plastic bottles of water and downed them and stowed them, offered the trail angel - a section hiker from Bethany, CT - money to reimburse him (he flatly and politely refused).
Washed the bottles out over the next week. And froze them and several others to make for slowly melting ice water. (Very nice treat in the summer.) Brought them to the next hike -
8/7: Another friend was eager to do Everett, so we parked one car at CT-MA state line, another at Guilder Pond Picnic area. After summiting Everett, we make the descent southward and run into a young aussie thru half way down or so. Offer him water. He says he's good, but his g/f will probably want some - she's a couple hundred yards or so behind him. Run into her - nice gal from Tennessee. She's struggling at the start of the mean ascent. I tell her her friend said she might want some water. She enthusiactically agrees and says the ice water she pours into her bladder - from one of the bottles from Guilder Pond trail angel the previous weekend and from another - were just what the doctor ordered. She rather exulted in its ice coldness.
I was able to refill at Bear Rock Stream later on, and thanks to it, I had plenty of water myself. Nice to be able to pay it forward.
flemdawg1
11-01-2010, 14:16
4 cold Coors Lights at the Stan Murray shelter 2 weeks ago. The spring was dry so it was very handy to get.
mweinstone
11-16-2010, 17:15
bacon exsplosions. u know where and when trail angel mary perry of marryville in perry county.
chocolate cake and all manner of bacon penut butter chololate cookie.u know who you are.pat jesters mom my love.
a free 23 at the doyal for a week. we all know who, vicky and pat . so good to mat.
bacon from annonomus donnors.
tuckers hugs and malas coffie.traildays is my tucktime and malas my wizzard
lwolfs friendship. found it at dots .thaught i lost it.
dots.thanks adot! pams the mamm.
serials vibb. cant go on without it.
and finaly id like to thank my drivers,jester tank dude tricks mary lil one panzer and cammo.
The really nice couple in Minnesota who seeing us finish our section on the SHT wet cold and nasty after five days said...
"Can we take you to your car?" (we were just going to hike up the hiway in the cold rain at dark)
"Have some coffee"
Trail angels all. Everywhere. Thank you!
mweinstone
11-16-2010, 23:50
sever magic of the type only the millitary exsperoments with.
one time long ago on one of my earlyier hikes accross pa, i encountered magic of a severity so enormous my bladder and my bowel allmost freeked.
my hiking partner was jimmie springer. thats his real name! HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND IN THE CITY.
we went to deleware water gap as usual and hiked south. about around eckvill we arrived on a sunday eve at dusk on 4th of july. it was a sunday, stores were closed and we new it. i said to jimmie, watch me yogi food from these picnicers.
we came out on the road to find a family finished their holiday feast watching the grands.
i said" excuse me can you tell me witch way the iga in hamburg is?"
i knew it was far , and closed. we had little food .
they answered"oh my , thats 11 miles and its closed"
to witch i answered in a fully trained yogiers voice," oh thats okay,we'll walk their tommorow"
to witch the grandmom and head cook responded," honey?,...honey are we done eating?"
grandpop responded,"uhuh, the kids are off chaseing a deer"
to witch she responded," then wrap up all this food we got two starving hikers here."
heres what we walked off with
a four day supply of turkey dinner with all the fixins in 4 large heave shopping bags.
days passed and we still had food from them. it was all manner of german potatoe salad and turkyhawk or whatever that bird was, and pickled eggs in booze that got you drunk. we never forgot that food. it was so much and they were so free with it. we walked for days with shopping bags in our hands. too much to put in our packs. i belive we gained pounds that july hike. thanks granny.
runfifty
11-17-2010, 22:57
My best trail magic happened 17 miles into a very hot day in lower Virginia. I entered a parking area and saw a hand lettered sign that said "Burger and massage". A professional masseuse had her table set up and gave me a 30 minute massage while her son cooked me burgers to go with the homemade cookies, fresh strawberries and soda. That was a good day!!
firestarter
11-18-2010, 00:16
being handed $12 to pick blueberries at the cookie lady's from 40 retired male day hikers. all the gallons of water by the side of the road in new york state. gatorade in the middle of a heat wave somewhere near harper's ferry. getting a ride into asheville et al. all the lovely mattresses, wash cloths (and the implied showers), and everything else that is involved in being invited into someone else's home. section hikers offering food. fire and company on what could have been a lonely night. i think i have a very liberal definition of trail magic, meeting the right person at the right time turn out to be a highlight of the trail, but i hope to pass on the magic.
Too bad more don't pass on the trail magic.
jhensley
11-21-2010, 13:51
My best trail magic happened 17 miles into a very hot day in lower Virginia. I entered a parking area and saw a hand lettered sign that said "Burger and massage". A professional masseuse had her table set up and gave me a 30 minute massage while her son cooked me burgers to go with the homemade cookies, fresh strawberries and soda. That was a good day!!
Wow! This is amazing!
Lillianp
11-27-2010, 22:38
Best trail magic (Although technically it could be yogi-ing) I had this year was coming down into Newfound gap via the summit road on Clingman's-the trail was impassable, you could see footsteps down it but they all turned around after a few feet. Had inexplicably injured my knee (as in, it hurt really badly and I hadn't done anything to it) so it was sore hiking down-the pavement helped better than the uneven postholing we had been doing. When I got down, there were two cars in the parking lot-Silver & Compass had convinced them to give us all a ride into gatlinberg! We waited for the two girls behind me and they drove us all the way in and then around town as we tried to work out where to stay for the night (we hadn't been planning on going at all until the weather got so bad we had to). Still incredibly grateful to that family for putting up with a bunch of exhausted smelly hikers.
wvgrinder
11-28-2010, 13:24
Having the pleasure of meeting a 70ish trail maintainer from PA at the Lewis Mtn Campground. He had had multiple joint replacements and did not get around too well, but it was very cool to see how excited he was to be able to still get out and give back to the trail he loved. That was the best magic yet.
I met him @ Lewis Mt. too-great guy. It was on Sun. 9.26. Too bad we missed each other.
johnnybgood
11-28-2010, 13:36
Mine was toilet paper in a ziplock bag hanging on a low branch, when I really really needed it!
This years winner is... Ahem. Drum roll please ... :D
Being picked up by a fellow hiker's family several times on trail and taken either to hotels or back to their home where every meal was cooked for us!
Runners up:
- John Hasty in Virgina (just after The Gillotine) cooked a meal of pancakes, sausage and eggs for us at a shelter after a day that was very hot and we were very hungry. He even had orange juice...with ICE!!! AT A SHELTER!
- Can-do Will-do also had some pretty intense trail magic at the Roan mountain shelter. All kinds of food and little hiker prizes!
AUhiker90
12-03-2010, 00:15
Either on the side of a logging road in the hundred mile or i forget but the shelter after the cumberland valley in pa. where trail angels hiked up yueng, sausage,fruit, and ice cream.yea ice cream in the middle of the woods!
Thank u so much for all the trail magic. What was the best trail magic of 2010?
Having two fellow thru hikers bring me a pizza while sitting outside the general store in Monson. Thanks.
Not magic. Its littering.
You're a turd.
Too bad more don't pass on the trail magic.
Why???
What's wrong with being nice?