SavageLlama
06-13-2005, 11:46
Good read on the trail angel volunteers in Waynesboro, VA..
Weary hikers find their 'trail angels' in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:City w:st=<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = " /><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place>
By Jonathan D. Jones
Associated Press
June 13, 2005
<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:p></O:p>
<ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">WAYNESBORO</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Va.</st1:State></ST1:place> (AP) - Dave Van Buskirk and Joe Knight got lucky.
<O:p></O:p>
The pair of Appalachian Trail through-hikers didn't have to wait but a minute to catch a ride off <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Afton</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType> down into <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro.</ST1:place></st1:City>
<O:p></O:p>
"It's one of the first times it's happened that we didn't have to stick our thumbs out," said Knight, 23, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">State College</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Pa.</st1:State></ST1:place>
A "Trail Angel" just happened to be dropping another pair of hikers off near a trail head when he spotted the young men. So they loaded their packs into Bill Gallagher's car and got a lift into town.
"They'll walk 2,200 miles, but don't want to walk six miles into town," Gallagher joked with the young men.
But that little lift can make all the difference, said Van Buskirk, 24, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Canton</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></ST1:place>.
"It's huge," Van Buskirk said. Shaving a 12-mile round trip off the walk into town saves time and energy. "If you need to go into town, you could do that additional 12 miles in a day and not have to stay the night."
Once the young men are loaded up, Gallagher promises to get them some food in town. <O:p></O:p>
"That's the most important thing," he says. <O:p></O:p>
Gallagher is one of about 20 volunteers who are a part of the Waynesboro Trail Angel Network. It's a loose organization of folks who just want to help the hikers out. <O:p></O:p>
And there are people who aren't part of the network that pick up hikers when they see them, Gallagher said. <O:p></O:p>
"<st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> is really a hiker-friendly town," Gallagher said. "In a lot of places, people who look like they do would get arrested. Folks around here know who they are. They're pretty easy to spot." <O:p></O:p>
Like some of the volunteers, Gallagher is a retiree. <O:p></O:p>
He moved to <ST1:place w:st="on">Afton</ST1:place> a little less than two years ago. He hikes the trail when he can, so helping out the through-hikers is just helping out fellow trail lovers. Plus there's an added benefit since he doesn't plan to do the through-hike himself. <O:p></O:p>
"I'm living vicariously through the hikers," Gallagher said. So he does what he can to help. Most days there is at least one trip from Afton to <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> and back. Some days there are more. Last week he spent $110 in gas, mostly on helping the hikers. And the stream of through-hikers tends to be in May and June. <O:p></O:p>
"If you haven't passed through here by the end of June, you're probably not going to make it to Katahdin," Gallagher said referring to the Appalachian Trail's northern terminus in <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Maine</ST1:place></st1:State>. <O:p></O:p>
For through-hikers, the little bits of kindness shown by volunteers makes the trip that much easier, Richard Ahlf said. The 51-year-old through-hiker from <st1:City w:st="on">Vero Beach</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State>, was in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> for a few days last week. <O:p></O:p>
Some trail angels hand out cookies or drinks along the hike. Others do like Gallagher, pick them up, take them into town, wait for them at the post office or trail shop, and give them a ride back, Ahlfsaid. <O:p></O:p>
"We call it 'trail magic,'" Ahlf said. "And the folks who are giving are 'trail angels.'" Ahlf said he's had complete strangers offer to let him stay the night in their homes, something he couldn't imagine anywhere else but along the <ST1:place w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</ST1:place>. <O:p></O:p>
The trail angels, and other folks who help the hikers out make stopping in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> a little better, several hikers said. <O:p></O:p>
"There's been super nice people around here," said Kris Hauman, 29, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Asheville</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.C.</st1:State></ST1:place> She and Jake Hundemann, 50, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Carteret</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.J.</st1:State></ST1:place> were staying in the YMCA-run campgrounds of <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Arch Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street> for a few nights last week.
"People have actually stopped along the side of the road and asked if we need a ride," Hundemann said. "That's nice."
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Weary hikers find their 'trail angels' in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:City w:st=<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = " /><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place>
By Jonathan D. Jones
Associated Press
June 13, 2005
<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:p></O:p>
<ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">WAYNESBORO</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Va.</st1:State></ST1:place> (AP) - Dave Van Buskirk and Joe Knight got lucky.
<O:p></O:p>
The pair of Appalachian Trail through-hikers didn't have to wait but a minute to catch a ride off <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Afton</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType> down into <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro.</ST1:place></st1:City>
<O:p></O:p>
"It's one of the first times it's happened that we didn't have to stick our thumbs out," said Knight, 23, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">State College</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Pa.</st1:State></ST1:place>
A "Trail Angel" just happened to be dropping another pair of hikers off near a trail head when he spotted the young men. So they loaded their packs into Bill Gallagher's car and got a lift into town.
"They'll walk 2,200 miles, but don't want to walk six miles into town," Gallagher joked with the young men.
But that little lift can make all the difference, said Van Buskirk, 24, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Canton</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></ST1:place>.
"It's huge," Van Buskirk said. Shaving a 12-mile round trip off the walk into town saves time and energy. "If you need to go into town, you could do that additional 12 miles in a day and not have to stay the night."
Once the young men are loaded up, Gallagher promises to get them some food in town. <O:p></O:p>
"That's the most important thing," he says. <O:p></O:p>
Gallagher is one of about 20 volunteers who are a part of the Waynesboro Trail Angel Network. It's a loose organization of folks who just want to help the hikers out. <O:p></O:p>
And there are people who aren't part of the network that pick up hikers when they see them, Gallagher said. <O:p></O:p>
"<st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> is really a hiker-friendly town," Gallagher said. "In a lot of places, people who look like they do would get arrested. Folks around here know who they are. They're pretty easy to spot." <O:p></O:p>
Like some of the volunteers, Gallagher is a retiree. <O:p></O:p>
He moved to <ST1:place w:st="on">Afton</ST1:place> a little less than two years ago. He hikes the trail when he can, so helping out the through-hikers is just helping out fellow trail lovers. Plus there's an added benefit since he doesn't plan to do the through-hike himself. <O:p></O:p>
"I'm living vicariously through the hikers," Gallagher said. So he does what he can to help. Most days there is at least one trip from Afton to <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> and back. Some days there are more. Last week he spent $110 in gas, mostly on helping the hikers. And the stream of through-hikers tends to be in May and June. <O:p></O:p>
"If you haven't passed through here by the end of June, you're probably not going to make it to Katahdin," Gallagher said referring to the Appalachian Trail's northern terminus in <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Maine</ST1:place></st1:State>. <O:p></O:p>
For through-hikers, the little bits of kindness shown by volunteers makes the trip that much easier, Richard Ahlf said. The 51-year-old through-hiker from <st1:City w:st="on">Vero Beach</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State>, was in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> for a few days last week. <O:p></O:p>
Some trail angels hand out cookies or drinks along the hike. Others do like Gallagher, pick them up, take them into town, wait for them at the post office or trail shop, and give them a ride back, Ahlfsaid. <O:p></O:p>
"We call it 'trail magic,'" Ahlf said. "And the folks who are giving are 'trail angels.'" Ahlf said he's had complete strangers offer to let him stay the night in their homes, something he couldn't imagine anywhere else but along the <ST1:place w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</ST1:place>. <O:p></O:p>
The trail angels, and other folks who help the hikers out make stopping in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Waynesboro</ST1:place></st1:City> a little better, several hikers said. <O:p></O:p>
"There's been super nice people around here," said Kris Hauman, 29, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Asheville</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.C.</st1:State></ST1:place> She and Jake Hundemann, 50, of <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Carteret</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.J.</st1:State></ST1:place> were staying in the YMCA-run campgrounds of <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Arch Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street> for a few nights last week.
"People have actually stopped along the side of the road and asked if we need a ride," Hundemann said. "That's nice."
- - -