Helpful vs. Non-helpful Trail Magic

[wren again]

What kinds of trail magic were timely and helpful?
Are there kinds of "trail magic" that were not that helpful?

[w00dchuck]

All trail magic comes from the heart of the person or persons who provide it. How can anyone criticize anyone who goes out of their way to do something nice for a stranger. One is always free to simply pass it by and keep hiking. As for me every piece of magic I've ever encountered was like a gift dropping out of the sky.

[Drybones]

It's all good!

[RED-DOG]

It depends on how it's presented to the Hiker's, but in most part it's all good.

[HikerMom58]

If you were to ask this question say a year ago, I would have answered, It's all good, all the time. But, I been enlightened on this topic since I've been on WB. I agree that most trail magic comes from a good place. But some "trail angels" can also have ulterior motives that's not so good.

Offering trail magic at a certain place or time can put undo stress on the hiker and trail angel. Sometimes, it's hard to keep on a certain schedule while hiking.

If trail angels discriminate who they give trail magic 2, that ends up being hurtful not helpful.

I feel like anything can be considered "trail magic", sometimes in ways you least expect.

Like everything, related to human interactions, there's always good and bad things that can happen. I like to think about all the good things that happen. I believe that's the case most of the time.

[Fullstep]

I have never thru hiked..But i have walked from monson to the NY border..I have never receved any trail magic in any way and thats OK....What I do find is empty coolers..Beer cans..Water bottles..Sub wapers and so on..
IF your going to chew gum bring enough for every body.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Almost all trail magic is helpful and I was truly thankful for almost every one I experienced, to the point of being confused by the generosity people were displaying. But there was one exception:

In 2011, I was cruising through the Roller Coaster when I got to Snickers Gap. I hadn't been planning on stopping, but I saw trail magic and thought it couldn't hurt. However, a single bite-size Snickers bar, self-appreciatively offered by someone who should probably have known better, was not my idea of magic at the time. Doing that to a thru-hiker is like holding your fist out to a hungry dog, calling him over with "Treat, treat!" and then opening your empty hand and letting him sniff it disappointedly. Good joke, huh? I passed it up and kept walking.

[Malto]

On my PCT thru hike I had fresh snow coming into Sonora Pass inthe Sierra. The road over the pass was closed all day and had recently reopened when I hit the road. But there was no traffic. It was uber cold, windy and my feet were in bad shape from snow packing into my trail runners and my toes bent from micro spikes. After 20 minutes a car appeared. I gave the most pathetic look possible, it was easy. The car pulled over, he gave me a beer and took me down to Kennedy Meadows North. That was trail magic!

on the other extreme are the massive hiker feeds every few miles in GA in the spring. I find those mildly obnoxious because they are so frequent and in your face. If I never run across another one of those I won't shed a tear.

[Malto]

I forgot the picture
20369

[Rasty]

I forgot the picture
20369

What's up with the one regular looking toe?

[Deadeye]

IF your going to chew gum bring enough for every body.

If you want to chew gum, bring your own, don't expect anyone to share (same goes for food, fuel, dry clothes and money).

Trail Magic is a gift, which you may graciously accept or decline, and be sure to say thank you in either case. It's still magic even if you didn't get there in time to enjoy it. I've run into the empty coolers, and it's a bummer to miss out, but it's great when you get to the cooler first!

[Lone Wolf]

What kinds of trail magic were timely and helpful?
Are there kinds of "trail magic" that were not that helpful?

real trail magic is rare. the giver has no idea the trail exists. it's unplanned

[Lone Wolf]

real trail magic is rare. the giver has no idea the trail exists. it's unplanned

the rest are just planned feeds. nothin' magical there

[HikerMom58]

the rest are just planned feeds. nothin' magical there

I've personally never done a planned feed. If I ever do one, I would be in contact with a group of hikers that I knew would show up, plus include everyone or anyone that showed up with them. Planned feeds are a gift from the giver. Not really much different from inviting someone over to your house for a planned dinner... it's still a gift.

The word "trail magic" is just a word. Nothing is ever truly "magical".... what's magical about someone showing kindness to another human being?

Just like Capt. Nat shared in his story... right when he needed a ride, a trail angel was there, at the road. (magical?) The trail angel was purposely leaving some "trail magic" for hikers he would NEVER see or meet. The hikers that found & enjoyed what he left for them- was it "magical"?

There's no difference in the giving- planned or unplanned.

[waywardfool]

I'm with LW. "Real" trail magic is the things, however small that are unplanned and unrehearsed. Several that stand out: meeting some trout fishermen leaving their truck (somewhere in NC, I forget)....said "coolers in the back, take whatever you want"....after telling them about the AT, which they had never heard of. Or, hitchhiking 70 miles in PA because our shuttle skipped out....and never having to wait more than 5 minutes for a total of 4 rides. About as soon as one dropped me off, someone else drove up and asked where I was trying to get to (park ranger headed home, family out for Sunday drive, a couple of guys doing trail maint at road crossings). Then there was the thanksgiving day we were passing thru Damascus, and stayed at the Place (late 80's). 10 or so year old girl comes across the street from one of the houses back of there, family sent her to invite over to join them for thanksgiving dinner.

The mass feeds? Walk on by. It's just food.

[SCRUB HIKER]

the rest are just planned feeds. nothin' magical there


The mass feeds? Walk on by. It's just food.

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.

[waywardfool]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.

Ummmm....but I do actually get out on the trail, and I do actually walk right on by the mass feeds. And I am old. And I am a curmudgeon. As far as accepting the trail for what it has become....damn, I gotta go have a beer with LW.

[Canam]

how dare strangers plan to prepare food for people they don't know

[lkn4air]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.

+1 to that. One person says not enugh food one says to much. what a joke. be thankfull and partake or not

[Lone Wolf]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.
your funny :)

[Donde]

On my thru I started March first and only saw a few of the feeds. While I gleefully and gratefully chowed down, the magic for me was always in random stuff, guy who didn't know of the AT giving me a ride and a beer. A woman dayhiker turning around after crossing me and asking if I would like some fruit. There is certainly something to be said for that vs. the feeds. I am not against the feeds though I do think there are folks who could use it a whole hell of a lot more than a bunch of hikers on vacation. That being said I always bring soda and snickers when I come back for a section.

[jesse]

Nothing should ever be left unattended. No coolers, no drinks left in streams, no ziplock bags with candy.

[JAK]

My idea of trail magic is a little different. When travelling solo on less frequently travelled trails, trail magic is the occasional sign of some other human presence that is helpful or uplifting, like a heavy mug hung on a branch by a stream crossing, or a spot under a tree that is just right to pitch a tarp and someone has left some dry kindling in a little crevice, to be used and replace. Or even just a little hole or branch just in the right place for your watch or lamp that you know has been used before. Trail maintenance is trail magic, especially something like early in the season along a steep side hill where a fallen spruce has had a tunnel cut through its branches over or underneath it, and the cuttings spread out over the next swampy bit. Work done by human hands, on a human scale.


Luke tells us the story: Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, were entertaining Jesus and his disciples. Martha rushed about the kitchen and household, seeing to the cooking, bringing wash basins, changing towels, and doing the other things needful when one's home has been unexpectedly invaded by a celebrity and his entourage.

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
"And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet, and heard his word.
"But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
"And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou are careful and troubled about many things:
"But one thing is needful: Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:38-42)


The Sons of Martha
Rudyard Kipling 1907 The sons of Mary seldom bother, for they have inherited
that good part;
But the Sons of Martha favour their Mother of the
careful soul and the troubled heart.
And because she lost her temper once, and because she
was rude to the Lord her Guest,
Her Sons must wait upon Mary's Sons, world without
end, reprieve, or rest.
It is their care in all the ages to take the buffet and
cushion the shock.
It is their care that the gear engages; it is their care that
the switches lock.
It is their care that the wheels run truly; it is their care
to embark and entrain,
Tally, transport, and deliver duly the Sons of Mary by
land and main.

They say to mountains, "Be ye removed." They say to
the lesser floods, "Be dry."
Under their rods are the rocks reproved-they are not
afraid of that which is high.
Then do the hill-tops shake to the summit-then is the
bed of the deep laid bare,
That the Sons of Mary may overcome it, pleasantly
sleeping and unaware.
They finger death at their gloves' end where they piece
and repiece the living wires.
He rears against the gates they tend: they feed him hungry
behind their fires.
Early at dawn, ere men see clear, they stumble into
his terrible stall,
And hale him forth a haltered steer, and goad and turn
him till evenfall.
To these from birth is Belief forbidden; from these till
death is Relief afar.
They are concerned with matters hidden - under the
earthline their altars are-
The secret fountains to follow up, waters withdrawn to
restore to the mouth,
And gather the floods as in a cup, and pour them again
at a city's drouth.

They do not preach that their God will rouse them a
little before the nuts work loose.
They do not teach that His Pity allows them to drop
their job when they dam'-well choose.
As in the thronged and the lighted ways, so in the dark
and the desert they stand,
Wary and watchful all their days that their brethren's
day may be long in the land.

Raise ye the stone or cleave the wood to make a path
more fair or flat -
Lo, it is black already with blood some Son of Martha
spilled for that!
Not as a ladder from earth to Heaven, not as a witness
to any creed,
But simple service simply given to his own kind in their
common need.

And the Sons of Mary smile and are blessed - they
know the Angels are on their side.
They know in them is the Grace confessed, and for
them are the Mercies multiplied.
They sit at the Feet - they hear the Word - they see
how truly the Promise runs.
They have cast their burden upon the Lord, and - the
Lord He lays it on Martha's Sons!

[Hairbear]

never hiked the a t so you cant take what i say with a grain of salt. What can be said is,these people are not giving food they are showing genuine selfless love,it just takes the form of food because if they were in your shoes they think they would be hungry. Unfortunatly some feel weakened in the face of love,so they wont accept it in the spirit in which it was given.

[Bronk]

The only time I felt it was unhelpful was when people tried to push their religion on you. If that was a condition of me getting a ride or whatever else I took a pass...to me its not a very nice thing to do to force your beliefs on someone once you've got them as a captive audience in your car. Twice I politely told the driver to pull over and let me out and said "thanks for the offer, but I've changed my plans."

[Lone Wolf]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.
bless your heart. you're just a young pup in the hiking world who doesn't really know about true trail magic

[MDSection12]

I am not against the feeds though I do think there are folks who could use it a whole hell of a lot more than a bunch of hikers on vacation.

+1

I have no problem if that's what someone wants to do, but there are certainly better ways to use those resources. How many people die of starvation on the AT?

The one thing this site has convinced me of, more than anything else, is that if/when I finally get to make an attempt it will be SOBO. A lot of the things described on this site as 'traditions of the AT' are things that I would be doing the AT to get away from... Maybe I should be looking at another trail. :p

[Lone Wolf]

The one thing this site has convinced me of, more than anything else, is that if/when I finally get to make an attempt it will be SOBO. A lot of the things described on this site as 'traditions of the AT' are things that I would be doing the AT to get away from... Maybe I should be looking at another trail. :p
yes go SOBO. so much better than the typical march/april southern sheeple herd start

[MDSection12]

Oh noes! Differences of opinion on the internet! :eek:

[aficion]

+1

I have no problem if that's what someone wants to do, but there are certainly better ways to use those resources. How many people die of starvation on the AT?

The one thing this site has convinced me of, more than anything else, is that if/when I finally get to make an attempt it will be SOBO. A lot of the things described on this site as 'traditions of the AT' are things that I would be doing the AT to get away from... Maybe I should be looking at another trail. :p

Thinking NOBO from here early May, shuttle back and Sobo from here to Springer as fall arrives. Crowds aren't what I go to the woods for and my angels go with me wherever I go.

[hikerboy57]

in all seriousness, am i going to have a hard time avoiding "trail magic" down south. i have experienced trail magic several times as lone wolf describes, just happen to be in the right place at the right time kinda thing.people with little or no knowledge of the trail itself.and , yes, those moments were very special. although my hunger may change my attitude, im really not looking forward to tons of hiker feeds.
i dont want to be overwhelmed by angels, although i will welcome the occasional miracle.

[HikerMom58]

+1

I have no problem if that's what someone wants to do, but there are certainly better ways to use those resources. How many people die of starvation on the AT?

The one thing this site has convinced me of, more than anything else, is that if/when I finally get to make an attempt it will be SOBO. A lot of the things described on this site as 'traditions of the AT' are things that I would be doing the AT to get away from... Maybe I should be looking at another trail. :p

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the trail angels in Roanoke VA are getting away from setting up hiker feeds because of the attitudes of a few like this....

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/Eloquent/miscgreen/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Donde http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/Eloquent/buttonsgreen/viewpost-right.png (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1440014#post1440014)
I am not against the feeds though I do think there are folks who could use it a whole hell of a lot more than a bunch of hikers on vacation.

And this...
I have no problem if that's what someone wants to do, but there are certainly better ways to use those resources. How many people die of starvation on the AT?


I personally give to those truly in need.

I also like to do nice things for hikers because it's an activity that I personally have a passion for myself. Plus, I like people in general. I like meeting new people.

Some people need people more than they want them. That's sad.
I don't really want to give anything to those types. I would never discriminate on the trail. Having said that tho, sitting at home behind a computer reading the comments, of some, makes me wish I could....

[HikerMom58]

in all seriousness, am i going to have a hard time avoiding "trail magic" down south. I have experienced trail magic several times as lone wolf describes, just happen to be in the right place at the right time kinda thing.people with little or no knowledge of the trail itself.and , yes, those moments were very special. Although my hunger may change my attitude, im really not looking forward to tons of hiker feeds.
I dont want to be overwhelmed by angels, although i will welcome the occasional miracle.


wow!!!!...................................

[MDSection12]

I also like to do nice things for hikers because it's an activity that I personally have a passion for myself. Plus, I like people in general. I like meeting new people.

As I said, I'm not mad that people do it; I know they mean well. For some hikers it probably is a great blessing, and I can appreciate that... But for me I don't go backpacking to meet people, I go backpacking to get away from people. That doesn't mean I resent meeting friendly people, or that I don't enjoy some of my interactions, it just means that I specifically pick places to hike where I won't see many people.

I just cringe a little bit when I hear about people seeking me (obviously not me specifically but you know what I mean) out while I'm out there to 'do something nice' for me. I'm not 'in need' when I'm hiking, that's why I did the research and packed appropriately for my trip. If I were truly in need and someone helped me, purely out of random kindness, obviously I would be extremely grateful but that's not the case on the trail. It all just seems very contrived to me; I go out there and intentionally put myself in that position, only to have people show up to 'help me?' I guess I just don't get it.

[hikerboy57]

wow!!!!...................................
mom dont get me wrong, im looking forward to meeting a lot of people i know from whiteblaze and really looking forward to meeting you as well.but until last year, i always hiked alone.
this year i saw a window of opportunity and decided it was time to take a long walk.ive already experienced trail magic on this trip before ive even taken the first step, and i am humbled by it. im just not sure of the crowds and the traveling frat party. while i will appreciate magic on my trip, and this trip will certainly be more social than any other ive taken, i still prefer to walk alone.my concern sometimes is that angels like yourself are not appreciated by those who almost expect that "magic"
then its no longer magical.

[perrymk]

For me trail magic may be the opportunity to give when I am able.

My trail magic story, Christmas 2011.
So I was hiking my traditional Christmas hike, a 7.8 mile loop in the Apalachicola National Forest which includes a portion of the Florida Trail along with another side trail to make the loop. About 2 or 3 miles in I spot a camera along the trail, this being a section of the Florida Trail. A nice one too. Olympus, weatherproof, etc. I pick it up and continue on. I meet only one person along the trail and he hadn’t lost a camera. When I get to my car I turn it on a look at the photos, hoping to get a clue as to whose camera it is. The screen comes on in Russian. Hmmm. From the nature of some of the photos I suspect the owner might actually be Russian. Maybe I should point out I visited Russia a couple of months prior and noticed a couple of things about the way Russians like to take their personal photos.

I start to drive back home, near Tallahassee, thinking about putting a lost-and-found ad in the paper when I decide to drive to where I know another trailhead is. For those who don’t know the Florida Trail covers the entire state. Now I have no way of knowing which way the camera’s owner was hiking or how long the camera had been there. It could have been 2 or 3 days already. I could be heading the wrong way entirely, but I take this chance. It’s about 15 miles to drive, maybe 8 or so to hike. As I approach where the trail crosses the road I see two young men sitting on the side of the road. They look similar to the guys in some of the photos. I pull over and ask them if they lost a camera. They said yes. I ask them to describe it. By their accents I could tell they were Russian.

It seems they are from Siberia and now living and working as painters in Panama City, Florida, about 2 or 3 hours away by car. They would never have seen an ad in the Tallahassee paper. In fact, they had lost the camera the day prior, had looked for it and decided it was lost. I ended up giving them a ride into town to get supplies at a convenience store that was open Christmas Day and then drive them back to where I found them, not too far from their campsite.

The End

original, scroll to post 51:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?83909-Best-Trail-Magic/page3&highlight=trail+magic


"...It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35

"when you put something in a Buddhist monk's begging bowl, it is traditional to say thank you to the monk, for the opportunity to give" Buddhist proverb

[moldy]

Thru hikers appreciate trail magic. Most long distance section hikers appreciate trail magic. Day hikers and weekenders...well not so much. The appreciation comes from hunger and sometimes thurst. Burning 6,000 and eating 2,000 calories per day has a strange effect on people after a month or two. But getting back to the OP and the question. The only time I turn up my nose to trail magic is when it's bottled water in an area with abundent springs and small creeks during a wet period. When I see that I say, soda would have been better. Now, when water is scarce, wow, nothing is better than water in any form, it does not need to be bottled...in a bucket is fine. I think that the thing that puts the magic in trail magic is the suprise. You are 5 days into your 4 day food supply and are down to one bag of oatmeal that has to last you all day, you mind is focused on food and you come around the corner and find that giant box of Little Debbie's. or some nice lady cooking hotdogs in the middle of nowhere. Brings tears to your eyes. So if you want to produce that effect on hikers, look at the map and find a spot in the middle of nowhere that you can drive to that is 3 or more hiking days from a re-supply town.

[WingedMonkey]

Just like Capt. Nat shared in his story... right when he needed a ride, a trail angel was there, at the road. (magical?) The trail angel was purposely leaving some "trail magic" for hikers he would NEVER see or meet. The hikers that found & enjoyed what he left for them- was it "magical"?

Someone helping you quit your hike is not magic.

[Malto]

in all seriousness, am i going to have a hard time avoiding "trail magic" down south. i have experienced trail magic several times as lone wolf describes, just happen to be in the right place at the right time kinda thing.people with little or no knowledge of the trail itself.and , yes, those moments were very special. although my hunger may change my attitude, im really not looking forward to tons of hiker feeds.
i dont want to be overwhelmed by angels, although i will welcome the occasional miracle.

Last year there were at least four different feeds during peak season in just the first 50 miles in GA. I was doing a lot of trail running and ran into multiple feeds in a given day. It could be that they are more common on the weekend, if so then it would cut the frequency down significantly. I know there was a previous years hiker that had a mobile hiker feed. It sounded as if his intent was to follow the herd north. I ran into him in SNP as well.

From what I have seen there isn't enough of them to make you change plans. I suspect that many of the thru hiker love it. But then again, this in the area that starts weeding out the 80% that doesn't finish. I suspect many of this group has no problem with civilization invading their "wilderness experience". In fact, the more I hike on the AT the more I realize how much "civilization" is a part of the AT experience. I guess I'm in the grouchy group, my ideal hike would only have civilization invade my hike every 100-150 miles or so for resupply. I guess that is one of the reason I chose to thru hike the PCT instead of the AT. But it appears that many if not most prefer the civilized hiking experience. Not right or wrong, just personal preference.

[Cookerhiker]

I have nothing against hiker feeds - I've taken advantage of the few I've encountered while section hiking and I also organized one myself, setting up at the Gathland State Park in MD and feeding 17 thruhikers.

Well-organized and well-publicized feeds and events are not really "magical" when most hikers know about them in advance because they're either an annual event or the word spreads up and down the corridor: "Hey, did you hear there's gonna be trail magic tomorrow at XXX gap?" Again that's not to say that they're bad or "unhelpful." There's just very little "magic" involved, putting such events on the same plane as true magic which as others have stated, is usually spontaneous and serendipitous.

From the book I'm writing about my Colorado Trail thruhike, I've addressed the subject after we had enjoyed 2 instances of trail magic early in the hike within an hour of each other:



"....A young guy with a dog came by, struck up a conversation, and offered a ride back to the trailhead. Because he was basically living out of his car, we couldn’t fit in together with our packs so he made two trips. He was recently homeless and could use our proffered gas money so things worked out....

Dee ... offered to call Northern Harrier’s wife Charlene when she reached an area with cell phone service to assure her we were still alive and well, a gesture which greatly relieved him.

Here it was only our third day and twice in less than a one-hour period, we were recipients of Trail Magic provided by Trail Angels. What? When people do good things for hikers, especially when the acts are unexpected, unplanned, spontaneous, arising from circumstances, from being at the right place at the right time - the givers are Trail Angels and the act is Trail Magic. The homeless guy didn’t go out looking to do good deeds. He met us, we talked, and the offer of his act was generated. We all know this kind of serendipity occurs in life as well and is not limited to hikers on trails.

In recent years, the term “Trail Magic” has been misused in a reductionist way to be regarded as one-and-the-same with well-organized and publicized “hiker feeds” and with leaving coolers of food and drinks in the woods where, if not tended to every day, they inevitably cause litter. But the best Trail Magic I’ve received is real “magic” like the time I lost the tip of my hiking pole and a hiker behind me a half-hour later happened to see it sticking in the mud. Or back in 1980 when I lost a camera hiking in Vermont, convinced myself it was gone for good, and celebrated my good fortune when it was returned after posting a lost-and-found notice. So on this day, we had received the first of what turned out to be many instances of bona fide Trail Magic."

[IrishBASTARD]

HikerMomKD, you're certainly one of the good ones, thank you and your fellow angels, helping out any hikers for any reason, that shows class and utter kindness. Sadly people do complain about trail magic, I have in other feeds, having it given to you with a Religious tint, speaking of the Bible etc etc etc. Regardless unless im in need of conversation or just a pep talk, will always stop ask how their doing, even if I don't take something I thank them, because they could be at home in the warmth, instead outside helping a lonely hiker find a way, so thanks to you and all Angels, who do it for the greater good.

[HikerMom58]

As I said, I'm not mad that people do it; I know they mean well. For some hikers it probably is a great blessing, and I can appreciate that... But for me I don't go backpacking to meet people, I go backpacking to get away from people. That doesn't mean I resent meeting friendly people, or that I don't enjoy some of my interactions, it just means that I specifically pick places to hike where I won't see many people.

I just cringe a little bit when I hear about people seeking me (obviously not me specifically but you know what I mean) out while I'm out there to 'do something nice' for me. I'm not 'in need' when I'm hiking, that's why I did the research and packed appropriately for my trip. If I were truly in need and someone helped me, purely out of random kindness, obviously I would be extremely grateful but that's not the case on the trail. It all just seems very contrived to me; I go out there and intentionally put myself in that position, only to have people show up to 'help me?' I guess I just don't get it.


mom dont get me wrong, im looking forward to meeting a lot of people i know from whiteblaze and really looking forward to meeting you as well.but until last year, i always hiked alone.
this year i saw a window of opportunity and decided it was time to take a long walk.ive already experienced trail magic on this trip before ive even taken the first step, and i am humbled by it. im just not sure of the crowds and the traveling frat party. while i will appreciate magic on my trip, and this trip will certainly be more social than any other ive taken, i still prefer to walk alone.my concern sometimes is that angels like yourself are not appreciated by those who almost expect that "magic"
then its no longer magical.

I understand what you guys are saying. I really do. I'm beginning to see the "light". I wouldn't want to be used or try to help out people that don't really want or need "help". I know when I was on the trail myself, the thing I missed the most was having a vehicle. I felt very limited that way. The other stuff doesn't really matter.....

[HikerMom58]

someone helping you quit your hike is not magic.

*speechless*

[WingedMonkey]

*speechless*

Impossible.
:banana

[HikerMom58]

Impossible.
:banana

If someone doesn't do anything about this... I'm gone. You can give ME the boot, I don't care. This is unacceptable.

[Another Kevin]

Almost by definition, trail magic is what's helpful. Anything that's not helpful is hardly magical.

Big hiker feeds, to me, lack a certain something. I'm not really comfortable at a party hosted by a random stranger, and (clueless weekender that I am) I've never got to the point where hiker hunger would overcome that aversion. I've been invited to them, excused myself with, "thank you sir/ma'am, that's very kind of you, but I'm just out for a long weekend and I've got plenty," and walked on.

But I've also encountered real magic. Most recently, the cabbie in Great Barrington who shuttled me back to my truck on an icy dirt road when I got bronchitis on the trail and had to bail out of a winter trip. (I'd asked her for a ride as far as the pavement goes, and she said, "we can do this" and took me all the way to the trailhead.) Years ago, the guys, some of them not in my party, who took my pack and walked me out when I bunged up a knee in the Whites. One of them was a thru-hiker, running late to make it to Katahdin before the bad weather set in, and he still killed the some hours holding me up with my arm around his shoulders - southbound. (If any of you happen to see this, thanks again!)

Sometimes the real magic has been just a kind word from a stranger when I really needed it. Or sometimes it's been someone taking my help at a time I felt useless. Or noticing me doing something like trashing out a shelter and lending a hand. Or the smile on a ten-year-old's face when I said to him, "would you like to borrow my headlamp and explore that cave?" and to his mother, "It only goes in about a hundred feet, he can't get lost."

I guess what I'm saying is that you can't resolve, "today, I'm going to do trail magic," because the real magic can't be forced. The best you can do is every day, say, "today, I'm open to the possibility of magic."

Now, if you want to toss a party for hikers, or shuttle them into a town, or whatever, go for it. It might very well be magical for someone. But please don't be miffed if I thank you and hike on, because I'm just not up for a party or headed to that town. So many would-be trail angels think I'm ungrateful, when I simply don't need nor want what they're offering.

Sorry for the long post, but I get the impression that if I posted in a more laconic fashion, I'd be an old grouch like Lone Wolf. (I am an old grouch, but different from Lone Wolf.)

[Another Kevin]

Someone helping you quit your hike is not magic.

Balderdash!

See my post above. The guys who walked me off the mountain with a hurt knee, when I couldn't go more than a couple of steps without support, that was magical. Maybe the most magical of all the help I've ever had anyone give me on the trail. Even though I surely was ending that trip.

[MDSection12]

If someone doesn't do anything about this... I'm gone. You can give ME the boot, I don't care. This is unacceptable.

Oh come on... That's a super common joke response that you'd think nothing of if it came from a friend in any other setting. I think you're reading too much into it, personally. :rolleyes:

[Mags]

Trail Magic...the original, best kind. :)
Pick your own example....


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d_z.jpg

[MDSection12]

^Nailed it.

[Drybones]

Someone helping you quit your hike is not magic.

It is if you can't walk.

[coach lou]

Trail Magic...the original, best kind. :)
Pick your own example....


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d_z.jpg


Exactly what I was thinking when I first heard this term

[aficion]

Trail Magic...the original, best kind. :)
Pick your own example....


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d_z.jpg

True Dat!!!

[Mags]

If someone doesn't do anything about this... I'm gone. You can give ME the boot, I don't care. This is unacceptable.

Being rude on the internet is like a picnic and ants: It's gonna happen.

Now, you don;t have to like it..but you can ignore the user. Censoring people because they are sarcastic and rude? Well..that would eliminate half the people I grew up with..and me at times. ;)

[ChuckBrown]

in 2000 there was not as much planned feeds as there is now.I only remember one at Wayah Bald. There was one in NY that was popular for a few years. I and Bookworm (2000) did a two day thing at harriman in 2001, no alcohol allowed at that one. During my hike, in VT I arrived at the shelter up from the Bennington road crossing and everyone was talking about the feed they had down at the road, burgers, dogs beer etc. I was like, are you guys nuts, i just came from there I saw nothing. Turns out they were set up in parking lot to left of trail crossing, even tho I took a break at the bridge , i never saw the feed. SO If you do a feed, Do it were I can see you.

[aficion]

Someone helping you quit your hike is not magic.

Sure it is... if you are in the middle of nowhere, crippled and without other resources. Not just magic...FM.

[FarmerChef]

As a section hiker I'll chime in to say that my family and I have always appreciated trail magic in any form it was received, including hiker feeds. Though we pack all the food we can carry it is never enough and the chance to eat something fresh on the trail is too tempting to resist. We've also been the recipient several times of a cold soda or water in a dry section. Priceless...to us.

Here's my trail magic story:

Last summer we were hiking in New York on a 3 state section. The kids had really turned up the dial and we were cranking out successive 20-mile days and Mamma Bear and I were tired. This particular day we realized that we ran the risk of passing by High Point SP HQ too late to pick up our mail drop, otherwise we would have to hike back from the shelter and we never like having to hike trail twice. So we pushed to make it there just as they were closing up. Since they had a bathroom and a trash can reserved for long distance hikers, we took a moment to go inside and use the facilities. To our right was a closed door and in the darkness we could see the inside of the visitor's center with its displays. We wished we could have gotten there earlier to let the kids see them but the timing just hadn't worked out.

As we unpacked our box, one of the rangers came out and offered us all a soda, something they did for all long distance hikers. Then she asked if we would mind if they let the kids see the visitor's center. We said of course! Once we'd finished repacking our food we went inside to find everyone inside showing the kids around. It was now at least 30 minutes after close and they had all stayed to entertain them. We took a picture with everyone and posted it on our journal. That was magic.

Any trail magic is fine with me. If I'm not interested I'll say "no thanks" and move on. I've done it several times. The AT is a place to get away for us - I completely understand the desire to escape. Believe me. But what has surprised us is our deep love of meeting strangers on the trail and spending some time getting to know them. This has deepened our awareness of other viewpoints and helped us see the kindness in so many others.

[hikerboy57]

ihad a piece of trail magic several years ago in the whites, was dehydrated and dizzy at the base of mt garfield with no water when i ran into 2 guys doing the bonds with huge monster packs on had to be 50=60lbs apiece. when i asked if they had any water to spare, one of them pulls out a gallon jug of poland spring told me to help myself. without that water i dont think i would have made it to garfield campsite.
just happened to run into them when i needed them the most.

[10-K]

I was hiking between Davenport Gap and Hot Springs and there was a big tent setup, a grill with smoke pouring off it and a crowd of hikers around it. As I hiked by someone shouted, "Hey, don't you want something to eat?"

I said no thanks I wasn't hungry and kept on going. It wasn't that I had anything against them or thought they shouldn't be there - it just didn't interest me and I generally don't eat if I'm not hungry.

[Drybones]

HikerMomKD, you're certainly one of the good ones, thank you and your fellow angels, helping out any hikers for any reason, that shows class and utter kindness. Sadly people do complain about trail magic, I have in other feeds, having it given to you with a Religious tint, speaking of the Bible etc etc etc. Regardless unless im in need of conversation or just a pep talk, will always stop ask how their doing, even if I don't take something I thank them, because they could be at home in the warmth, instead outside helping a lonely hiker find a way, so thanks to you and all Angels, who do it for the greater good.

I always wondered why some hikers would rather miss out on a supper feast than hear a few words with that religious tint you mention, it's not like it'll cause any permanent physical or emtional damage. One of the best meals I've been served was in a home on the NC border, and I do mean served, you sit at a large dinning table and the couple takes your order and waits on you, one of the best meals I've had anywhere in the world, even if I hadn't been hiking. I told a lady about it as I was heading back onto the trail and she would not go because she had heard it had that religious tint. The gentleman only asked for 5 minutes to deliver his brief message, small price for a fantastic meal when you're starving.

[Gray Blazer]

you just don't understand. no need for name calling :)


He didn't call you a name. He said you're butt is grouchy and hurt.

[coach lou]

Last hot July I was walking with Texas pete and his mom, well, we were chasing him, in New Jersey. Late in the afternoon we came out to the road @ Mashipacong shelter and there was Snorz, and Octo, beers in hand. man that hit the spot. My first trail magic experience!:D

[HikerMom58]

Being rude on the internet is like a picnic and ants: It's gonna happen.

Now, you don;t have to like it..but you can ignore the user. Censoring people because they are sarcastic and rude? Well..that would eliminate half the people I grew up with..and me at times. ;)

Mags... I'm not buying it. I get banned from a thread for not answering the OP's question. Wasn't even warned. WM gets away with saying something so bizarre and NOTHING is done about it? He has the nerve to say that a trail angel was helping Capt. Nat quit his hike? You've got to be kidding me. He stays in my face. I have tried so hard to be nice to him. He won't give up. I don't want to put anyone on ignore. Sometimes following the "rules" of conduct ,on this site, doesn't cut it... this would be an example.

[Drybones]

I was hiking between Davenport Gap and Hot Springs and there was a big tent setup, a grill with smoke pouring off it and a crowd of hikers around it. As I hiked by someone shouted, "Hey, don't you want something to eat?"

I said no thanks I wasn't hungry and kept on going. It wasn't that I had anything against them or thought they shouldn't be there - it just didn't interest me and I generally don't eat if I'm not hungry.

Similar experience, was approaching Trey Gap and said the hiker with me, "Man I'd love a greasy cheeseburger and fries", within 60 seconds I hear a loud shout, "anybody want a cheeseburger", I was out of fuel and did stop, best burger I've ever had, don't believe I could have made it up the next mountain without it...great couple of guys serving...the meal was much, much appreciated.

[MDSection12]

I always wondered why some hikers would rather miss out on a supper feast than hear a few words with that religious tint you mention, it's not like it'll cause any permanent physical or emtional damage. One of the best meals I've been served was in a home on the NC border, and I do mean served, you sit at a large dinning table and the couple takes your order and waits on you, one of the best meals I've had anywhere in the world, even if I hadn't been hiking. I told a lady about it as I was heading back onto the trail and she would not go because she had heard it had that religious tint. The gentleman only asked for 5 minutes to deliver his brief message, small price for a fantastic meal when you're starving.

Because the implication is that they know something I don't or that I need to know. I deal with that every day in my normal life, I go to the trail to escape it.

Besides, that's not 'trail magic' that's someone with an agenda using your hunger to their advantage. How would you feel if they had done the same, and then tried to sell you something?

[FatHead64]

Mags... I'm not buying it. I get banned from a thread for not answering the OP's question. Wasn't even warned. WM gets away with saying something so bizarre and NOTHING is done about it? He has the nerve to say that a trail angel was helping Capt. Nat quit his hike? You've got to be kidding me. He stays in my face. I have tried so hard to be nice to him. He won't give up. I don't want to put anyone on ignore. Sometimes following the "rules" of conduct ,on this site, doesn't cut it... this would be an example.

You're right - just remember - trail magic, or whatever, given selflessly is a reflection of the giver, regardless if the recipient is in need, or not, whether well received, or not. Outward focus v. inward focus. Not everyone needs to like it or approve of it.

[Gray Blazer]

Similar experience, was approaching Trey Gap and said the hiker with me, "Man I'd love a greasy cheeseburger and fries", within 60 seconds I hear a loud shout, "anybody want a cheeseburger", I was out of fuel and did stop, best burger I've ever had, don't believe I could have made it up the next mountain without it...great couple of guys serving...the meal was much, much appreciated.

I think it was Steve Miller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQ3sn0hgtg

[Mags]

Mags... I'm not buying it. I get banned from a thread for not answering the OP's question. Wasn't even warned. WM gets away with saying something so bizarre and NOTHING is done about it? He has the nerve to say that a trail angel was helping Capt. Nat quit his hike? You've got to be kidding me. He stays in my face. I have tried so hard to be nice to him. He won't give up. I don't want to put anyone on ignore. Sometimes following the "rules" of conduct ,on this site, doesn't cut it... this would be an example.


It's just a message board. Easier to move along IMO. If you don't want to put Winged Monkey on ignore, then you must be willing to read his words. That's the breaks...

In the end, is it really that important? :)

IF you are still not buying it, feel free to talk to the sellers (Alligator or Troll).

[Drybones]

What's up with the one regular looking toe?

That's was Malto's problem, that one regular toe threw his nbalance off.

[IrishBASTARD]

I always wondered why some hikers would rather miss out on a supper feast than hear a few words with that religious tint you mention, it's not like it'll cause any permanent physical or emtional damage. One of the best meals I've been served was in a home on the NC border, and I do mean served, you sit at a large dinning table and the couple takes your order and waits on you, one of the best meals I've had anywhere in the world, even if I hadn't been hiking. I told a lady about it as I was heading back onto the trail and she would not go because she had heard it had that religious tint. The gentleman only asked for 5 minutes to deliver his brief message, small price for a fantastic meal when you're starving. IM AWARE of Hercules issue is, Christ wouldnt take your time, rather he would give food and an ear, for that he would be thanked, you cannot give a carrot, and take it back, thats at ISSUE, not how it was served, but that had other motives, pleading in the name of Christ, all the while he would eat with whores, bath the feet of lepers not because he felt he had to, but it was his calling, never condemning ppl who didnt agree with him.

[The Ace]

Being rude on the internet is like a picnic and ants: It's gonna happen.

Now, you don;t have to like it..but you can ignore the user. Censoring people because they are sarcastic and rude? Well..that would eliminate half the people I grew up with..and me at times. ;)

2. Offensive posting is not allowed. That includes use of illegal substances, racism, sexism, or posts that ridicule, belittle, taunt, mock, or assault the character of other members. Our policy does not protect people that choose to verbally assault other members that may disagree with them. In essence members can disagree but should remain respectful of the person they disagree with.

[Drybones]

That's was Malto's problem, that one regular toe threw his nbalance off.

For those who would criticize my spellin, I don't heat the office and type in gloves....balance...hummm, maybe it should have been spelled that way.

[Gray Blazer]

I feel sorry for the guys who want to give trail magic. There's nowhere left to do it. There's a trail feed at every gap in GA.

[aficion]

2. Offensive posting is not allowed. That includes use of illegal substances, racism, sexism, or posts that ridicule, belittle, taunt, mock, or assault the character of other members. Our policy does not protect people that choose to verbally assault other members that may disagree with them. In essence members can disagree but should remain respectful of the person they disagree with.

Thems the rules. For some anyway.

[Drybones]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency.

You will be out on the trail one day in the future, you'll be hungry like always, and you will come upon someone cooking hot dogs and serving fresh fruit and cold drinks. Your reaction will be, approximately, "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me all day." You'll chat with strangers you would have never met otherwise, and relax with your new trail friends for an hour or two. And then later you'll remember that there are grouches on the internet who actually frown on this sort of thing. You, like me right now, will wonder what in God's creation they were on about.

Agree with all said here, would make one modification: "This is awesome and it's the best thing that's happened to me In my life." You obviously was not as hungry as I.

[BirdBrain]

I have changed my signature in honor of the trail angels. I do not know if I will ever meet any. I hope to, not so I can get free stuff, but so I can thank them. It is part of why I am taking as light a saw as I can on my walk. I will remove a couple fallen obstructions from the trail. I hope to in a small way say thank you to those who do this as their mission.

And now a personal message to HM. Don't give the other guy that kind of power over you. If he meant it as a slam, you are feeding his fuel. You are not hurting him, he is hurting you. If he meant it as a joke, he needs help with his humor, not opposition. You have had my back. I hope you see this as having yours.

[HikerMom58]

I have changed my signature in honor of the trail angels. I do not know if I will ever meet any. I hope to, not so I can get free stuff, but so I can thank them. It is part of why I am taking as light a saw as I can on my walk. I will remove a couple fallen obstructions from the trail. I hope to in a small way say thank you to those who do this as their mission.

And now a personal message to HM. Don't give the other guy that kind of power over you. If he meant it as a slam, you are feeding his fuel. You are not hurting him, he is hurting you. If he meant it as a joke, he needs help with his humor, not opposition. You have had my back. I hope you see this as having yours.

Thanks BB.. It's just not fair. His truly hurtful remarks are tolerated.....why? How can a person joke about a trail angel assisting someone in quitting their hike, when that clearly was not the case at all?

[Drybones]

I have changed my signature in honor of the trail angels. I do not know if I will ever meet any. I hope to, not so I can get free stuff, but so I can thank them. It is part of why I am taking as light a saw as I can on my walk. I will remove a couple fallen obstructions from the trail. I hope to in a small way say thank you to those who do this as their mission.

And now a personal message to HM. Don't give the other guy that kind of power over you. If he meant it as a slam, you are feeding his fuel. You are not hurting him, he is hurting you. If he meant it as a joke, he needs help with his humor, not opposition. You have had my back. I hope you see this as having yours.

HM...good advice here. "It is to one's glory to overlook an offence"...easier said than done.

[Drybones]

Because the implication is that they know something I don't or that I need to know. I deal with that every day in my normal life, I go to the trail to escape it.

Besides, that's not 'trail magic' that's someone with an agenda using your hunger to their advantage. How would you feel if they had done the same, and then tried to sell you something?

I'd eat thier food and move on. It's like you're drinking poison to hurt someone else and it's only effecting you.

[Mags]

2. Offensive posting is not allowed. That includes use of illegal substances, racism, sexism, or posts that ridicule, belittle, taunt, mock, or assault the character of other members. Our policy does not protect people that choose to verbally assault other members that may disagree with them. In essence members can disagree but should remain respectful of the person they disagree with.

We have a different version of verbal assault. :)

Mind you, Winged Monkey and I have had our issues and often have verbals slings back and forth. But we don't feel the need to get the 'powers that be involved' and quote TOS as if it were holy writ. What we both agree with (I suspect) that it's just a online forum and does not mean much. He says things I ignore and visa-versa I'm sure.

What WM is doing is boorish, rude and possibly not nice..but verbal assault? Cripe..... You should see how my friends and I talk to each other. ;)

STill don't agree? Log a complaint with the little "!" mark thingy. THat's what it is there for. OR better yet..ignore the flying simian! :)

...and now, more trail magic:

http://pmags2.jzapin.com/gallery2/d/26594-2/image004.jpg

[Cookerhiker]

If someone doesn't do anything about this... I'm gone. You can give ME the boot, I don't care. This is unacceptable.


Mags... I'm not buying it. I get banned from a thread for not answering the OP's question. Wasn't even warned. WM gets away with saying something so bizarre and NOTHING is done about it? He has the nerve to say that a trail angel was helping Capt. Nat quit his hike? You've got to be kidding me. He stays in my face. I have tried so hard to be nice to him. He won't give up. I don't want to put anyone on ignore. Sometimes following the "rules" of conduct ,on this site, doesn't cut it... this would be an example.

Just consider the source and his agenda. At some point for certain posters, the best response is to ignore and render him irrelevant.


...
And now a personal message to HM. Don't give the other guy that kind of power over you. If he meant it as a slam, you are feeding his fuel. You are not hurting him, he is hurting you. If he meant it as a joke, he needs help with his humor, not opposition. You have had my back. I hope you see this as having yours.

Good advice.

[max patch]

The ATC (paraprasing here) says please don't do trail feeds - but you must, then do them off trail and don't publicize them. Why is this advice always ignored? (Thats a rhetorical question; I know why people choose to ignore the governing agency of the AT.)

If you want to do a trail feed in GA the best place to do so would be at Neels Gap in coordination with Mountain Crossings.

[Drybones]

The only time I felt it was unhelpful was when people tried to push their religion on you. If that was a condition of me getting a ride or whatever else I took a pass...to me its not a very nice thing to do to force your beliefs on someone once you've got them as a captive audience in your car. Twice I politely told the driver to pull over and let me out and said "thanks for the offer, but I've changed my plans."

This is the appropriate way to handle such if you dont like the message...hike on.

[MDSection12]

I'd eat thier food and move on. It's like you're drinking poison to hurt someone else and it's only effecting you.

... But I'm not drinking poison, I'm just not eating their food. I hadn't planned on their food anyway, so I won't miss it. I guess it's just hard-headedness but I'd rather not eat the food if it's only given with the intent of holding it over my head. Again, that's not trail magic that's taking advantage of hikers. For all they know I'm the Dalai Lama and I should be preaching to them.

Really hate to do this, but this is one of my little neurotic things; effect is a noun, as in 'that really had an effect,' and affect is a verb, as in 'it's only affecting you.' Just my little grammar nazi contribution for the day. Sorry. :p

[Drybones]

+1

I have no problem if that's what someone wants to do, but there are certainly better ways to use those resources. How many people die of starvation on the AT?

The one thing this site has convinced me of, more than anything else, is that if/when I finally get to make an attempt it will be SOBO. A lot of the things described on this site as 'traditions of the AT' are things that I would be doing the AT to get away from... Maybe I should be looking at another trail. :p

Just curious MDSEction12...what's the longest hike you've done and what trail magic did you experience?

[Drybones]

calm down sweetie. you're gettin' wadded up over nothin'. :) i'll buy you a beer when you come thru damascus. if you make it this far. we won't call it "magic"

I should be in Damascus 3/26, late afternoon or evening, you can buy me a beer and we'll call it whatever you want...some pizza would be nice also.

[Drybones]

my hunger may change my attitude, im really not looking forward to tons of hiker feeds.
i dont want to be overwhelmed by angels, although i will welcome the occasional miracle.

HB
...I'd be interested to see how your thougts may have changed after a month on the trail and you're hungry enough to eat the north end of a south bound mule.

[MDSection12]

Just curious MDSEction12...what's the longest hike you've done and what trail magic did you experience?

Five days in Dolly Sods, WV and the only thing I'd consider trail magic was the really cool hunting dog that followed me around for half a day. He was a sweetie, I named him Fred. :D

I basically just do weekend hikes, which certainly is part of the reason for my view of 'trail magic.' On my weekend hikes I've seen plenty of 'trail magic,' in the form of trash left behind when people just dropped off a box of food, drinks or water and didn't care enough to come back and clean it up. That is my only experience with 'trail magic' in the sense that you guys use the term. I've always used the term more similarly to Mags' definition.

[Lone Wolf]

I should be in Damascus 3/26, late afternoon or evening, you can buy me a beer and we'll call it whatever you want...some pizza would be nice also.
OK. i'll see ya at the Blue Blaze Cafe

[hikerboy57]

HB
...I'd be interested to see how your thougts may have changed after a month on the trail and you're hungry enough to eat the north end of a south bound mule.

I'm interested in finding out myself.

[Drybones]

... But I'm not drinking poison, I'm just not eating their food. I hadn't planned on their food anyway, so I won't miss it. I guess it's just hard-headedness but I'd rather not eat the food if it's only given with the intent of holding it over my head. Again, that's not trail magic that's taking advantage of hikers. For all they know I'm the Dalai Lama and I should be preaching to them.

Really hate to do this, but this is one of my little neurotic things; effect is a noun, as in 'that really had an effect,' and affect is a verb, as in 'it's only affecting you.' Just my little grammar nazi contribution for the day. Sorry. :p

Most of the trail angels dont hold a gun on you and make you eat thier food...like I said...just hike on...BTW, can I have your share, I'll pretend to listen while I eat.

[Colter]

Attention to anyone who hasn't hiked the trail before, lest you think that these are commonly held viewpoints. They are not. 99% of hikers will stop, eat, and be exceedingly thankful when free, fresh food is offered by strangers, especially if it's in large quantities. These two men are old curmudgeons who can't accept the trail for what it has become and prefer to hate on anything that isn't representative of their unrealistic values of self-sufficiency...

What Scrub Hiker said.

[BirdBrain]

Most of the trail angels dont hold a gun on you and make you eat thier food...like I said...just hike on...BTW, can I have your share, I'll pretend to listen while I eat.

I might even pretend to be an atheist that is struggling with thoughts of a possible afterlife. Maybe I would get a Thanksgiving dinner.

[Drybones]

I might even pretend to be an atheist that is struggling with thoughts of a possible afterlife. Maybe I would get a Thanksgiving dinner.

When you stomach starts knawing on you backbone...do whatever works.

[Lone Wolf]

What Scrub Hiker said.
you're both way wrong :cool:

[MDSection12]

you're both way wrong :cool:

'Wrong' is a relative term in these types of discussions. Sometimes I can't tell if you actually believe the crap you post or you just like to get a reaction... Either way you should find something better to do with your time. That's my opinion, and it may be 'wrong.' :)

[Slo-go'en]

If someone wants to give me food and that makes them feel good, I'm more then willing to eat it. Thank you very much.

[Lyle]

Spontaneous, one-up trail magic is usually helpful.

Planned, staged trail magic isn't magic, it's just an event. Usually not all that helpful really.

Way more real trail magic on other trails than there is on the AT. The AT is saturated with events and shuttles. Other trails offer more spontaneous acts of kindness, since the locals and passers-by are not inundated with hikers looking for freebies.

Trail magic, the term, was originally coined here on the AT, I believe. But Trail magic, the phenomenon, is universal. It applies to most any traveler, by all types of modes. It is simply, an act of kindness, given in a time of need, or just an act of kindness for pure pleasure, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Usually one on one.

Granted, hikers, bicyclist, and other unusual or novel travel mode folks get more of it than folks who travel by more conventional means.

What frequently takes place today on the AT, particularly the southern AT, is not part of that original phenomenon. Sorry to those who think it is. The "angels" surrounding the AT have actually corrupted the original definition.

At least that's how I view the situation.

[Drybones]

Either way you should find something better to do with your time. :)

Truth be told, we should all find something better to do with our time.

[Drybones]

Spontaneous, one-up trail magic is usually helpful.

Planned, staged trail magic isn't magic, it's just an event. Usually not all that helpful really.

Way more real trail magic on other trails than there is on the AT. The AT is saturated with events and shuttles. Other trails offer more spontaneous acts of kindness, since the locals and passers-by are not inundated with hikers looking for freebies.

Would a burger by any other name not taste as sweet?

[SCRUB HIKER]

Sometimes I can't tell if you actually believe the crap you post or you just like to get a reaction... Either way you should find something better to do with your time.

True story. Before I hiked in 2011, I spent a little time poking around the WhiteBlaze forum but I never contributed (except once (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?60307-2011-Thru-Hike-Registry&p=1106400&viewfull=1#post1106400)). I got on the trail and immediately found that it did not resemble the way WB represented it AT ALL, and thought back to how spectacularly full of s*** some of the people on here were. Lone Wolf was one of the names I could remember, because he has like 5 times as many posts as anyone else and contributes his valuable input to pretty much every thread. When I signed up after I hiked I thought I'd try to stay mostly positive but not be afraid to go after anyone who spouts minority viewpoints (like "Planned trail magic is bad") as if they were the consensus and never gets called out on it.

The fact is that people who are planning hikes actually read this stuff, and if they've never been out there, they have no idea what to expect and they can't tell what to believe or what's just someone's own personal joke. This is a massive generalization, but I think WhiteBlaze as a whole tends to decry the social aspects of the trail as an unfortunate byproduct of modernity. Anything that has to do with high concentrations of people--like shelters, or hiker feeds--gets hated on far more loudly on the WhiteBlaze forums than it does in real life. In real life, almost everyone appreciates a shelter when the weather's bad, or appreciates planned trail magic when they're hungry (which is all the time). But if all you did was read WhiteBlaze, you really would think shelters and hiker feeds are viewed by most as an absolute blight on the entire trail.

The social aspect of the trail was the best part for me, and I'm pretty far on the introverted end of the spectrum. I did not expect it to be that way at all. But how many threads do newbie hikers start saying, "How can I avoid the crowds?" A (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-90426.html). Freakin. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-39172.html) Ton. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-92570.html) They've been led to believe, by reading WhiteBlaze, that the crowds are a bad thing. If I, who am pretty darn crabby and loner-y for someone my age, could enjoy the thru-hiker herd experience, everyone else almost certainly will. The average guy you meet on trail is still five times more interesting than the average guy you meet at a business lunch.

So when I hear Lone Wolf bitching about trail magic, I don't care whether I think he's serious or just trolling. The most important readers of the thread--the people who are trying to learn about the trail--can't tell the difference. I have to say something, because it's horses***. I can remember hiker feeds that totally made my day, and the day of everyone around me, and presumably the providers' days too. Trail magic is one of the most benign and happy things I can possibly imagine. Don't be a d-bag about it.

[Lone Wolf]

bless your heart

[Sarcasm the elf]

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l244/jujujell/snoring.jpgThat is all

[Lone Wolf]

so much anger over walkin' and feeds

[waywardfool]

Looking at the ages of some of the posters here, it looks like part of the divide here is the "Entitlement Generation". I was raised to always give, not take. To take only when there is no other alternative. To earn/pay/support my own way. To separate need from want.

Looks like some here just see 'free food'. And not the social/self-worth aspect.

[Drybones]

True story. Before I hiked in 2011, I spent a little time poking around the WhiteBlaze forum but I never contributed (except once (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?60307-2011-Thru-Hike-Registry&p=1106400&viewfull=1#post1106400)). I got on the trail and immediately found that it did not resemble the way WB represented it AT ALL, and thought back to how spectacularly full of s*** some of the people on here were. Lone Wolf was one of the names I could remember, because he has like 5 times as many posts as anyone else and contributes his valuable input to pretty much every thread. When I signed up after I hiked I thought I'd try to stay mostly positive but not be afraid to go after anyone who spouts minority viewpoints (like "Planned trail magic is bad") as if they were the consensus and never gets called out on it.

The fact is that people who are planning hikes actually read this stuff, and if they've never been out there, they have no idea what to expect and they can't tell what to believe or what's just someone's own personal joke. This is a massive generalization, but I think WhiteBlaze as a whole tends to decry the social aspects of the trail as an unfortunate byproduct of modernity. Anything that has to do with high concentrations of people--like shelters, or hiker feeds--gets hated on far more loudly on the WhiteBlaze forums than it does in real life. In real life, almost everyone appreciates a shelter when the weather's bad, or appreciates planned trail magic when they're hungry (which is all the time). But if all you did was read WhiteBlaze, you really would think shelters and hiker feeds are viewed by most as an absolute blight on the entire trail.

The social aspect of the trail was the best part for me, and I'm pretty far on the introverted end of the spectrum. I did not expect it to be that way at all. But how many threads do newbie hikers start saying, "How can I avoid the crowds?" A (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-90426.html). Freakin. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-39172.html) Ton. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-92570.html) They've been led to believe, by reading WhiteBlaze, that the crowds are a bad thing. If I, who am pretty darn crabby and loner-y for someone my age, could enjoy the thru-hiker herd experience, everyone else almost certainly will. The average guy you meet on trail is still five times more interesting than the average guy you meet at a business lunch.

So when I hear Lone Wolf bitching about trail magic, I don't care whether I think he's serious or just trolling. The most important readers of the thread--the people who are trying to learn about the trail--can't tell the difference. I have to say something, because it's horses***. I can remember hiker feeds that totally made my day, and the day of everyone around me, and presumably the providers' days too. Trail magic is one of the most benign and happy things I can possibly imagine. Don't be a d-bag about it.

Can't find anything to disagree on...that's rare.

[coach lou]

bless your heart

I never heard Staff Sargent Isaacs utter that phrase.:-?

[Malto]

So when I hear Lone Wolf bitching about trail magic, I don't care whether I think he's serious or just trolling. The most important readers of the thread--the people who are trying to learn about the trail--can't tell the difference. I have to say something, because it's horses***. I can remember hiker feeds that totally made my day, and the day of everyone around me, and presumably the providers' days too. Trail magic is one of the most benign and happy things I can possibly imagine. Don't be a d-bag about it.

I'm not going to defend Lone Wolf or his approach, he is capable of doing that on his own. But reading through your post it is obvious that you do enjoy the hiker feeds, you also claim that most hiker do as well which is likely 100% accurate. But there have been a few of us that don't appreciate the invasion of civilization, even though it has the best intentions. And this view is no less valid than yours.

Heres the bottom line, the hiker feeds aren't going anywhere soon. Take advantage of them walk on by, it doesn't matter. You have to walk the trail that exists, not the vision of perfection that may be in your head regardless of whether we are talking weather, crowds hiker feeds, litter, graffiti etc. If the reality of the trail is unacceptable, hike it at a different time better suited to your reality or hike a different trail. There are trails out there at least the equal of the AT. Who would think that such a simple issue would get so contentious?

[aficion]

so much anger over walkin' and feeds

You should see how people respond when you post about walkin and not eatin much!

Bless your heart.

[Lyle]

Would a burger by any other name not taste as sweet?

No, not really.

I much more enjoy being invited into someones home to share a burger with their family on a Sunday afternoon than I enjoy a burger with 20 other hikers cooked on the back of a pick-up. Will I eat them both? Yeah, sure. Are they the same? Not really.

[Drybones]

You should see how people respond when you post about walkin and not eatin much!

Bless your heart.

Thanks for the laugh...bless your heart.

[Train Wreck]

Who would think that such a simple issue would get so contentious?

Because it's White BLaze, of course! :D

[hikerboy57]

to me there is a difference in what trail angels provide and what trail magic actually is. the angels simply provide assistance to all hikers in aid of their hike, while imo, trail magic is completely spontaneous and unplanned-otherwise where is the magic? its not magic when its expected.
i agree there is a generational divide about this, but then again, our music was better,too

[Drybones]

Just a note for all new would be hikers...none of us on this site are as big an a** in person as we are on here...IMO. Out of hundreds I've only met one person on the trail I'd just as soon not spend time with.

[MDSection12]

True story. Before I hiked in 2011, I spent a little time poking around the WhiteBlaze forum but I never contributed (except once (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?60307-2011-Thru-Hike-Registry&p=1106400&viewfull=1#post1106400)). I got on the trail and immediately found that it did not resemble the way WB represented it AT ALL, and thought back to how spectacularly full of s*** some of the people on here were. Lone Wolf was one of the names I could remember, because he has like 5 times as many posts as anyone else and contributes his valuable input to pretty much every thread. When I signed up after I hiked I thought I'd try to stay mostly positive but not be afraid to go after anyone who spouts minority viewpoints (like "Planned trail magic is bad") as if they were the consensus and never gets called out on it.

The fact is that people who are planning hikes actually read this stuff, and if they've never been out there, they have no idea what to expect and they can't tell what to believe or what's just someone's own personal joke. This is a massive generalization, but I think WhiteBlaze as a whole tends to decry the social aspects of the trail as an unfortunate byproduct of modernity. Anything that has to do with high concentrations of people--like shelters, or hiker feeds--gets hated on far more loudly on the WhiteBlaze forums than it does in real life. In real life, almost everyone appreciates a shelter when the weather's bad, or appreciates planned trail magic when they're hungry (which is all the time). But if all you did was read WhiteBlaze, you really would think shelters and hiker feeds are viewed by most as an absolute blight on the entire trail.

The social aspect of the trail was the best part for me, and I'm pretty far on the introverted end of the spectrum. I did not expect it to be that way at all. But how many threads do newbie hikers start saying, "How can I avoid the crowds?" A (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-90426.html). Freakin. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-39172.html) Ton. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-92570.html) They've been led to believe, by reading WhiteBlaze, that the crowds are a bad thing. If I, who am pretty darn crabby and loner-y for someone my age, could enjoy the thru-hiker herd experience, everyone else almost certainly will. The average guy you meet on trail is still five times more interesting than the average guy you meet at a business lunch.

So when I hear Lone Wolf bitching about trail magic, I don't care whether I think he's serious or just trolling. The most important readers of the thread--the people who are trying to learn about the trail--can't tell the difference. I have to say something, because it's horses***. I can remember hiker feeds that totally made my day, and the day of everyone around me, and presumably the providers' days too. Trail magic is one of the most benign and happy things I can possibly imagine. Don't be a d-bag about it.

You fail to recognize that your opinion is just as subjective as his. That's the way you feel about this topic, it's not the 'right' way to feel.

I for one am glad to have read about the crowding and all that goes with it in the Southern sections around this time of year, because I will know to avoid it now. To you it may have been a welcome part of the experience, but to some it will not be... The fact that you overlook that makes lonewolf a little closer to the truth than you are. At least he only speaks for himself, you seem to think you speak for the AT community as a whole. Get over yourself.

[Drybones]

[QUOTE=MDSection12;1440435]I for one am glad to have read about the crowding and all that goes with it in the Southern sections around this time of year, QUOTE]

[Drybones]

[QUOTE=MDSection12;1440435]I for one am glad to have read about the crowding and all that goes with it in the Southern sections around this time of year, QUOTE]

I started last year on 3/12, yeah there were people but nothing like you'd expect from what you read here. I'm pretty much a loner and there were not enough people to bother me, this site often makes it sound like you're in a city, most days while hiking I saw very few and often no people until I got to a shelter, and normally not that many at a shelter.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Looking at the ages of some of the posters here, it looks like part of the divide here is the "Entitlement Generation". I was raised to always give, not take. To take only when there is no other alternative. To earn/pay/support my own way. To separate need from want.

Looks like some here just see 'free food'. And not the social/self-worth aspect.

That's rich. Turns out it's a typo in my profile and I'm actually 55. What now? Or was I lying just then? Who knows? You and LW's only argument against me appears to be that my age thing says I'm 25--and then you use that to make all sorts of ad hom assumptions. That's not much to go on.


But there have been a few of us that don't appreciate the invasion of civilization, even though it has the best intentions. And this view is no less valid than yours.

Thanks, that's true. I can absolutely see why someone who's visited one special place when it wasn't crowded and then come back later to find that tourism/civilization/whatever has grown exponentially would be annoyed. It's happened to me before, just not with hiking. But that's not what Lone Wolf and this guy Waywardfool do. They actually believe that there is no value in the new incarnations of the trail. That's what's insufferable about them. Contrast it to Scott Williamson, who is The Man on the PCT and has been hiking it for 20 years and has watched it change immeasurably over that time:

"I could tell stories forever about 'how it used to be,' but the important thing is that it has become what it is now. I feel that I have still not seen and experienced all that the PCT offers. My journey continues."

What a refreshing attitude. It's completely absent among most of the AT's elder statesmen (at least the ones on this website).

[Marta]

Trail Magic...the original, best kind. :)
Pick your own example....


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7720991598_d027fe601d_z.jpg

Oh, yeah!!!!!!

[Cookerhiker]

Looking at the ages of some of the posters here, it looks like part of the divide here is the "Entitlement Generation". I was raised to always give, not take. To take only when there is no other alternative. To earn/pay/support my own way. To separate need from want.

Looks like some here just see 'free food'. And not the social/self-worth aspect.

You raise a good point by pointing out that in the context of hiking the AT, there are givers and takers, and that there is an "entitlement mentality." Many of us are both - anytime we hike (regardless whether "trail magic" happens or not), we are takers because someone else got the trail built for us. But many of us also give back in the form of trail maintenance, donations, etc.

Moreover, I wouldn't stereotype the generations vis-a-vis givers and takers. The biggest "taker" I can think of, a multi-time thruhiker, is close to my age.

[max patch]

thankfully, the attitudes and behavior expressed on WB is not what you are going to find on the AT for the most part., however,

At Trailplace, however, the posters offer comments and advice that is useful and given in a friendly, non judgemental, manner.

By all 6 members.

[WingedMonkey]

Mind you, Winged Monkey and I have had our issues and often have verbals slings back and forth. But we don't feel the need to get the 'powers that be involved' and quote TOS as if it were holy writ. What we both agree with (I suspect) that it's just a online forum and does not mean much. He says things I ignore and visa-versa I'm sure.

Impossible.
:banana

[Cookerhiker]

...What a refreshing attitude. It's completely absent among most of the AT's elder statesmen (at least the ones on this website).

You've raised a lot of good and sensible points. But this one's a bit over-the-top.

For my part as an "elder statesman," sure I've seen changes in the 35 years I've been backpacking the AT. Many are for the better. A few aren't. Isn't that the nature of all change? I don't look at the "good old days" with rose-colored glasses.

[SCRUB HIKER]

You've raised a lot of good and sensible points. But this one's a bit over-the-top.

For my part as an "elder statesman,' sure I've seen changes in the 35 years I've been backpacking the AT. Many are for the better. A few aren't. Isn't that the nature of all change? I don't look at the "good old days" with rose-colored glasses.

Okay, you're right. I was referring to one elder statesman in particular. The other ones I've met (Baltimore Jack, Trek, plus plenty of the ones online) are perfectly accepting of the trail as it is now.

[Lone Wolf]

Okay, you're right. I was referring to one elder statesman in particular. The other ones I've met (Baltimore Jack, Trek, plus plenty of the ones online) are perfectly accepting of the trail as it is now.

i got you all riled up! calm down, it's JUST the internet :banana

[barf_jay]

I was wanting to put toghether a hiker feed up at Woody Gap, but after reading several of these posts....kinda of got me thinking twice about it. I have already bought everything, so I am still going to go ahead with it.

I am an AT section hiker (164 miles completed), and still heading North. Wanted to pay it forward from a the couple of times I received trail magic along my journey on the AT.

Is it a good idea to post here on WB my intentions of dates and times? Would like to spread the word so I can help out as many hikers as possible.

[FarmerChef]

I was wanting to put toghether a hiker feed up at Woody Gap, but after reading several of these posts....kinda of got me thinking twice about it. I have already bought everything, so I am still going to go ahead with it.

I am an AT section hiker (164 miles completed), and still heading North. Wanted to pay it forward from a the couple of times I received trail magic along my journey on the AT.

Is it a good idea to post here on WB my intentions of dates and times? Would like to spread the word so I can help out as many hikers as possible.

BJ your feed will be well received. Don't be deterred by the naysayers. I'll bet you can count on one hand the number of people who say "No Thank You." And it's fine by me if they do. Your intention is exactly what the gift of trail magic by any name is all about. To give back. To help others. To share kindness and love.

[RED-DOG]

Years ago trail magic was non-existant when you did find it, it was a blessing cause back then it was just a simple thought, like finding a beer in a creek or finding a bag of nuts in a shelter or some one stopping at a road crossing to give you half a hoagie only because they couldn't finish it, but now every body that hikes especially on the AT, they all expect to receive trail magic, its almost like people thinks since there hiking the AT trail magic is their god given right. We need to get back to the old ways when trail magic and other AT traditions was just a simple jesture or thought.

[Train Wreck]

See, this kind of outcome - making you rethink what was just an impulse to pay it forward - is exactly what disgusts me about the narrow views of a few commonly getting mistaken as the views of the majority. :mad:
Barf_jay, go ahead and host the hiker feed. The .000001 percent that don't care for it can pout about it, pass on by, or go be negative online.
I've received numerous kindnesses as a section hiker and every instance was appreciated very much.

[Colter]

I can remember hiker feeds that totally made my day, and the day of everyone around me, and presumably the providers' days too.

Scrub Hiker, you might be my favorite poster.

[Cookerhiker]

I was wanting to put together a hiker feed up at Woody Gap, but after reading several of these posts....kinda of got me thinking twice about it. I have already bought everything, so I am still going to go ahead with it.

I am an AT section hiker (164 miles completed), and still heading North. Wanted to pay it forward from a the couple of times I received trail magic along my journey on the AT.

Is it a good idea to post here on WB my intentions of dates and times? Would like to spread the word so I can help out as many hikers as possible.

You can advertise on WB but if you're setting up in March or April when lots of thruhikers are coming through, I don't think you need a lot of additional publicity; you'll have plenty of takers. If anything, your biggest problem will be running out of food!:)

[Cookerhiker]

.... We need to get back to the old ways when trail magic and other AT traditions was just a simple (g)jesture or thought.

And just how do you propose to do this?:-?

[Rasty]

I'm only on the AT during the off season. The only trail magic I've seen is abandoned coolers and garbage.

[Lone Wolf]

hmmmm. i just spent the last 2 hours working a wreck with Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad. 4 patients transported. how insignificant all this talk of feeding the un-needy on vacation. i put in a lot of hours weekly helping people truly in need. y'all might think of doing something like that. makes ya feel pretty good :)

[Another Kevin]

hmmmm. i just spent the last 2 hours working a wreck with Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad. 4 patients transported. how insignificant all this talk of feeding the un-needy on vacation. i put in a lot of hours weekly helping people truly in need. y'all might think of doing something like that. makes ya feel pretty good :)

Bravo!

Y'know, it's funny. I read most of the postings in this thread, ranging from "old grouch" to "party thrower" to "entitled kid", and with the exception of an obvious troll or two, I say, "you're all right." And yet they're all arguing with one another.

But if we met on the trail, I bet we'd all get along just fine. Some would want to throw a party. Some wouldn't. Some would go to a party. Some wouldn't. A very few might be a trifle annoyed that the party brings in too much of civilization. They'd hike on. Maybe someone would get their knickers in a twist. If so, they'd step off the trail and untwist them.

And somewhere along the line, a few would give and receive the real trail magic that can't be forced. And some of those would be surprising - entitled snots suddenly performing a random act of charity, old grouches turning out not only to be heroes but also occasionally enjoying the party, and so on.

As I confessed up above, hiker feeds and suchlike make me a trifle uncomfortable. I think part of the problem for me, is having the humility to accept a gift graciously. That's as much an act of charity as giving - and a lot harder for a good many of us old grouches.

[Canam]

Looking at the ages of some of the posters here, it looks like part of the divide here is the "Entitlement Generation". I was raised to always give, not take. To take only when there is no other alternative. To earn/pay/support my own way. To separate need from want.


Give me a break with the generational crap. Your grandparents' generation thought the same thing about you.

[hikerboy57]

Give me a break with the generational crap. Your grandparents' generation thought the same thing about you.
their music was better

[Sarcasm the elf]

hmmmm. i just spent the last 2 hours working a wreck with Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad. 4 patients transported. how insignificant all this talk of feeding the un-needy on vacation. i put in a lot of hours weekly helping people truly in need. y'all might think of doing something like that. makes ya feel pretty good :)

I really don't have a strong opinion either way about hiker feeds, but LW's reasoning is sound and whether or not you agree with him, you should at least keep it in mind. Hikers don't NEED charity of trailside buffets and it you're really looking to do some good for the world there are much better ways to spend your time and money.

That said, if you're honest about that fact that you really do like hanging out with hikers trailside, passing out a few sandwiches and having a good time then go for it. Just be polite and respectful and all that HYOH crap you hear around these parts.:eek:

[Sarcasm the elf]

their music was better

You boomers were lucky bastards, I never did make it to CBGB's, or to Iridium to see Les Paul before he passed...

[Rasty]

Looking at the ages of some of the posters here, it looks like part of the divide here is the "Entitlement Generation". I was raised to always give, not take. To take only when there is no other alternative. To earn/pay/support my own way. To separate need from want.


Give me a break with the generational crap. Your grandparents' generation thought the same thing about you.

The only good generation are under ten years old. The little finks are just waiting to screw it up for their kids.

[rickb]

I might even pretend to be an atheist that is struggling with thoughts of a possible afterlife. Maybe I would get a Thanksgiving dinner.

Or better still a Pastafarian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events

[rickb]

Appologies to my fellow Pastafarians for the bad link. Corrected below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

[brian039]

You boomers were lucky bastards, I never did make it to CBGB's, or to Iridium to see Les Paul before he passed...

What? Come on man, you grew up in the 90's!!! 20 years from now we'll be the lucky bastards.

[hikerboy57]

What? Come on man, you grew up in the 90's!!! 20 years from now we'll be the lucky bastards.
its a short hike from lucky bastards to old pharts

[rickb]

its a short hike from lucky bastards to old pharts

Life is like a roll of toilet paper in an AT privy (left by a trail angel, of course).

it goes a lot faster as you reach the end.

[Sarcasm the elf]

What kinds of trail magic were timely and helpful?
Are there kinds of "trail magic" that were not that helpful?

Getting back to the opening question...

Probably the most useful (and unexpected) thing a trail angel can plan to do is to keep an eye on the marked watersources during drought conditions and leave watercaches at trailheads where the nearby water has dried up. A few gallon jugs of water tied to a tree in an area that has gone dry can really make or break a hike. Do make sure to secure the bottles to a tree with some twine, otherwise the wind will blow the empties into the woods and create litter.

A few other (hopefully constructive) suggestions.

Unattended food for drinks left in the woods are a bad idea. I usually hike in New England and we don't have as many planned feeds, but I frequently encounter empty coolers/rubbermaid containers/bins containers sitting trailside with litter strewn about wherever the animals decided to drag it. Please avoid doing things that create this problem. If you want to leave something unattended, put it near a trailhead and don't put it out unless you can stop by every day and collect the empty packaging and garbage.

Please understand that not all of us participate in hiker feeds and that we have our own reasons for doing so. We all hike for our own reasons and if I say hello but then decline your hospitality that is not meant as any disrespect to you. I have had several encounters with trail angels that started off cheerful (I do like talking to folks I meet), but ended with the potential trail angel acting disappointed and slightly insulted that I didn't want their help, which was really a buzzkill. Just remember, I'm hiking my hike, you're providing your help, it's all good, whether or not I need that help. :sun

Don't be that idiot that distinguishes between section hikers and thru hikers when giving out trail charity. I understand that some people have limited resources to give, but if you're out to randomly help folks don't discriminate. If you walk up to me while I'm hiking and offer me something, but then take back your offer when you learn that I'm only on the trail for two weeks, you instantly stop being a trail angel and turn into a jackass. I am speaking from experience and this is also the main reason I rarely accept help, as being told that you're not one of the "worthy" hikers can really ruin your day. (okay, this last suggestion is me venting, but hey, it was still more polite than half the posts in this thread :rolleyes:)

[Sarcasm the elf]

What? Come on man, you grew up in the 90's!!! 20 years from now we'll be the lucky bastards.

Well we were lucky enough to have the Seattle grunge scene, early socially conscious hip hop and some really good country when we were going up. Once history forgets about our boy bands and Selene Dion then we should be able to all nostalgic about the good times!

[evyck da fleet]

Agree with Sarcasm. I didn't mind the empty coolers along the trail but could have done without the garbage on the trail around an area because there was no garbage bag and mostly because the hikers were too lazy to carry the trash from what they took with them.

Would also like to give a shout out to the groups who left water along the stretches near Burke Gardens and southern NY last Year. While I wanted and appreciated the hiker feeds, I needed the water jugs. Don't think I passed up a hiker feed or trail magic last year.

I also had no problem talking about whatever a trail angel wanted to talk about as long as it was in the course of a normal conversation. I had a couple of religious conversations that I could have done without but was none worse the wear. The people with an agenda or who were a little too into my schedule or finances were the ones I wanted to break free from.

[HikerMom58]

I really don't have a strong opinion either way about hiker feeds, but LW's reasoning is sound and whether or not you agree with him, you should at least keep it in mind. Hikers don't NEED charity of trailside buffets and it you're really looking to do some good for the world there are much better ways to spend your time and money.

That said, if you're honest about that fact that you really do like hanging out with hikers trailside, passing out a few sandwiches and having a good time then go for it. Just be polite and respectful and all that HYOH crap you hear around these parts.:eek:


Ok.... first of all I don't know of any trail angel that is chomping at the bit to hang out with hikers trailside just for the sake of hanging out with them. There's prob. a story behind each person that reaches out. Here's mine.

I grew up in NH. I never stepped foot on the AT for the entire 18 years I lived there. I never even heard of the AT until I was- 30 years old? Guessing. We have always been an outdoorsy type family. I learned about the AT right along with my young children, from my husband, when we moved to Roanoke, 20+ years ago. We got on the AT quite a bit. Never really thought much about it....

As fate would have it, my daughter got bit by the "AT bug". When I heard that she wanted to hike it, I was terrified. I watched her prepare for her hike as a "cynical outsider". I truly thought she was crazy. I begged her not to hike. But, just like any good mother, you don't want to stand in the way of your child's dream b/c of your own fears. Besides that, she was going through a rough time and it seemed like a good idea, from that stand point.

After I accepted that fact that she was going, I wanted to be a part of her journey. I supported her in every way possible. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her.

I embraced the hiking community and fell in love with the trail and the hikers that hike it. I've met sooo many nice people. I'm a giving, "extrovert type" person. I've always reached out to people my entire life. The AT hikers was just another group of people that I added to my group of interesting people that I relate 2.

When I heard how strangers reached out in kindness, to my daughter, I heard the word "trail angel" for the first time. I thought about it & decided that was something I would love to do. I wanted to pay forward what had been given to my daughter, while she was on the trail.

I only live 5 miles from the trail crossing. I've sectioned hiked myself for 112 miles at one time so I know how it feels to be out there. I love meeting new people. I feel like I relate really well to hikers. I'm very willing to share whatever I have and be the "cheerleader" to cheer them along on their journey/dream/goal.

My excitement for meeting or doing anything for this community has taken huge hits by being a member of White Blaze. The thread being the greatest hit so far... I have never been so insulted in my life.

I feel like I'm the needy person by reaching out to them. I feel like I'm just being used. I feel like I'm just playing the fool. I have never done a hiker feed. I don't ever want to do that, now.

I really think for me to shake this crap. I need to stop being on here. I know that most people don't feel this way..... I have left little things here and there in the shelters etc.. I always go back to make sure the trash has been picked up etc.. I have always read positive comments in the trail books. I have made so many life long friends.

I really, really resent being told that I could do some good for the world in much better ways.... WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!! How do you know that what have done for hikers has not helped them in ways you don't EVEN know.

Everyone has their own thing that they do... I can't help people that's been in a car wreck.. I don't have those skills but I might have other skills that you don't have that helps someone just as much.....

[Sarcasm the elf]

HikerMom, your inbox is full, can you PM me when you are able to? Apparently what I thought I wrote and what you read were very different. Believe me, I wasn't trying to be insulting.

[MuddyWaters]

If free food, when you have a pack full of food, is considered to be "trail magic", it is undoubtedbly, the lowest form.

Real magic is getting something you really need, when you need it, out of the blue.

Now if you were out of food, and going to starve for the next two days, then finding free food in the woods would be kind of magical.

[Mountain Mike]

To put anyone down for trying to help someone out is just bad. They do it out of the kindness of their own heart & at their own expense. If you don't want it, just say "No Thank you" & hike on. Too few people these days try to help other people & you are putting them down for this! When I bailed from a section hike on the PCT I still had over a week left before I had to leave so I rented a minivan to see some things off trail. When I got it I ran into a thru who needed a ride back to the trail. When dropping him off a group I met earlier were disappointed with resupply in the "Trail Town " (Beldon) there. The local store opened & closed while one hiker was on the phone. I told them to hop in took them to next town for supper & resupply & back & slack packed hikers for next two days before moving up the trail. A few days later I met them in another small outpost & drove to an Olive Garden where the waiter was astounded by the amount of unlimited salad & breadsticks the group went through. From there I helped resupply the water caches a local who set them up on the dry Hat Creek Rim. My friends planned a night hike to avoid the heat of the day & I agreed to do another water cache for them. They didn't know it but I camped out there & when I saw their headlamps bobbing in the distance a few miles away I made a huge pot of pasta primavera from scratch. I was pissed at myself because I scorched it a bit, but they ate every bit of it. Along the way one hike had taken ill. I offered to take him where he need to go & he just wanted a place to lie up for a day or two. I suggested Burney State park with their Cheap Hike & Bike rate of a few dollars a day. When I got to entrance gate they waived the fee to let me drop him off & for the next two day to check on him. By day two he was ready to get back on the trail & I dropped him where he left off.

So was I coddling hiker? I would like to think I was just paying it forward. I have had a lot of trail magic happen for me. The AT is such a communal hike. If you seek isolation there are plenty of trails. If you don't want trail magic what ever your definition is, just say NO!

[Lone Wolf]

Ok.... first of all I don't know of any trail angel that is chomping at the bit to hang out with hikers trailside just for the sake of hanging out with them. There's prob. a story behind each person that reaches out. Here's mine.

I grew up in NH. I never stepped foot on the AT for the entire 18 years I lived there. I never even heard of the AT until I was- 30 years old? Guessing. We have always been an outdoorsy type family. I learned about the AT right along with my young children, from my husband, when we moved to Roanoke, 20+ years ago. We got on the AT quite a bit. Never really thought much about it....

As fate would have it, my daughter got bit by the "AT bug". When I heard that she wanted to hike it, I was terrified. I watched her prepare for her hike as a "cynical outsider". I truly thought she was crazy. I begged her not to hike. But, just like any good mother, you don't want to stand in the way of your child's dream b/c of your own fears. Besides that, she was going through a rough time and it seemed like a good idea, from that stand point.

After I accepted that fact that she was going, I wanted to be a part of her journey. I supported her in every way possible. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her.

I embraced the hiking community and fell in love with the trail and the hikers that hike it. I've met sooo many nice people. I'm a giving, "extrovert type" person. I've always reached out to people my entire life. The AT hikers was just another group of people that I added to my group of interesting people that I relate 2.

When I heard how strangers reached out in kindness, to my daughter, I heard the word "trail angel" for the first time. I thought about it & decided that was something I would love to do. I wanted to pay forward what had been given to my daughter, while she was on the trail.

I only live 5 miles from the trail crossing. I've sectioned hiked myself for 112 miles at one time so I know how it feels to be out there. I love meeting new people. I feel like I relate really well to hikers. I'm very willing to share whatever I have and be the "cheerleader" to cheer them along on their journey/dream/goal.

My excitement for meeting or doing anything for this community has taken huge hits by being a member of White Blaze. The thread being the greatest hit so far... I have never been so insulted in my life.

I feel like I'm the needy person by reaching out to them. I feel like I'm just being used. I feel like I'm just playing the fool. I have never done a hiker feed. I don't ever want to do that, now.

I really think for me to shake this crap. I need to stop being on here. I know that most people don't feel this way..... I have left little things here and there in the shelters etc.. I always go back to make sure the trash has been picked up etc.. I have always read positive comments in the trail books. I have made so many life long friends.

I really, really resent being told that I could do some good for the world in much better ways.... WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!! How do you know that what have done for hikers has not helped them in ways you don't EVEN know.

Everyone has their own thing that they do... I can't help people that's been in a car wreck.. I don't have those skills but I might have other skills that you don't have that helps someone just as much.....

you're a good lady. kind soul. pure heart

[Teacher & Snacktime]

HikerMom....don't let the cynicism and nay-saying of others make you stop or even hesitate to do what you think is a nice thing to do. As for appreciation of hiker feeds, just read the posts of the new hikers this year and tell me they weren't absolutely thrilled by the appearance of groups of angels with tents and lots of food! As the saying goes, "you can't please everybody", but that will never stop me from taking the occasional opportunity to please some.

[Sarcasm the elf]

you're a good lady. kind soul. pure heart

Yeah, I'm worried that she got the wrong impression from this thread. After all this is the Internet, not real life...

Like others have said 99% of us would get along just fine if we met face to face.

[Lone Wolf]

Yeah, I'm worried that she got the wrong impression from this thread. After all this is the Internet, not real life...

Like others have said 99% of us would get along just fine if we met face to face.

pretty much a b i n g o

[Mountain Mike]

pretty much a b i n g o

+1 & more!

[Bronk]

Just a note for all new would be hikers...none of us on this site are as big an a** in person as we are on here...IMO. Out of hundreds I've only met one person on the trail I'd just as soon not spend time with.



One of the things I really like about being on the trail is that you usually don't get to know people well enough to not like them :-?

[Mountain Mike]

One of the things I really like about being on the trail is that you usually don't get to know people well enough to not like them :-?
Were you born an #ss or did you grow into it? People on the trail are pretty much nice. You get what you give. I can understand your perspective under my theory.

[Bronk]

Were you born an #ss or did you grow into it? People on the trail are pretty much nice. You get what you give. I can understand your perspective under my theory.

That was also one of the advantages of taking 4 months to cover 850 miles...on the rare occasions when I met a douchebag like you, I'd just take a zero day and I'd never have to see you again.:sun

[Mountain Mike]

After around 7K miles never had a bad meeting with people. From Ga>ME or west coast CA > OR > WA. I found you get what you give

[HikerMom58]

you're a good lady. kind soul. pure heart

Thanks LW.. that means a lot to me. :)


HikerMom....don't let the cynicism and nay-saying of others make you stop or even hesitate to do what you think is a nice thing to do. As for appreciation of hiker feeds, just read the posts of the new hikers this year and tell me they weren't absolutely thrilled by the appearance of groups of angels with tents and lots of food! As the saying goes, "you can't please everybody", but that will never stop me from taking the occasional opportunity to please some.

I'll shake the bad stuff off, it just took me back for a while.


Yeah, I'm worried that she got the wrong impression from this thread. After all this is the Internet, not real life...

Like others have said 99% of us would get along just fine if we met face to face.

I'm sure we would... thanks Elf.


+1 & more!

Luv ya buddy... can't wait to meet ya! :0)

[magic_game03]

What kinds of trail magic were timely and helpful?
Are there kinds of "trail magic" that were not that helpful?

Your question is your answer. The best trail magic is when you are desperate and the magic presents itself. The worst magic is when you are over indulgent and more is piled on.


I have many memories of great trail angels and trail magic but the one that sticks out with great affinity is the time I found a lighter that didn't work. On my '04 thru I had hiked my typical sun-up to sun-down and finished that day at the last shelter in the 'Doahs. It was sometime around the first of April and the daily highs never really got above freezing so when I settled in for the night it was wicked cold. My typical operating procedure is to start some hot water first and then set up my sleeping arrangements. But right off I realized I had lost my lighter and I must have left it behind at lunch time when I had hot noodles.

The shelter was clean and I mean spotless. the maintainer must have been there in the last day or so because it was immaculate, the only thing in the shelter was a fresh broom. There wasn't even a register. Exhausted and demoralized at my predicament, I remember sitting down for a minute and staring off in disbelief that I was going to go without dinner. Hoar frost was everywhere, my toes had been frozen all day, and I had not seen another hiker for at least a week, not even a day hiker so my chances of getting a light were slim-to-none.

This experience was very vivid to me, I even remember thinking it was so bloody cold that tonight might be the night that I learn how to rub two sticks together to make a fire because I was too cold to go to sleep. I think most knowledgeable hikers will agree that a good day of hiking should be preceded by a good nights rest, and a lousy day of hiking is often preceded by a miserable night of unrest. After a 33 mile day I was almost ready to pack up and move onward because I already had the shakes but somewhere inside me I felt this little urge to put on my head lamp and look around the shelter for matches.

This impressively clean cinderblock lean-too didn't have much in the way of nooks and crannies so I searched underneath, but it was clean. I walked around the shelter shining my headlamp over every square inch in the dire hope of finding something but this area too was in perfect order. As I stood there in the entryway, stomping my feet to get the feeling back in them, I noticed that there were tiny 2X4 rafter beams. Maybe only half a dozen of them and very tiny with almost no possibility of anything being tucked away on such a narrow ledge. I pulled myself up to view down the set of rafters and there it was! The only thing tucked up there was this old disposable Bic lighter. I flicked the Bic and... nothing, just sparks. The lighter was empty of fluid but it also occurred to me that with my butane stove I didn't need it to work I just needed a spark to get my stove to work.

Nearly a decade later one of my fondest moments of trail magic was a lighter that didn't even light.

[RED-DOG]

when a thru-hike is all said and done the thru-hiker don't remember those big lavish hiker feeds but instead they remember all the small stuff like the time a girl scout troop gave me a bunch of cookies, or the time i was sitting at a shelter alone and been alone for days and a older gentelman comes walking up and starts talking those are the times thru-hikers remembers all those big lavish hiker feeds are a fading memory the next day.

[Another Kevin]

one of my fondest moments of trail magic was a lighter that didn't even light.

Great story!

I trust you learnt to carry a second ignition source? (I typically carry a lighter in my pants pocket, and a firesteel with my tinderbox, and for that matter the tinderbox has a wisp of steel wool that I can ignite with a battery from my camera or headlamp if I really need to.)

[WalksInDark]

Given that "Bad Trail Magic" seems like an oxymoron to me, I will share a few of what I considered to be examples of "Good Trail Magic"

During the summer of 2011 I did 5 or 6 section hikes where I left my car at the trail head; hiked until my food or energy ran out; then hitchhiked back to my car to resupply. Being an old fat guy, my results may not be typical, but I will share them anyway.

Longest Wait For a Hitchhike/Ride: One and a half hours (I was out in the middle of nowhere and I am pretty sure that less than 4 cars just drove on by).

Offers of cold beverages: nearly 100%.:) (If drivers did not have any cold beverages, I offered to buy them ---and everyone else in the car with them--- one myself!)

Number of people who went out of their planned route to keep me from having to walk and/or hitchhike in +95 degree 100% humidity conditions: 75%. :bananaOne kind lady (whose husband and son had both done some AT section hikes) drove me an additional 40 miles just so I would not be trying to hitchhike in the dark.....AND SHE REFUSED TO ACCEPT ANY MONEY FROM ME TO COVER HER GAS COSTS.

Special thanks goes to the kindly couple in PA that live about 800 yards from the only section of the AT (that I hiked anyway) that goes through a completely unmarked very hilly field of hay. :clap:clap

What happened is to me is that I was following the AT when it first changed course to follow a blacktop road for about a half mile; then there was a single white blaze on the end of a bridge abutment (which had faded to the point where it was almost invisible) which directed you to this very hilly rolling field where your visibility was limited to about a 5 minute hike in any direction. Like the perfect storm, this field comes after a +10 mile section of the AT where this is no available water...full midday sun, no shade, and +95 degree 100% humidity conditions. :sunAfter floundering around in the field for nearly two hours I was completely out of water, had mild heat stroke, and had not a clue as to where to find the AT trail.
:datz

Knowing that it was time to give up, I hid my pack, turned around and hiked back to the road to find whatever farm house might be nearby. I knocked on the door of this small white ranch home and was greeted by a fairly old woman. Before I could really say anything she said, "Let me guess, you can't find the AT trail and you are out of water?" I laughed and asked if it was that obvious. She replied, "The farmer who rents part of that field from the AT for his haying operations took down all of the trail signs about a week ago because he was going to mow it. However due to the heat or problems with his tractor...he never got around to mowing the hay or putting the signs back up. Since then, almost everyday one or more hikers has been here always asking for directions...and usually asking for water as well."

The nice lady gave me a gallon of sweet cold well water...along with a big glass of ice; plus she gave me exact compass directions to get me back on the marked section of the AT.
:)

Because I was on no fixed time schedule during these section hikes, I was able to:

Pick up a 4 person group of section hikers who got off the trail at the wrong place while trying to do a resupply; take them a couple of towns over to where there were "full provisions" (rather than gas station supplies), buy all of us some very tasty subs with super sized cold beverages; then return them to the proper trail head.

Transport a bunch of solo hikers from the interstate to various AT trailheads.

Share some extra food I had left over at the end of one section with a thru hiker who mis-planned his last two days food menu prior to a planned resupply.

For me, trail magic happens simply when one person goes out of there way to make life easier for someone else...particularly when that "someone else" never directly asked for help in the first place.

[FatHead64]

you're a good lady. kind soul. pure heart

Thanks LW.. that means a lot to me. :)


HikerMom....don't let the cynicism and nay-saying of others make you stop or even hesitate to do what you think is a nice thing to do. As for appreciation of hiker feeds, just read the posts of the new hikers this year and tell me they weren't absolutely thrilled by the appearance of groups of angels with tents and lots of food! As the saying goes, "you can't please everybody", but that will never stop me from taking the occasional opportunity to please some.

I'll shake the bad stuff off, it just took me back for a while.


Yeah, I'm worried that she got the wrong impression from this thread. After all this is the Internet, not real life...

Like others have said 99% of us would get along just fine if we met face to face.

I'm sure we would... thanks Elf.


+1 & more!

Luv ya buddy... can't wait to meet ya! :0)

Just glad HM is back and knowing she is appreciated!

[Drybones]

One of the things I really like about being on the trail is that you usually don't get to know people well enough to not like them :-?

What I like is that the people you end up being around on a regular basis you get to know better than you ever would in the "real world". You dont see a lot of pretenses and fake personnalities...owning a BMW dont mean much when you're "just walkin".

[HikerMom58]

+1 & more!


To put anyone down for trying to help someone out is just bad. They do it out of the kindness of their own heart & at their own expense. If you don't want it, just say "No Thank you" & hike on. Too few people these days try to help other people & you are putting them down for this! When I bailed from a section hike on the PCT I still had over a week left before I had to leave so I rented a minivan to see some things off trail. When I got it I ran into a thru who needed a ride back to the trail. When dropping him off a group I met earlier were disappointed with resupply in the "Trail Town " (Beldon) there. The local store opened & closed while one hiker was on the phone. I told them to hop in took them to next town for supper & resupply & back & slack packed hikers for next two days before moving up the trail. A few days later I met them in another small outpost & drove to an Olive Garden where the waiter was astounded by the amount of unlimited salad & breadsticks the group went through. From there I helped resupply the water caches a local who set them up on the dry Hat Creek Rim. My friends planned a night hike to avoid the heat of the day & I agreed to do another water cache for them. They didn't know it but I camped out there & when I saw their headlamps bobbing in the distance a few miles away I made a huge pot of pasta primavera from scratch. I was pissed at myself because I scorched it a bit, but they ate every bit of it. Along the way one hike had taken ill. I offered to take him where he need to go & he just wanted a place to lie up for a day or two. I suggested Burney State park with their Cheap Hike & Bike rate of a few dollars a day. When I got to entrance gate they waived the fee to let me drop him off & for the next two day to check on him. By day two he was ready to get back on the trail & I dropped him where he left off.

So was I coddling hiker? I would like to think I was just paying it forward. I have had a lot of trail magic happen for me. The AT is such a communal hike. If you seek isolation there are plenty of trails. If you don't want trail magic what ever your definition is, just say NO!

Nice story MM!! I have enjoyed reading all the stories above on this thread, as well. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Just glad HM is back and knowing she is appreciated!

:sun


What I like is that the people you end up being around on a regular basis you get to know better than you ever would in the "real world". You dont see a lot of pretenses and fake personnalities...owning a BMW dont mean much when you're "just walkin".

+1 this is what i love about trail people the most!! :)


Hope you all are enjoying a nice day... I was out hiking with my daughter earlier today. :sun

We talked about trail angels, trail magic etc... this is a true story of what she experienced, herself, on the trail in 2008.

She was coming into Dalton MA. heading for the Bird Cage. She saw a couple of crates on the side of the trail- one crate had some trail magic in it, the other was for the trash. It had a sign saying- trail magic help yourself, followed by brief instructions on where to put the trash. ( in the other crate)

She said, someone had written a mean spirited negative comment on the trail angels note, stating that it was so irresponsible to leave trail magic out like that- something about trash etc.. (basically making the trail angel feel like a fool for putting it out)

My daughter said was shaking her head after she read it b/c this person had gone to the trouble of providing a place for the trash, some TA's don't she said...

When she got to the bird cage, the hikers were all talking about the trail magic and the nasty note that someone had written. ( she said that other hikers had left their own note telling the trail angel to ignore the nasty remark) They were all really upset by it and hoped that it didn't discourage the trail angel from continuing to leave out the trail magic b/c they really enjoyed it!!

She also said that she felt like trail magic, hiker feeds etc.. was more about a trail angel feeling connected to the trail & hikers more than just an act to make themselves feel good. I agree 100%.

Also, "trail magic" isn't always about food at all.

I really appreciate all the things I have learned on this site on what to do and what not to do as far as trail magic AND how some people feel about it. ... things I would never had thought about on my own.:sun You guys have left some really great tips!! Thanks BUNCHES!!!

[FarmerChef]

+1 HM Glad to have you around.

I have experienced trail magic with and without trashcans. Twice in New England I came upon large rubbermaid containers with a pan full of some goody. The first time it was empty but the next once I came to still had giant cubes of sweetbread. Never tasted so good in my life and there was no trash to throw away. I've also come across coolers with sodas and a bag next to it with details on when the TA was coming back to pick up the trash. And, as I said before, I've also come across coolers, containers, etc. with no trash can. No big deal. We just packed our trash out.

Would I prefer trash be taken care of? Absolutely. Leave No Trace is my ethic and what I teach my scouts. But as long as someone is coming back later to clean up the area in a timely manner I say go for it.

Finding food along the trail means a lot to me. Why? Because my wife and I carry the vast majority of food for our 3 kids and that limits the amount of food we can take. Like any thru we are hungry beyond belief most of the time we are hiking big sections and I would love to bring more food but it would blow up our packs (I know, bring a bigger pack...). Whenever we encounter a hiker feed or a box of brownies or sodas we gratefully accept them for the simple pleasure they bring and the added calories. For sure, I could afford to buy enough to resupply the feed or the spot but that's not the point. It positively makes our day every time and is an awesome lesson to our kids that complete strangers sometimes take a moment of their time to bring a bit of joy to another stranger they may never meet or see. It's that selflessness I want them to learn and why I LOVE the trail as a classroom for them.

Yet another true trail magic story (true in that this was just what we wanted right when we needed it):

Last Spring we were hiking near Roanoke on a 10 day section. The weather was unusually warm and with no leaves on the trees quite yet we were roasting in the heat. As often happens, the kids had tired of our dehydrated meals and peanut butter bagels and as we hiked along that morning they began to think about what they would truly like to eat if they could. As we climbed to Highcock Knob my second oldest daughter said she would give everything just to have a fresh apple. It was getting close to lunch time by the time we hit Thunder Hill Shelter so we approached intending to sit down at the picnic table and enjoy day #3 of bagels and peanut butter. I can tell you that even I get tired of that one pretty fast. Well, as we rounded the shelter and looked in I spied an out of place bag hanging from the rafters and went in to inspect. I immediately saw the apples pressed against the side of the bag and thought to myself, wow - what are the chances? In the register was a note from Thunder and Lightning who had hiked up the day before to leave those apples. Thanks again! Respecting that there were other NOBO thrus coming in who would appreciate it just as much we split 3 apples between us but I can tell you they tasted like pure gold to us. I left a note in the register thanking them for their gift and mentioning how much it made our day. And before I left I stuck my head in the bag and just inhaled deeply. Oh my. Magical.

[dr.rock]

+1 & more here too
+1 & more!

[gizzy bear]

well the way i see it, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"... either you like it and enjoy the gift....or you "just walk on by" and keep your un-grateful mouth shut... people amaze me... it isn't like the trail angels are shoving the "magic" down unwanted throats... it is there for those who want to partake....HM, you rock!!

[Another Kevin]

+1. HM rocks.

[MDSection12]

well the way i see it, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"... either you like it and enjoy the gift....or you "just walk on by" and keep your un-grateful mouth shut... people amaze me... it isn't like the trail angels are shoving the "magic" down unwanted throats... it is there for those who want to partake....HM, you rock!!

See this is what I don't like about being given gifts or done favors; now just because I'm being given something, whether I asked for it or not, I can no longer have an opinion on it? Same idea; not wanting something I didn't ask for makes me ungrateful? I just don't understand.

I do understand that these 'trail angels' mean well and give of their own time and resources, and I don't mean to take away from that, but saying that I can't have an opinion on it because I'd be 'looking a gift horse...' is ridiculous. I think this is one of those cases where both sides need to have a little understanding of the other viewpoint and I think that's all most of the supposedly 'negative' comments were trying to say. Some comments crossed that line, but I think the discussion as a whole has been productive.

[gizzy bear]

See this is what I don't like about being given gifts or done favors; now just because I'm being given something, whether I asked for it or not, I can no longer have an opinion on it? Same idea; not wanting something I didn't ask for makes me ungrateful? I just don't understand.

I do understand that these 'trail angels' mean well and give of their own time and resources, and I don't mean to take away from that, but saying that I can't have an opinion on it because I'd be 'looking a gift horse...' is ridiculous. I think this is one of those cases where both sides need to have a little understanding of the other viewpoint and I think that's all most of the supposedly 'negative' comments were trying to say. Some comments crossed that line, but I think the discussion as a whole has been productive.

oh...by ALL means...you are welcome to your opinion.... just keep it to yourself :P here is the deal, IMO... the favors or gifts are not there for YOU...because CLEARLY you don't want them...so don't be bothered with them and just walk on by... you are only un-grateful when you feel the need to SAY something NEGATIVE about something that someone obviously did out of KINDNESS....

your remark about you understand that the "trail angels mean well and give of their own time and resources, you don't want to take away from that BUT" ... well guess what.... it is taking away from "that" if all you can say is something negative.... i don't think i have EVAR seen so many grown whiners in my entire life, as i have here....and usually it is over really silly stuff.... isn't hiking suppose to be for people that love outdoors and exercise and peace and scenery and testing themselves .... not getting all butt-hurt, all the time :D

[rickb]

See this is what I don't like about being given gifts or done favors; now just because I'm being given something, whether I asked for it or not, I can no longer have an opinion on it? Same idea; not wanting something I didn't ask for makes me ungrateful? I just don't understand.

I do understand that these 'trail angels' mean well and give of their own time and resources, and I don't mean to take away from that, but saying that I can't have an opinion on it because I'd be 'looking a gift horse...' is ridiculous. I think this is one of those cases where both sides need to have a little understanding of the other viewpoint and I think that's all most of the supposedly 'negative' comments were trying to say. Some comments crossed that line, but I think the discussion as a whole has been productive.

I think that is very reasonable.

Too my way of thinking, almost everyone on this site would probably agree that a Trail angel with beer and cookies and dry socks at EVERY road crossing for 2,000 miles would suck.

Of course we are not even remotely close to that.

But thinking about that does underscore that at some point, too much of a good thing is not good at all.

[FatHead64]

I think that is very reasonable.

Too my way of thinking, almost everyone on this site would probably agree that a Trail angel with beer and cookies and dry socks at EVERY road crossing for 2,000 miles would suck.

Of course we are not even remotely close to that.

But thinking about that does underscore that at some point, too much of a good thing is not good at all.

It is very reasonable, on the surface. If you don't like and don't want the magic, there is NOTHING wrong with that. HYOH. However, Gizzy nailed it, IMHO. Going after and flaming someone like HM is not HYOH since you didn't keep it to yourself. Even a more reasoned discourse is fine, but to me, it sure looked like it went past that. Even hiker feeds, although disliked by some, do some a lot of good. HYOH. really.

[FatHead64]

It is very reasonable, on the surface. If you don't like and don't want the magic, there is NOTHING wrong with that. HYOH. However, Gizzy nailed it, IMHO. Going after and flaming someone like HM is not HYOH since you didn't keep it to yourself. Even a more reasoned discourse is fine, but to me, it sure looked like it went past that. Even hiker feeds, although disliked by some, do some a lot of good. HYOH. really.

PS: Do not mean to suggest you did the flaming - sorry - just replied to your post with something to say.

[rickb]

Even hiker feeds, although disliked by some, do some a lot of good. HYOH. really.

They do a lot of good?

I don't get that.

[HikerMom58]

They do a lot of good?

I don't get that.

That's ok rickb... you don't have to get it. You're fine. Just go with what you think. You have a right to think/feel the way you do...

I've never been a part of a hiker feed but I think I can understand where the people that do it are coming from... they feel a strong connection to the trail, for their own personal reason. They are excited for the new class of hikers starting out every year. They look for a way to relate and/or express their excitement for the hikers, the trail and whatever else they might be feeling. This is just one way of expressing that. Some don't care for that type of expression and others "eat it up".....:D

[Lone Wolf]

They do a lot of good?

I don't get that.

me either. never met anyone starving on the trail

[Malto]

See this is what I don't like about being given gifts or done favors; now just because I'm being given something, whether I asked for it or not, I can no longer have an opinion on it? Same idea; not wanting something I didn't ask for makes me ungrateful? I just don't understand.

I do understand that these 'trail angels' mean well and give of their own time and resources, and I don't mean to take away from that, but saying that I can't have an opinion on it because I'd be 'looking a gift horse...' is ridiculous. I think this is one of those cases where both sides need to have a little understanding of the other viewpoint and I think that's all most of the supposedly 'negative' comments were trying to say. Some comments crossed that line, but I think the discussion as a whole has been productive.

how dare you have an opinion!! Next time please pm ole gizzy to find out if you are allowed to have that opinion.

[rickb]

me either. never met anyone starving on the trail

You probably get a bunch of hiker groupies (houpies?) who track you down at Dots to buy you a burger and beer in Damascus, though.


It's got to be rather odd.

[Lone Wolf]

You probably get a bunch of hiker groupies (houpies?) who track you down at Dots to buy you a burger and beer in Damascus, though.


It's got to be rather odd.

actually no. i ain't well-liked

[HikerMom58]

+1 HM Glad to have you around.

Thanks... FarmerChef!!

I have experienced trail magic with and without trashcans. Twice in New England I came upon large rubbermaid containers with a pan full of some goody. The first time it was empty but the next once I came to still had giant cubes of sweetbread. Never tasted so good in my life and there was no trash to throw away. I've also come across coolers with sodas and a bag next to it with details on when the TA was coming back to pick up the trash. And, as I said before, I've also come across coolers, containers, etc. with no trash can. No big deal. We just packed our trash out.

Would I prefer trash be taken care of? Absolutely. Leave No Trace is my ethic and what I teach my scouts. But as long as someone is coming back later to clean up the area in a timely manner I say go for it.

Finding food along the trail means a lot to me. Why? Because my wife and I carry the vast majority of food for our 3 kids and that limits the amount of food we can take. Like any thru we are hungry beyond belief most of the time we are hiking big sections and I would love to bring more food but it would blow up our packs (I know, bring a bigger pack...). Whenever we encounter a hiker feed or a box of brownies or sodas we gratefully accept them for the simple pleasure they bring and the added calories. For sure, I could afford to buy enough to resupply the feed or the spot but that's not the point. It positively makes our day every time and is an awesome lesson to our kids that complete strangers sometimes take a moment of their time to bring a bit of joy to another stranger they may never meet or see. It's that selflessness I want them to learn and why I LOVE the trail as a classroom for them.

Yet another true trail magic story (true in that this was just what we wanted right when we needed it):

Last Spring we were hiking near Roanoke on a 10 day section. The weather was unusually warm and with no leaves on the trees quite yet we were roasting in the heat. As often happens, the kids had tired of our dehydrated meals and peanut butter bagels and as we hiked along that morning they began to think about what they would truly like to eat if they could. As we climbed to Highcock Knob my second oldest daughter said she would give everything just to have a fresh apple. It was getting close to lunch time by the time we hit Thunder Hill Shelter so we approached intending to sit down at the picnic table and enjoy day #3 of bagels and peanut butter. I can tell you that even I get tired of that one pretty fast. Well, as we rounded the shelter and looked in I spied an out of place bag hanging from the rafters and went in to inspect. I immediately saw the apples pressed against the side of the bag and thought to myself, wow - what are the chances? In the register was a note from Thunder and Lightning who had hiked up the day before to leave those apples. Thanks again! Respecting that there were other NOBO thrus coming in who would appreciate it just as much we split 3 apples between us but I can tell you they tasted like pure gold to us. I left a note in the register thanking them for their gift and mentioning how much it made our day. And before I left I stuck my head in the bag and just inhaled deeply. Oh my. Magical.

LOVE THIS!!! That's what I'm talkin about!! :)


+1 & more here too

Thanks dr. rock!


well the way i see it, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"... either you like it and enjoy the gift....or you "just walk on by" and keep your un-grateful mouth shut... people amaze me... it isn't like the trail angels are shoving the "magic" down unwanted throats... it is there for those who want to partake....HM, you rock!!

Thanks, sweet thang! :P


+1. HM rocks.

Thanks AK....Y'all rock!

[HikerMom58]

me either. never met anyone starving on the trail

Just embrace it ya big goof! ;)


how dare you have an opinion!! Next time please pm ole gizzy to find out if you are allowed to have that opinion.

It's gizzy bear, she's cool, Malto.. you know what she means....:D


You probably get a bunch of hiker groupies (houpies?) who track you down at Dots to buy you a burger and beer in Damascus, though.


It's got to be rather odd.

I love this....I really do!! :banana


actually no. i ain't well-liked

PERFECT Lone Wolf response... gotta love it!! No, you aren't that well-liked, you just got a million hits & replies on your thread a week ago. ;) Pssst..

[Cookerhiker]

...It's got to be rather odd.

Old?????????

[gizzy bear]

See this is what I don't like about being given gifts or done favors; now just because I'm being given something, whether I asked for it or not, I can no longer have an opinion on it? Same idea; not wanting something I didn't ask for makes me ungrateful? I just don't understand.

I do understand that these 'trail angels' mean well and give of their own time and resources, and I don't mean to take away from that, but saying that I can't have an opinion on it because I'd be 'looking a gift horse...' is ridiculous. I think this is one of those cases where both sides need to have a little understanding of the other viewpoint and I think that's all most of the supposedly 'negative' comments were trying to say. Some comments crossed that line, but I think the discussion as a whole has been productive.

how dare you have an opinion!! Next time please pm ole gizzy to find out if you are allowed to have that opinion.

Good answer!!! Get over your ole butt hurt!!!

[WingedMonkey]

What kinds of trail magic were timely and helpful?
Are there kinds of "trail magic" that were not that helpful?

I don't see the term "trail angel" any where in your OP. Not sure how it always becomes all about their needs.

[rickb]

actually no. i ain't well-liked

What's that got to do with it.

You got have a Harley, a beard better than any on Duck Dynasty, and a reputation.

I would have figured the Chamber would have had your favorite stool or table listed as a tourist attraction.

Go figure.

[HikerMom58]

I don't see the term "trail angel" any where in your OP. Not sure how it always becomes all about their needs.

Trail angel & trail magic are just words that we associate together with this type of human behavior.....It's OK..

Just like the hikers aren't "needy" all the folks that are kind to them aren't "needy" either ..it's about relating to others with a common interest or passion. It can be a good thing. :)