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View Full Version : True Trail Magic - A story



FarmerChef
04-05-2013, 12:48
First off let me just say this is not an invitation to devolve into a battle over what is and isn't "Trail Magic." I just wanted to share a story of an experience I just had that really impacted me and my family in a very special way and I thought folks here might enjoy it. Warning: long.

So our (my wife, myself, our 3 oldest children and our Alaskan Husky) last section hike took us down to Mount Rogers NRA HQ where we began our hike to Erwin, TN. As luck would have it we departed Saturday, March 23rd from the highway in front of the vistor's center as my aunt and uncle took our car and drove it down for us. That day we hiked 20 miles to Hurricane Mountain Shelter. I had checked the forecast and knew that snow was coming but totals were negligible or at least manageable and it wasn't our first time at that rodeo. Specifically, the forecast for the next day was for morning rain followed by a period of no precipitation then, in the evening rain or ice. No big deal.

Sunday morning we awoke to rain as expected, donned our ponchos and set out to begin our climb up to Mt. Rogers. As we rose steadily higher the rain began to change over to sleet. Good, we thought, as this would just bounce off our ponchos and we could take our hoods off. But as we climbed the rate of sleet became heavier and heavier and the trail, which by now was a stream, began to fill up with sleet to the point that it was getting hard to walk, even with poles. Our feet were sliding out from under us and our speed slowed until it was just a crawl. We crossed a road and 1.7 miles later, at Old Orchard Shelter, we paused to grab a snack. The kids, Mamma Bear and I were in poor spirits as our shoes were soaked and our feet freezing from the slog through what could have passed for an ice river. I checked the weather forecast once again and it now warned of an impending severe winter storm with snow totals of over a foot past 5,000 feet. This wasn't our first time in the cold, wet feet scenario but I hadn't brought the kids down to have them postholing with wet shoes. Plus I knew our time would be severely reduced in an area where cell reception could be iffy if we actually got in trouble (we were prepared to hunker down) or someone got hurt. Dejected, I told everyone that we needed to hike back down to the road we'd passed a couple miles earlier and try to hike down to Troutdale...the long way. At least there we could stay at the hostel and reassess our trip, though I felt certain we'd have to cancel, find a shuttle down to Erwin to pick up our car and go back home.

Down we hiked to the road where we checked our phones (two carriers) and got no signal. And so we began the 6 mile (my best estimate) road walk to Troutdale and the hostel. Knowing how remote the area was we figured we'd only see one or two cars go by and, in our experience, no one has ever offered to pull over and pick 5 wet hikers and a dog up. Frankly, who drives around with a vehicle that big anyway? This was going to be our longest road walk ever, in the rain to boot. Sure enough only one small car passed us, then a truck pulling a horse trailer. I mused to myself that I wouldn't even mind riding in the trailer :) Then, about a mile and a half down the road we are passed by two vehicles going in opposite directions, including a pickup truck/SUV crossover vehicle that comes whizzing past us (we're on the side of the road with traffic coming toward us). The rain is coming down and our hoods are back up with that pat, pat, pat sound that begins to sound like rifle shots inside your head after awhile. My wife notices that the man has stopped and is backing up. I approach the truck and he rolls down the window, asking if we need a lift somewhere. Boy did we ever! Plus, I figure it's only about 5 or 6 minutes out of this guy's way. Perfect!

Profusely thanking him, I climb into the short bed with the dog and our packs as my wife and kids climb into the cab. As we get going the rain blows mostly over us but the wind at 55 mph is quite strong and I get cold rapidly. After about 15 minutes of driving, I notice that we should have been there by now but still aren't. I also spot a sign for Marion. Uh oh. We're headed in the wrong direction. Clearly, that's what my wife and the driver think as well so they pull over at a gas station to come back and ask me specifically where we are going. I don't know much about Troutdale and he doesn't know about the church or hostel. At this point I can't stop shivering so my wife runs in and gets me a large coffee which seems to quiet the shivers a bit. This super kind gentlemen then blows my mind by saying he doesn't have to be anywhere until 6:00pm that evening (it's about 1:30) and would be happy to drive us anywhere we need to go. I ask him if he knows Damascus and if it's too far out of his way and he says sure but he'll have to stay off 81 since I'm riding in the back and not to worry about the distance. Off we went.

About half an hour later, we pulled into Damascus and arranged a warm place to stay. He waited until we were sure we had a room and then would not accept any money from me though I tried to convince him to at least take something for the gas. Being a pastor and us being in church ministry for years we all gathered around his car as he offered a prayer for safety and wisdom while we sorted things out.

I'm not ashamed to say that though I was freezing in the bed of the pickup, and I mean freezing (I couldn't stop shivering for a good half hour after we arrived), I shed a couple of tears knowing just how much that man's generosity had impacted our family. My kids wound up thinking that was one of the coolest days on the trail ever when it could have just as easily been about hiking cold and wet into town and going home. My son who had been crying because his feet were cold, kept turning to look at me through the rear window, grinning from ear to ear. We were prepared to do the road walk, sure. We didn't need the help but we sure wanted it and would have gladly paid a shuttle if there had been cell service at the gap or along the road. But to see someone take that much time out of their Sunday afternoon and drive us 45 minutes in the opposite direction he needed to go, well, that was a priceless example of selfless generosity to my children and a wonderful blessing to all of us.

And the rest of the story? We stayed 3 nights at Ruby's Rest in Damascus, ate till we exploded at the Blue Blaze, improved some gear at the Mount Roger's Outfitter and slackpacked about 18 miles south of Whitetop back into town with another 15 miles south into TN before the storm came to an end and we decided to keep going, eventually ending our trip as planned the following Sunday afternoon. My kids now say it was one of the best trips ever.

Absolutely....magical...

tiptoe
04-05-2013, 12:54
So glad there you and yours are okay; this story easily could have had a less happy ending.

HikerMom58
04-05-2013, 13:09
That's a really cool story FarmerChef. Thanks for sharing! :D Glad you warmed up!

This is a thought from someone that posted this on a 2013 FB page. They are talking about meeting other hikers on the trail but I think it applies to non-hiking strangers as well that are so willing to lend a helping hand when needed. ...

When my daughter started hiking the trail, in 2008, I became aware of exactly what this person is talking about here. I wanted to become a part of this community of people, that's one of the reasons I'm drawn to the trail.

Quoting someone ----

" I sort of hoped that people on the trail hiking their dream hike would be outgoing and helpful. I have been blown away how the people come together and become a family! Yeah, I choose the word family because of what it semantically means. A family does not have to be genetically linked. They can simply be of like mind and working as a unit, a whole or individually. Everyone cares about how everyone is doing. Let one member of our linear family become injured, or sick, or just having a hard time, we all rise up as one to give our talents, our love, our wishes and our hope to those family members hurting for some reason. It is sort of spooky to think that a group of people, who we didn't know a month ago, can and do become so tightly dove-tailed together. To my Appalachian Trail Family...you ROCK!! Keep on...keeping on."

Kerosene
04-05-2013, 17:54
Pay it forward!

Northern Lights
04-06-2013, 09:03
That is true trail magic! Love stories like this.