What's the deal with thru hikes?

[Lemni Skate]

I inadvertantly started a thread that degenerated into people bashing these things.

It sounds like hikers are just stumbling on these things all the time. I never do.

Are these things that hikers make a special trip to get to (like Trail Days), or are there really so many that a person doing 160 days from Springer to Katahadin is going to wander upon 10 or 12 of them in their hike? I honestly don't understand.

If you've got to make a special trip to get to them, I'd think they wouldn't be hard to avoid, but if there are really so many that people are just wandering up on a dozen or so in a typical thru-hike, then that's truly crazy.

[MDSection12]

I inadvertantly started a thread that degenerated into people bashing these things.

It sounds like hikers are just stumbling on these things all the time. I never do.

Are these things that hikers make a special trip to get to (like Trail Days), or are there really so many that a person doing 160 days from Springer to Katahadin is going to wander upon 10 or 12 of them in their hike? I honestly don't understand.

If you've got to make a special trip to get to them, I'd think they wouldn't be hard to avoid, but if there are really so many that people are just wandering up on a dozen or so in a typical thru-hike, then that's truly crazy.

I think you mean trail feeds? You title and post are not very clear.

[RED-DOG]

Hiker feeds are fine as long as theirs not one at every road crossing.

[Slo-go'en]

It really is hit or miss. Typically hiker feeds are at road crossings, so you don't have to go out of your way. Most of these "events" happen down in the south during the peak spring season when you can count on having a crowd. Depending on your timing, you may hit several events or none at all.

Once into Virginia, the best you can usually hope for is to find a few cans of soda in a stream, maybe a cooler with some snacks in it. By mid Virginia, the number and frequency of thru-hikers passing though a given spot on any given day or weekend is getting pretty small.

[Cookerhiker]

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

[MDSection12]

I've never seen a 'feed' here in MD. The only similar thing I've seen was a few cases of soda under a bridge near Harper's Ferry with a sign. The sign said 'thru hikers only, please' and the trash had all been tossed around there on the ground.

I was happy to pass it up, and if it weren't for the fact that I was under a noisy highway anyway it would have bothered me more... But I will admit that a hiker in our group who had been suffering through terrible blisters and was pushing to make Harper's Ferry did take one just for the caffeine rush. I would have preferred they not be there at all though.

[MDSection12]

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Contextually, it seems that he's talking about 'hiker feeds.' I think that's pretty safe to assume.

[Berserker]

It sounds like hikers are just stumbling on these things all the time. I never do.

I haven't stumbled on a thru hike yet, but I'd like to.

Are these things that hikers make a special trip to get to (like Trail Days), or are there really so many that a person doing 160 days from Springer to Katahadin is going to wander upon 10 or 12 of them in their hike? I honestly don't understand.

Hmmm...wander onto 10 or 12 thru hikes during a thru hike ...that's quite a profound thought.

If you've got to make a special trip to get to them, I'd think they wouldn't be hard to avoid, but if there are really so many that people are just wandering up on a dozen or so in a typical thru-hike, then that's truly crazy.

Again, a special trip to a thru hike, but then wandering up on a dozen or so thru hikes during a thru hike ...dude, you're blowing my mind!

[slbirdnerd]

Somebody stumble upon some trail magic mushrooms? What is this even about?

I can't imagine trail magic being a bad thing, especially since the people offering it probably just enjoy meeting the thru hikers so much. I would. And "offering" being the "magic" word. You don't have to partake.

[MDSection12]

I can't imagine trail magic being a bad thing, especially since the people offering it probably just enjoy meeting the thru hikers so much. I would. And "offering" being the "magic" word. You don't have to partake.

It isn't a good thing, or a bad thing... It's a made up term (obviously) that has almost no concrete definition. I could give you examples of 'trail magic' that are excellent and I could give you examples of 'trail magic' that are terrible... Have you read the 'becoming a mobile trail angel' thread? If you sift through the BS I think we actually hashed it out quite well.

[Cookerhiker]

I've never seen a 'feed' here in MD....

I lived in MD for 37 years and one time, in June 2006, I did a solo hiker feed at Gathland State Park. It's a good setting because the trail goes right past the picnic pavilion. I asked the hikers to sign their trail name on a sheet. Fed 17 hikers. As I recall, only one thru declined to stop and partake. Had the usual - hot dogs, burgers, chips, potato salad, fresh fruit - plus I made some things like guacamole and brownies.

[Mizirlou]

Are these things that hikers make a special trip to get to . . . if there are really so many that people are just wandering up on a dozen or so in a typical thru-hike, then that's truly crazy.

LS, the issue isn’t confined to the subset of thru hikers you mentioned. Some events along the trail attract friends & relatives of thru hikers, former thru hikers, section hikers & their followers, Trail Angels & their friends and relatives, people who empty nearby cities on weekends to partake, and a fair number of curious onlookers. In your opinion, does the document below fairly explain the spirit of the thing? Please read, then comment:

http://www.atcmarpc.org/documents/Tr...2010-12-06.pdf
Issue: “The evolution of ‘Trail Magic’ from small spontaneous acts of kindness to larger and
increasingly common planned social events, such as multi-day hiker ‘feeds,’ and the
appropriateness of leaving unattended food and drink along the A.T.”

Summary: “These recommendations are offered to help Trail Angels on the Trail, the plants and animals who call it home, and the people who enjoy it.”

LS, the issue isn’t confined to the subset of thru hikers. Some events along the trail attract friends & relatives of thru hikers, former thru hikers, section hikers & their followers, Trail Angels & their friends and relatives, people who empty nearby cities on weekends to partake, and a fair number of curious onlookers. In your opinion, does the document below fairly explain the spirit of the thing? Please read, then comment: http://www.atcmarpc.org/documents/Tr...2010-12-06.pdf
Issue: “The evolution of ‘Trail Magic’ from small spontaneous acts of kindness to larger and
increasingly common planned social events, such as multi-day hiker ‘feeds,’ and the
appropriateness of leaving unattended food and drink along the A.T.”

Summary: “These recommendations are offered to help Trail Angels on the Trail, the plants and animals who call it home, and the people who enjoy it.”

[Mizirlou]

department of redundancy department. 'Scuse me.

[Cookerhiker]

LS, the issue isn’t confined to the subset of thru hikers you mentioned. Some events along the trail attract friends & relatives of thru hikers, former thru hikers, section hikers & their followers, Trail Angels & their friends and relatives, people who empty nearby cities on weekends to partake, and a fair number of curious onlookers. In your opinion, does the document below fairly explain the spirit of the thing? Please read, then comment:

http://www.atcmarpc.org/documents/Tr...2010-12-06.pdf
Issue: “The evolution of ‘Trail Magic’ from small spontaneous acts of kindness to larger and
increasingly common planned social events, such as multi-day hiker ‘feeds,’ and the
appropriateness of leaving unattended food and drink along the A.T.”

Summary: “These recommendations are offered to help Trail Angels on the Trail, the plants and animals who call it home, and the people who enjoy it.”

LS, the issue isn’t confined to the subset of thru hikers. Some events along the trail attract friends & relatives of thru hikers, former thru hikers, section hikers & their followers, Trail Angels & their friends and relatives, people who empty nearby cities on weekends to partake, and a fair number of curious onlookers. In your opinion, does the document below fairly explain the spirit of the thing? Please read, then comment: http://www.atcmarpc.org/documents/Tr...2010-12-06.pdf
Issue: “The evolution of ‘Trail Magic’ from small spontaneous acts of kindness to larger and
increasingly common planned social events, such as multi-day hiker ‘feeds,’ and the
appropriateness of leaving unattended food and drink along the A.T.”

Summary: “These recommendations are offered to help Trail Angels on the Trail, the plants and animals who call it home, and the people who enjoy it.”

In the book I'm writing about my Colorado Trail hike, here's what I said about Trail Magic:

"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."

[hikerboy57]

In the book I'm writing about my Colorado Trail hike, here's what I said about Trail Magic:

"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."

this........+1

[Mizirlou]

In the book I'm writing about my Colorado Trail hike, here's what I said about Trail Magic: . . .
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. . .

Ding, ding, ding! Winner!

[kidchill]

I...am...so...confused...

[atmilkman]

I...am...so...confused...

Don't worry. It gets worse.

[TD55]

You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you've a mind to.

[Datto]

There's something about this thread that makes sense.

To explain thru-hiking, I offer the following from my PCT journal:

May 5, 2004
Palms to Pines Highway - Idyllwild
Milepoint: 153.7

A few days ago several of us thru-hikers were sitting outside a store waiting for the afternoon desert heat to subside.

An SUV pulls up and a woman and a man get out. The woman walks up to us thru-hikers carrying her Pomeranian lap dog.

She asks, "Where did you all start your hike?"

Crow answers, "Mexico. We all started at Mexico."

The lady looks us over, admittedly a motley crew, and asks, "so where are you hiking to?"

Crow responds, "Canada."

The lady quickly says, "Yeah. Right.", ties up her dog to a post and goes inside the store.

Us thru-hikers outside are rolling in laughter.


- Datto

PS: Crow fell and broke her arm several days later. Crow kept hiking until she could take time out to get her arm set in a cast up the trail. One day she hiked past me and gave me an earfull for taking a nap in the middle of the trail. The nerve I have some days.