W11: Trail Magic; Generosity On The Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail, otherwise known as the A.T., is an incredible trail system the stretches 2,200 miles along the Appalachian mountains in the Eastern United States. While many residents of the 14 states that the trail connects have hiked at least a portion of the trail system, many people only know about the A.T. from what they hear in the news when something goes terribly wrong. What many people don’t realize is how many incredible things happen along the A.T. that can renew your faith in humanity.
In fact, these incredible things are referred to by the hikers as Trail Magic. In today’s episode I share three stories that will illustrate just how special it can be to spend time hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Welcome to My Good Three Podcast: Good Stories For A Better Week
Click here for a list of Episodes.
(FULL TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE BELOW)
Listen To Full Episode:
Or, Listen Where You Get Your Podcasts:
Read Full Episode Transcript:
W11: TRAIL MAGIC; GENEROSITY ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT TRAIL HIKING THAT HELPS SOME PEOPLE COME ALIVE. MAYBE IT’S THE METHODICAL BIPEDAL RHYTHM THAT HELPS ACTIVATE SOMETHING IN OUR BRAINS TO REJUVENATE US, OR MAYBE IT’S SOMETHING MORE MYSTICAL, LIKE A HIDDEN ENERGY FLOATING THROUGH THE TREES – REGARDLESS, IT’S AN ACTIVITY THAT PEOPLE OF ALL AGES ENJOY. AND EVERY YEAR, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ON THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES ATTEMPT TO RECONNECT WITH NATURE AND PUSH THEIR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LIMITS BY THRU-HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. THIS IMPRESSIVE FEAT, WHICH TAKES BETWEEN 5 AND 7 MONTHS, IS A WINDING, 2,200 MILE JOURNEY ALONG THE APPALACIAN MOUNTAINS OF THE EASTERN U.S. ACROSS 14 STATES FROM MAINE TO GEORGIA.
HOWEVER, WHEN STORIES FROM THE A.T., AS THE TRAIL IS CALLED, MAKE IT INTO THE MAINSTREAM, THEY’RE OFTEN BASED IN TRAGEDY. IT’S USUALLY EITHER A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, A FATAL ACCIDENT OR AN ASSAULT THAT MAKES IT INTO LOCAL NEWS, OR EVEN WORSE, THE OCCASIONAL HOMICIDE THAT GENERATES NATIONAL INTEREST. UNFORTUNATELY WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T HEAR ARE ALL THE INSPIRING STORIES.
WITH THIS YEAR’S APPALACIAN TRAIL SEASON COMING TO A CLOSE, AND MOST THRU-HIKERS RECENTLY COMPLETING THEIR TREKS, IT’S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT A FEW OF THE INCREDIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER’S WELL BEING. IN FACT, GENEROSITY IS A COMMON OCCURANCE AMONG HIKERS OF THE APPALACIAN TRAIL, A HUMAN CONNECTION THAT THEY ALL REFER TO AS “TRAIL MAGIC.”
EPISODE
A MAN IN HIS TWENTIES ORIGINALLY FROM MAINE, DESCRIBED A MOMENT DURING HIS FIRST FEW WEEKS OF HIS HIKE STARTING IN GEORGIA THAT OPENED HIS EYES TO THE KINDNESS ALONG THE TRAIL. HE WAS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH GEORGIA WHEN AN UNSEASONABLE SPRING COLD FRONT PUSHED THROUGH, AND THE WEATHER DIPPED TO NEAR ZERO. HE WOKE UP ONE MORNING AND COULDN’T FEEL HIS FEET BUT HE PUT HIS BOOTS ON AND GOT MOVING. HE KNEW HE NEEDED TO GET TO THE NEXT REST POINT, A SMALL LEAN-TO 20 MILES NORTH ALONG THE TRAIL, BEFORE THE TEMERATURES DIPPED AGAIN. THAT DAY HIS ENTIRE HIKE WAS SPENT DREADING ANOTHER NIGHT IN TEMPERATURES HE HADN’T QUITE PREPARED FOR. WHEN HE ARRIVED AT THE LEAN-TO, HE STOOD SPEECHLESS AFTER FINDING TWO DOWN COMFORTERS, BROUGHT TO THE LEAN-TO BY A LOCAL WHO LIVED NEARBY, KNOWING THAT ANYONE STAYING IN THE LEAN-TO THAT NIGHT WOULD NEED THE EXTRA WARMTH. THE KINDNESS BROUGHT HIM TO TEARS.
A WOMAN IN HER THIRTIES WAS ATTEMPTING A SOLO THRU-HIKE. ALONG THE ROUTE, HER HUSBAND AND KIDS WOULD MEET HER IN MANY OF THE TOWNS TO GIVE HER ENCOURAGEMENT, LOAD HER UP WITH FOOD AND WATER AND PROVIDE A WARM PLACE TO SLEEP. AT ONE POINT SHE WAS HIKING A SECTION IN VIRGINIA THAT DIDN’T HAVE EASY ACCESS TO FRESH WATER, AND WITH THE TEMPERATURES SOARING THAT WEEK, SHE HAD RUN OUT. HER ENERGY WAS RUNNING LOW AND SHE WAS OVERHEATING. SHE LOOKED AT HER MAP AND FOUND THAT THE NEAREST WATER SUPPLY WAS A QUARTER MILE HIKE DOWN A STEEP HILL. IT WOULD TAKE HER NEARLY HALF THE DAY JUST TO GET THERE AND BACK, AND WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH ENERGY SHE’D HAVE TO EXPEND. SHE WAS RUNNING OUT OF MOTIVATION TO KEEP GOING. SHE KEPT MOVING FORWARD AND JUST AS SHE ROUNDED A BEND, SHE SAW A MAN WEARING A VIRGINIA TECH HAT, HOLDING FRESH WATER CONTAINERS, SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR. SHE SAT DOWN AND LEARNED HIS NAME WAS BILL. THIS USED TO BE HIS LAND BEFORE HE LOST 13 ACRES OF IT TO EMINENT DOMAIN FOR THE TRAIL SYSTEM, BUT HE WASN’T BITTER. INSTEAD, HE WAS A FIXTURE ON THE TRAIL FOR HIKERS IN NEED OF WATER IN THE WARM MONTHS. EACH DAY, HE WOULD CART CLEAN WATER ALL THE WAY UP FROM HIS PROPERTY TO A SMALL SHELTER NEXT TO THE TRAIL. HE’D SIT WITH THEM AND TALK AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE WAS HYDRATED. HER MINDSET CHANGED THAT DAY. SHE COULD DO IT. TRAIL MAGIC WAS REAL.
THER’S ANOTHER STORY OF A MAN IN HIS LATE SIXTIES WHO DECIDED, AFTER YEARS OF BEING A PLASTIC SURGEON, THAT HE WAS BURNT OUT AND NEEDED A BREAK. HE HAD BEEN AN EAGLE SCOUT WHEN HE WAS YOUNG AND MISSED SPENDING TIME IN THE OUTDOORS, SO HE LOOKED TO THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL AS HIS ANSWER. HE WOULD ATTEMPT A SOLO HIKE TO RECONNECT WITH NATURE AND RESTORE HIS ENERGY.
AT ONE POINT HE WAS HEADED SOUTH THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED TWO DAYS OF COLD, STEADY RAIN. HIS RAIN GEAR WAS OVERWHELMED AND THE TRAIL BECAME A RIVER, MAKING IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO MAKE PROGRESS. AS THE WEATHER WORSENED, HE BECAME COLDER AND COLDER, UNTIL AT ONE POINT, WITH HIS FEET AND BODY IMMERSED IN COLD WATER FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD, HE RECONGIZED THAT HE WAS BECOMING HYPOTHERMIC. HE WAS NOW IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. HE SAT DOWN AND ATTEMPTED TO OPEN HIS PACK SO HE COULD CHANGE INTO DRY CLOTHES, BUT HIS HANDS WOULDN’T WORK. HE WAS NOW SHAKING UNCONTROLLABLY AND COULDN’T MOVE. THE RAIN CONTINUED TO BLANKET HIM AS HE LEANED BACK AND HIS MIND STARTED TO DRIFT. HE REALIZED HE WAS IN A LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION.
OUT OF NOWHERE A STRANGER ARRIVED. A MAN HALF HIS AGE. HE SAID HE WAS AN ARMY VETERAN AND HE HAD MEDICAL TRAINING. IMMEDIATELY HE OPENED THE OLDER MAN’S PACK AND HELPED HIM DRY OFF. HE FED HIM THE FOOD HE HAD AND MADE A POT OF HOT COFFEE TO WARM THE STRUGGLING MAN FROM THE INSIDE. HE THEN HELPED THE MAN UP AND GOT HIM SAFELY TO THE NEAREST SHELTER AND TENDED TO HIM UNTIL HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT.
I THINK WHAT WE HEAR ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL RUNS PARALLEL THE WAY THINGS ARE IN OUR WORLD THESE DAYS. WE HEAR A LOT OF NEGATIVES – A LOT OF STORIES ARE SENSATIONALIZED, AND CHERRY PICKED TO GET THE MOST ATTENTION. SO, WE INADVERTENTLY FOCUS ON THE DANGERS AND WE HESTATE TO TRUST THOSE WE DON’T KNOW VERY WELL IN ORDER TO PROTECT OURSELVES. THE PROBLEM IS, THIS SETS US UP TO MISS THE CONNECTIONS THAT MAKE BEING HUMAN SO UNIQUE. I KNOW I’M GUILTY OF THIS.
AS WE BEGIN THE NEW YEAR, IT’S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE STILL OKAY WITH DEPENDING ON ONE ANOTHER, EVEN STRANGERS – BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, WE’RE WIRED FOR THAT….WHILE IT MAY FEEL UNCOMFORTALBE, WE HAVE TO TRUST IT’S HEALTHY FOR US TO OPEN OURSELVES UP TO A LITTLE TRAIL MAGIC.
https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/angels-and-magic-in-virginia/
https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/hiking/appalachian-trail-dispatch-trail-magic/
https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/hike-the-a-t/thru-hiking/trail-magic/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPtGrjU-Fi8
https://beinspired.global/a-tradition-of-kindness-on-the-appalachian-trail/