Trail Magic

Hello from Dalton, Mass! I guess I'll try to talk a little about something hikers call trail magic in this post.

A few days ago I experienced as good a dose of trail magic from a couple of trail angels that I could ever hope to expect. The town, Manchester Center, Vermont. The situation, I was facing an unexpected and necessary night in a town with no real option for an inexpensive night's lodging. Unexpected because I was in need of a new pack, necessary because EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) was working hard to find me the pack I needed but they had to wait 'til the next morning to say for sure if they could get me the pack I wanted.

I find a fellow hiker in front of the grocery store next door talking with a guy who seems real enthusiastic about the trail - turns out he thru-hiked northbound (NOBO) in '01. I ask Hubcap (the other hiker.... who has a freakin' VW hubcap hanging off the back of his pack!!) if he's plannin' on stayin' in town. Thinking that if he's looking at a motel, I might be game to split a room with him. Otherwise I said I'd be staying in the town's public park (per recommendation from the EMS lady as a place that I could probably get away with it). Well this other ex-thru-hiker, Shithouse, asks if I'm hiking too, trailname, hi, etc.. and then asks if we need a place to stay!?! My jaw drops and eyebrows raise... uuhhhh, yeeeAH! He says, ok, hold on, let me go in and talk to my wife. So we hang out and next thing we know we have a place to stay the night in their vacation home in Stratton! They take us to their home, let us shower up (not sure if that's more for their benefit or ours..), let us do laundry and then commence to cooking us dinner!!!! While they're working in the kitchen they serve us some hot tea and while we're all talking, we're enjoying some different cheeses and fresh figs (btw, goat cheese with fresh figs is soooo good!). A great hot veggie soup with lots of good bread and some white wine, followed by a nice big bowl of good ice cream! Mmmmm. Then hung out and talked on their back porch while they took turns playing the guitar and singing for us!! Then it was a great night's rest in a comfy bed. To top it all off we all made and ate breakfast together (more hot tea, scrambled eggs, lots of bacon, leftover bread, and my task, some good bran muffins with some of the figs chopped in - not too bad if I do say so myself!). Then he gave us a ride back to town and dropped us off right back where he picked us up. A fellow thru-hiker giving back to the trail.... craaaaazy cool! This my friends, is an example of trail magic. Trail magic being anything to help a hiker during their journey along the trail - usually by some complete stranger. The bestower of such magic, a trail angel.

Unbelievable? yeah... kinda is. But that's the living thing that is the AT.

And just when I thought I couldn't experience a better dose of trail magic, I arrive in Dalton, Mass. I'd heard about this guy named Tom. I stopped by his place and this is going to be a 2nd night of crashing out on his floor. He's given us a place to relax and hang out of the rain. He's let me use his phone and internet. He's driven us around town to do laundry, hit the grocery store, and the outfitter at the mall. He's made us dinner. But mostly he's just opened his home and his life to hikers. His house is right on the trail - the blazes pass through this town right down his street. It's been super cool just to hang out and talk with this guy and he does it every day. And he's been doing it for 25 years.

So hopefully I've done some kind of justice in giving you something of a taste of a big part of this AT hiking community... a very open and welcoming place to be sometimes.

This of course is trail magic of epic proportions. Most trail magic is something small. A hitch into town... A couple of jugs of water at a trail head... some cans of soda or beer in a stream... but even these little things can be huge sometimes. And always welcome to a tired, sweaty or soaking wet, hungry, thirsty hiker.

Tom's place in Dalton is a great place to take a rest day ;)