Trail Magic Overload?

[campingfever]

My wife and I only get to provide trail magic a few times a year because the distance. We do it because we enjoy meeting people from all over the world who are hiking the trail. If our free food, drinks, snacks and free rides into town are offensive to you then by all means keep walking!

[bamboo bob]

I've done old fashioned magic, left a cooler, worked at "feeds" in GA and VT and eaten a ton of magic old and new. I think the trail organizations have caused the problems that they now want to solve. ATC, PCTA, etc. The keep adding professional trail people and in order to pay for them do endless promotion programs to attract attention and get donations. The promote 'Thru-hiking" as a romantic exciting activity that contrasts with peoples normal lives. They have been very successful at it. Incorporating WILD into the PCTA's promotion is very slick and professional. All this attention is good for the organizations. And adds to the cool factor because now when you say you did a thru-hike you don't get as many blank stares as in the past. I think when things begin to be totally out of hand, the Park Service will actually take over the trails and they'll just ban all of this extraneous activity. But realistically every mile of the PCT and the CDT and certainly the AT is not anybody's definition of wilderness so magic in it's place will endure.

[Lone Wolf]

there's a church group that's been feeding at gooch gap for a couple of weeks. they've pretty much "hogged" a lot of the camping space there. permits or banning are in order

[FatMan]

there's a church group that's been feeding at gooch gap for a couple of weeks. they've pretty much "hogged" a lot of the camping space there. permits or banning are in order

And they are still there.

[Lone Wolf]

serious? what are they doing with the dirty dish water i wonder? i hear the FS is gonna reroute the trail away from the gap itself so the area can recover. what this group is doing is not magical

[Praha4]

if you don't like hiking the AT in the middle of a mob, section hiking the AT has sure become a whole lot more appealing than thru hiking.

we have similar events down here during spring break...church groups show up and have free pancake breakfasts for the kids. Guess it's a type of missionary work for them too.

the AT is gradually evolving into Benton MacKaye's original vision.... hiker hostels, feed stations, etc. each day along the trail. But it is not exactly the "barbarian utopia" he described.

[putts]

the AT is gradually evolving into Benton MacKaye's original vision

Yes and no. It is also reported that MacKaye "viewed thru hikers as merely "stunt men", who missed the whole point of the Appalachian Trail experience in their rush to cover miles."

https://www.appalachiantrail.org/doc...3.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Day hiking, section hiking, thru hiking...it all sounds good to me.

On the topic of hiker feeds - I'd be a hypocrite to say get rid of em. I've fed, I've been fed. There was only one time that I wished I didn't accept "trail magic" because it came with a hard-sell, your going to hell, religious pitch about half way into the meal. I don't think feeds are "magic". Now if you get to a feed and find out that a friend that you hiked with years ago is the one who set it up...that sounds like the trail working its "magic".

[Pedaling Fool]

if you don't like hiking the AT in the middle of a mob, section hiking the AT has sure become a whole lot more appealing than thru hiking.

we have similar events down here during spring break...church groups show up and have free pancake breakfasts for the kids. Guess it's a type of missionary work for them too.

the AT is gradually evolving into Benton MacKaye's original vision.... hiker hostels, feed stations, etc. each day along the trail. But it is not exactly the "barbarian utopia" he described.

No, it's not evolving towards Benton Mackaye's vision: http://www.wilderdom.com/vignettes/a...ts.htm#Shelter


The hostels (along with shuttling) are mostly a simple business venture. A way to make a buck – I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, nor am I saying that is everyone's motivation, but it's a significant factor. The hiker feeds are simply people wanting to party. There is no (and will never be) any educational factor. Although, I guess all the Christian groups are trying to “educate” us...Maybe they are most in keeping with his vision...ha, ha...

Actually, if any part of the trail is somewhat like Mackaye's vision it's the hut system in the Whites, but I guess the money factor kinds of dampers that.

I can see how there are some similarities of hostels/hiker feeds with Mackaye's vision, but those are only on the surface, but if you look underneath it's a completely different animal – much like a wolf in sheep's clothing.


P.S. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see spring break on the same level as hiking the AT...you know the fellowship with nature crap and all...

[dudeijuststarted]

Agreed 100%. And, I'll go one step further - it contributes to the increasing sense of entitlement that seems to be showing up in so many thru hikers these days. Making a continuous fuss over prospective thru hikers sends the message that "hey, your five month vacation is special". It aint.

I second this.

[DLP]

I've done old fashioned magic, left a cooler...

Good article on PCT water cache issues. Unattended cooler problems are also addressed.
http://www.pcta.org/2015/problem-wat...hes-pct-27677/

[Starchild]

Agreed 100%. And, I'll go one step further - it contributes to the increasing sense of entitlement that seems to be showing up in so many thru hikers these days. Making a continuous fuss over prospective thru hikers sends the message that "hey, your five month vacation is special". It aint.

Thank you for your opinion, and that is all that it is! And I am so sorry you feel that way and I hope you find your path - it is obviously not here. Each person, each trail angel gets to decide for themselves if it is special and yes it is, the evidence is clear, yes they are special, yes they are entitled (as we all are if we are really living).

May I suggest the Great Eastern Trail, it is a greater chance to get away from the good will of humanity that we all should enjoy.

[rickb]

Jeesh, the next thing you know someone will suggest that Lone Wolf move to Bristol, NY because he obviously does not belong in Damascus.

[MuddyWaters]

Thank you for your opinion, and that is all that it is! And I am so sorry you feel that way and I hope you find your path - it is obviously not here. Each person, each trail angel gets to decide for themselves if it is special and yes it is, the evidence is clear, yes they are special, yes they are entitled (as we all are if we are really living).

May I suggest the Great Eastern Trail, it is a greater chance to get away from the good will of humanity that we all should enjoy.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion. What there is no place for here, is people who cant stand anyone that disagrees with them. And there are a few.

[WingedMonkey]

Thank you for your opinion, and that is all that it is! And I am so sorry you feel that way and I hope you find your path - it is obviously not here. Each person, each trail angel gets to decide for themselves if it is special and yes it is, the evidence is clear, yes they are special, yes they are entitled (as we all are if we are really living).

May I suggest the Great Eastern Trail, it is a greater chance to get away from the good will of humanity that we all should enjoy.

By your own accounts, you pretty much mooched your way to Maine.

You choose to call it magic.

[Scrum]

My magic story:

SNP - about 4 years ago? Record high temperatures mid-late July. The Waysides thermometer read 99 degrees, yet the heat index was above 115 due to the humidity. We actually had a ranger stop us at a road crossing and tell us to get off the trail. When I told him my car was 30-40 miles north, he sighed and handed us a six pack of gatorade. Stopping at a park for lunch, an older couple offered us the 1/2 a watermellon leftover from their picnic. I felt like Alexander Supertramp, eating that Super Apple, in "Into the Wild." That watermelon was the bomb!!!

Now that is trail magic - especially the watermelon.

When I day hike on the AT I usually bring along a few extra chocolate bars or apples. When I strike up a conversation with a thru or section hiker and the spirit moves me, I whip it out, wish them luck, and move on. You get some great reactions this way, and it seems to provide some encouragement for those who are struggling a bit. Now it is part of our family tradition and my kids look forward to surprising a few hikers with a little treat almost as much as the hike itself.

[Starchild]

By your own accounts, you pretty much mooched your way to Maine.

You choose to call it magic.

It is true I was freely offered a lot of good will along my hike, and I was humble enough to be able to receive it. Such kindness given to me did make my thru much more enjoyable and comfortable and adventurous and I am very thankful of the love that was shown to me. It is something I will never forget, something I also can not rightly repay - nor is it meant to be repaid, as it was not monetary value they offered me, but their hearts, it is only something that I carry with me and share that love with others I meet on and off the trail. It taught me what human kindness is to the point that it is now within me also and has transformed my life to now be open to giving freely of my heart in ways shown to me.

So many like to define terms that establish what their opinion is, words such as vacation, hiker feeds, mooch, what trail magic 'really is', and try to keep it in a box they defined for themselves, not realizing that you can not put it inside a box, you can only limit your mind by the box you use.

The trail is evolving, and yes is at its essence Benton MacKaye's original vision, in that the AT is a blending and balance of the wilderness and humanity together, the best of both.

[Jack Tarlin]

This issue seems to come up every year, and to me it's a NON issue. I'm from Boston, and where I'm from, if someone comes up to you with a smile and offers you something you don't want or aren't interested in, you smile back, say "No, thank you!" and then you go about your business. And anyone that's troubled by someone giving out cans of soda pop in a parking lot, or if they think this is somehow destroying one's "wilderness experience", well in truth, you really need to find something more meaningful to fret about.

[Coffee]

If hiking isn't a vacation, what in the world should we call it? I'm amused by people who feel that their vacation has some higher purpose than other choices. (Leaving on a five month vacation in two weeks).

[swisscross]

The trail is evolving, and yes is at its essence Benton MacKaye's original vision, in that the AT is a blending and balance of the wilderness and humanity together, the best of both.

I just read MacKaye's article "A Project of Regional Planning" and did not notice anything about people setting up food stations at road intersections.

Did I miss something?

[Starchild]

If hiking isn't a vacation, what in the world should we call it? I'm amused by people who feel that their vacation has some higher purpose than other choices. (Leaving on a five month vacation in two weeks).

If you view it as only a vacation that may be all you get out of it. But you can only define your AT journey, not others. For some it is a pilgrimage, others a educational journey - even qualifying for school credits in places. The term Sabatical also is included:

In recent times, "sabbatical" has come to mean any extended absence in the career of an individual in order to achieve something. In the modern sense, one takes sabbatical typically to fulfill some goal, e.g., writing a book or travelling extensively for research.

(from Wiki).

More for me was to be treated as a child, not in a condescending sense, but to be truly 'treated' as in the word treat. It made up a lot for my lack of a real childhood, and was a chance to be care free, with adventures beyond my imagination given to me by people who truly care about me and my journey. Thru hiking is putting yourself in a very child like position, needing rides and help getting clean by providing showers and clothes to wear while yours is in the laundry. The job is simply to accept, experience and learn on a very clearly marked path that a child should be able to follow. It also, by experiencing this, I am much more able to truly treat a child as a child should be treated.