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  1. #1

    Default Trail Magic - Max Patch - April 15th weekend

    If any NOBOs are reading this, I will be providing trail magic on Max Patch during Easter weekend (Sat/Sun). Burgers, chicken, dogs, cookies, klondike's, charging stations, etc.

    Will be there rain or shine.

    Blue Sky
    NOBO '16

  2. #2

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    Charging Stations!?!? WOW... you may get trail magic person of the year!! any filets or lobster??
    "Reach Farther" ~ SOLACE

  3. #3
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    nothing magical about it

  4. #4
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Not sure if you are schlepping it all in to Max Patch itself? Perhaps an access road just after or just before may be a better place.

    https://www.appalachiantrail.org/doc...rail-magic.pdf
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

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    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Great article Mags.
    Blackheart

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mags View Post
    Not sure if you are schlepping it all in to Max Patch itself? Perhaps an access road just after or just before may be a better place.

    https://www.appalachiantrail.org/doc...rail-magic.pdf
    There is a parking lot at Max Patch.
    I love the smell of esbit in the morning!

  7. #7
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lugnut View Post
    There is a parking lot at Max Patch.
    Yes there is. But is an iconic summit of the Southeast Appalachians the best place to stage trail magic versus an access road before or after the summit area?

    Everyone has the right to pass on trail magic. But by putting the trail magic right at the summit, or close enough, of a well-known mountain, a choice of sorts is being forced.

    Here's one idea:

    max-patch.JPG
    Last edited by Mags; 04-10-2017 at 11:54.
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by palmettoheel View Post
    If any NOBOs are reading this, I will be providing trail magic on Max Patch during Easter weekend (Sat/Sun). Burgers, chicken, dogs, cookies, klondike's, charging stations, etc.

    Will be there rain or shine.

    Blue Sky
    NOBO '16
    super cool! you may want to consider some veggie options for burgers and dogs as a large % of thru hikers are veggies!

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    Quote Originally Posted by palmettoheel View Post
    If any NOBOs are reading this, I will be providing trail magic on Max Patch during Easter weekend (Sat/Sun). Burgers, chicken, dogs, cookies, klondike's, charging stations, etc.

    Will be there rain or shine.

    Blue Sky
    NOBO '16
    ON max patch itself? not cool. there or the parking lot. move a few miles north to lemon gap

  10. #10

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    "Locate events in developed areas on durable surfaces. Large gatherings in the backcountry can lead to trampling of plants, soil compaction, and disturbance of wildlife habitat. Trail towns and local parks are better locations. Keep events small. Consider whether your event may be contributing to an overabundance of trail feeds in the local area or region. Some hikers come to the Trail to seek solitude and contemplation."
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  11. #11
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    About as dignified as playing paintball in a cemetery. Some places are special, just because they are.

  12. #12

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    I ended up speed hiking (for me) over Max Patch last year due to the crowds, noise, views of powerlines, parking lots, etc. The place has been "loved" to death.

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    Plenty of folks from NC and GA go to Max Patch and glamp overnight. There is a decent road, a parking lot, and an easy walk to the top. It can be completely overrun with dayhikers/picnickers on a Saturday. But let's not go overboard about how special it is. The Forest Service hauls mechanical mowers up to the top and mows the Patch a few times every summer. It is not "natural" up there. It is completely un-natural. Great view, but that is due SOLELY to man's on-going intervention with nature.

    Finally, about trail magic on the top. In my experience, folks set up the TM away from the actual AT treadway. You would have to leave the treadway, walk across a hundred yards of grass, or more, and then ask them what was going on. Or, they may walk up to you as you are hiking and just say "We've got trail magic for thrus over at the red tent." You can keep hiking. Or, partake. Or, set up your tent on the Patch far enough away from EVERYONE that you won't hear a dang thing. Oh, and the view is the same no matter where you are on the Patch. It is huge. But, it is in the Pisgah, the FS built a road and a parking lot there, and it is enjoyed by non-AT hikers to AT hikers at probably a 1000-1 ratio, so...yeah...it aint there just for you....just sayin...

    Don't get me wrong, Max is a great place to hang. A great place to meet thru's. A great place to have some trail magic fun.

    Of course, YMMV. But, doesn't it always?

    Plus, it's fun to watch some of those glampers experience Max's winds....heh...."Your tent went WHERE?"....

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    Also, in my experience, thru's have heard about TM on Max Patch and do leave the treadway and hike across the meadow to check it all out and see if there is magic going on...just sayin...

  15. #15

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    is it magic if you announce it?

  16. #16
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere View Post
    is it magic if you announce it?
    Kind of like knowing the punch line to the joke ahead of time.
    Blackheart

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere View Post
    is it magic if you announce it?
    That would be a hiker feed. Nothing magical about it.

    As others have pointed out there are better places to have one than at the summit. If you want to have it in the parking lot feel free to put up and take down afterwards a flyer at the nearest access road or hold it there.

    Just because others do something doesn't make it right. One terminus has already been moved because of hiker behavior.

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    Quote Originally Posted by evyck da fleet View Post
    That would be a hiker feed. Nothing magical about it.

    As others have pointed out there are better places to have one than at the summit. If you want to have it in the parking lot feel free to put up and take down afterwards a flyer at the nearest access road or hold it there.

    Just because others do something doesn't make it right. One terminus has already been moved because of hiker behavior.
    People have weddings, wedding receptions, birthday parties, etc...right there on Max Patch. Preaching to AT'ers not to do something because "others" are doing it is a bit uncalled for in this instance. Again, the general public uses Max Patch at least 1000-1 to AT'ers. If Max Patch wasn't to be used and enjoyed by the general public the following must occur:

    The road and parking lot must disappear.
    The USFS must stop mowing Max Patch.
    The AT must be re-routed around Max Patch.

    Yeah, AT'ers are part of the General Public. Sorry to break the news.

  19. #19
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScareBear View Post
    People have weddings, wedding receptions, birthday parties, etc...right there on Max Patch. Preaching to AT'ers not to do something because "others" are doing it is a bit uncalled for in this instance. Again, the general public uses Max Patch at least 1000-1 to AT'ers. If Max Patch wasn't to be used and enjoyed by the general public the following must occur:

    The road and parking lot must disappear.
    The USFS must stop mowing Max Patch.
    The AT must be re-routed around Max Patch.

    Yeah, AT'ers are part of the General Public. Sorry to break the news.
    As evyck da fleet said just because some people have various activities on Max Patch does not necessarily make it right. The ATC has been pushing hikers (who normally are made up of people who are trying to get away from such events and commune with nature) to voluntarily register their departure date in order to spread out and prevent over crowding. I agree that events like this should be held well off the summit and trail. If people continue to over use the trail, it won't be able to recover from the previous overuse. People need to take ownership of the trail and start calling people out when they are vandalizing shelters, signs and other structures along the trail. I carry a small plastic grocery bag to pick up trash left by others who did not care to pack out their trash. Fire pits are not incinerators for trash. They also don't need a bonfire built in them. But if you start a fire, you should be the one to care after it as far as properly extinguishing it completely and cleaning it up under the Leave No Trace policy.
    Blackheart

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by BuckeyeBill View Post
    As evyck da fleet said just because some people have various activities on Max Patch does not necessarily make it right. The ATC has been pushing hikers (who normally are made up of people who are trying to get away from such events and commune with nature) to voluntarily register their departure date in order to spread out and prevent over crowding. I agree that events like this should be held well off the summit and trail. If people continue to over use the trail, it won't be able to recover from the previous overuse. People need to take ownership of the trail and start calling people out when they are vandalizing shelters, signs and other structures along the trail. I carry a small plastic grocery bag to pick up trash left by others who did not care to pack out their trash. Fire pits are not incinerators for trash. They also don't need a bonfire built in them. But if you start a fire, you should be the one to care after it as far as properly extinguishing it completely and cleaning it up under the Leave No Trace policy.
    The only thing Max Patch has to do with the AT is that the AT happens to cross it. Max Patch is a USFS recreation area in the Pisgah National Forest. That's why there is a road. That is why there is a parking lot. Both of these things have not one thing to do with the AT. Recreation Area. Not a pristine wilderness area. The USFS MOWS IT. Come on folks, let us get a little realistic about EXACTLY what Max Patch is. It is a USFS recreation area. It is open to all forms of non-commercial, non-motorized, non-horseback activities. People bring 20x16 tents, coolers, Coleman stoves with propane tanks, etc...it is a public camping area with a road and a parking lot. And a great view. Iconic, even. But it aint the wilderness and AT hikers account for less than 1/1000th of it's use. Bemoan it's use/overuse if you wish, but sure as heck don't blame AT users for it. One One Thousandth of it's use.

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