I'm a member of the ATC, so I get their quarterly journal. I wish I could publish a link to their Summer 2017 article "Practical Trail Magic" but it does not appear to be online. The crux of the article is trailhead trail magic (TM) and TM held in the woods just off the trail is bad for the trail. Their argument is it creates hiker bubbles and needlessly strains the trail environment in other ways, too.

I'm a LASHer having done 500 miles last year and this year (2017). I've got to say that nothing lifts my spirits and those of other hikers (as I have observed) more than trail magic. I tend to lose a lot of weight, so the food free-for-all at these TM's is a big help.

The ATC says the TM should be held in trail towns, but really, how many hikers would go that far out of their way without some knowledge of what a TM entails? In other words, how would you feel going a couple of miles out of your way for coffee and a donut as opposed to a full on TM with hot dogs, hambugers, sweets, etc?

So, what's my point? I'm just curious about what other through hikers and LASHers think about the ATC's concerns and how it relates to them as a long distance hiker.