June 25, 2016
Most hikers mean “Food” when they talk about Trail Magic, the term for happy surprises on the trail.
My favorite Trail Magic is trail maintenance, and extraordinary care like the Duncannon Appalachian Trail Club folks – and day hikers who happened to be hiking up to Hawk Rock – who were removing graffiti from the rocks. They had teamed up to carry 70 gallons of water one mile up with a 750 ft elevation gain. It was impressive! Volunteers, families, random day hikers, the handful of organizers gathered a crew and spent half the day coating the paint with a gelatinous acid product, waiting for an hour, then scrubbing with wire brushes.
Food? Give me THIS kind of Trail Magic any day!
In joy,
Regina