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Trail Angels

While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, my friend Greg willed an amazing thing. He wanted to get to the nearest town and he said, “At the next road crossing, a blond in a convertible is going to pick me up and take me town.” Guess what. You got it – Greg stuck out his thumb and a blond in a convertible picked up him and took him to town. That, my friends, is trail magic.


People who hike the legendary AT know a thing or two about trail magic. It occurs thanks to trail angels – those random people who help hikers by offering them rides, food, drink, sometimes even a place to stay.


I think back on a lot of people who have helped me through the years. There was the woman who yelled words encouragement from her car when I was completing a triathlon (something to the effect of You Go, Girl!); the many other rock climbers who have shared ropes with my team on a rappel; the people who have picked me/us up when trying to return to our car after a backpacking trip; and, of course, the people who have hosted me, like the woman I met on a Mexican bus. My hosts are often a friend of a friend or even a stranger, thanks to Hospitality Club. Hospitality Club, Warm Showers, CouchSurfing and the like (see this month’s feature at www.getoutzine.com/node/450) are web-based communities where people connect to host and be hosted by others, all for free.


I also think back to fun encounters where I was the host – no, make that angel: providing a bed, shower and meal to a cross-country cyclist; picking up an evangelical Christian hitchhiker (that’s another blog altogether); hosting a couple and their dog who were thru-hiking the American Discovery Trail.


When I tell people about Hospitality Club and Warm Showers, I tend to get one of two responses: 1) Great! Sign me up; or 2) Isn’t that dangerous?


Life’s dangerous, but not as dangerous as our fear-mongering society would have it. We all have different comfort levels, so I wouldn’t push anyone to go too far beyond theirs. But I do encourage you to help your fellow adventurer. In my opinion (and experience), you’ve got to just stack the odds in your favor and go for it. I like how Roy Willman, a Hospitality Club member featured in the story, describes himself: “Open and unafraid, tempered with caution.” He scopes out potential guests by “looking at it with both your heart and your head.”


Words to live by.


Sign up here: www.warmshowers.org, www.hospitalityclub.org, www.couchsurfing.com

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