Feature Story May 2018
Evergreen Trail Angels: my support team for hiking the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (AT), an epic 2,191-mile footpath that snakes up and down the mountains from Georgia to Maine, is a national treasure (and a natural treasure).
“Backpacking the AT is like going back in time 200-years,” said Evergreen Club member, Jack Kavanagh of Dallas, after his 250-mile section hike of Northern Virginia. He plans to hike the whole thing over the next eight years. “Hiking rocky trails up majestic mountains helps a modern American appreciate what it was like when our Founding Fathers were pioneers. And pioneers knew the meaning of hospitality: they instinctively took care of travelers in need.”
Local people, out of the goodness of their hearts, will set up food stations at crossroads on the AT… what hikers call “Trail Magic”. The term for these Good Samaritans is Trail Angels. “One couple set up a charcoal grill and was roasting hot dogs with diced onions, just giving them away to feed and encourage hikers. Those were the best hot dogs I can ever remember eating… you could taste the love. Five days later another guy was serving up Sloppy Joe’s and had other necessities like duct tape and band-aids. In both cases, I was nearly out of food. You can only imagine what a blessing these Trail Angles are to AT hikers.”
Jack continued, “Traveling to my backpacking adventure, I stayed with Marilyn in Alabama, Marilie & Joe in Tennessee, and Millie & Fred in West Virginia, where I parked my car during 18-days of hiking. Chuck & Jane near Charlottesville brought resupply boxes of food to me, hosted me overnight at their home, and washed my dirty clothes. Ginny & Jim (a former Scout Master) met me with a box of food near Luray, Virginia. I felt like everyone of them was cheering for me to successfully complete my journey.” He smiled, “No famous travelers, whether they be Marco Polo or Lewis and Clark, ever made the journey without a support team backing them up. Evergreen Club members were my support team and my Trail Angels.”
Happy Travels,
The Evergreen TeamClick to DOWNLOAD a PDF of this Evergreen Feature Story
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