Trail Magic, defined as an unexpected act of kindness, is a quintessential part of the Appalachian Trail experience for many long-distance hikers.
Heading up the Osseo trail I passed a hiker and said hello. Just after Liberty I passed him again, heading the opposite way. One of us must have gotten turned around. He went up onto the ridge to orient himself. I continued on (thankfully, not far) until I saw something on the ground that I recognized (a hair tie), quickly turned around and hauled ass to catch him.
I didn’t ask his name, but I nicknamed him Sven. He is an infectious disease specialist from Portland, Maine and he kept me company from Liberty to Lafayette. Nice guy that he was, he let me lead and set the pace.
The next day, I saw two women sitting on what appeared to be the trail, just past the Garfield Ridge Campsite. I called out to confirm that I was headed in the right direction. They said they were unsure, but had sent a “scout” down to check it out. I waited with them until I saw someone coming back up the trail...it was Sven!
I met a few hikers on Friday morning at Garfield. They were backpacking and headed toward Galehead. Shortly after, I discovered that my camera was gone. The last time I had used it was on Garfield. Oh well, I thought, pictures are overrated…the experience is what really matters. I dropped my pack at Galehead and took a short walk out to the peak. Upon my return I met one of the guys from Garfield. “You don’t take breaks, do you?” He said he had been chasing to catch up with me and that he had my camera.
Two women passed me near the end of my hike (AKA I still had six miles to go but didn’t know it). They were way too cheerful and I was running out of steam. A while later, I caught them taking a break at a stream. They informed me that I still had three miles to go and offered me a bag of “Finding Dory” graham crackers, which were the best things I ate all day.
Some people will call it "coincidence."
I call it magic.
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