Trail Magic

3/29/2013

Trail Magic: (n) Random acts of kindness performed for thru hikers on the AT.
Example: Snacks left for hikers at a shelter.

Since I've been out here I've received a bunch of trail magic including finding snickers at a shelter, stumbling upon a bin of snacks on trail, receiving a few hitches and being given a headlamp by a weekend hiker when my headlamp broke. But by far the best trail magic I have been lucky enough to receive occurred a few days ago when I stayed at Mountain Harbor Hostel. It was a cute little hostel built from a converted barn, and on top of the cost of staying there, there was an option to pay for a $10 home cooked breakfast. $10 is a little steep for a thru hiker, so my friends and I decided to opt out. Mary, the woman that runs the hostel generously decided to invite us over for breakfast. We expected, you know, a nice but simple home cooked breakfast with maybe pancakes, eggs and bacon or something of the sort. What we got, was the best breakfast of our entire lives. I'm talking, 10 course, gourmet breakfast. There was French toast with real maple syrup, hash browns Cooked with eggs, bagels with cream cheese and salmon, fruit salad, pastries with cream and strawberries, cinnamon and glazed pound cake, and biscuits with gravy. Third and fourth helpings happened. Needless to say, we ended up taking a zero that day instead of braving the freezing rain. Thank you, Mary!