Trail Magic

You'll know it when you see it.

Walking up the trail and finding an unexpected cooler with a sign for hikers puts a pep in your step. Trail magic is a nice tradition among the thru-hiking community.

Be it a cooler stocked with cold drinks tucked away at a road crossing or an elaborate spread of food, beverages and chairs set up by friendly locals and trail angles, smiling strangers offering fresh fruit, hot meals and good conversation.

Trail magic provides a welcome break for weary hikers. After grueling days of trudging mile after mile with a heavy pack, coming across this random act of kindness can lift even the most fatigued spirits.

With no expectation of anything in return except perhaps a note in their trail register, trail magic is something locals near the hiking routes organize to bring a little joy to the legions of adventurers passing through their backyard wilderness that year.

I'll never forget the time I rounded a bend to find a fully stocked cooler at a trailhead, the ice still fresh. Frosty canned drinks nestled next to fun-sized candy bars with a brand new picnic table set up nearby bearing instructions to "Leave your mark!". Simple pleasures like these can make an exhausted hiker happy for the rest of the day.

If you live near a long-distance trail, you too can easily create trail magic. Something as basic as leaving a cooler of cold drinks in a shaded area is an amazing treat. Just be sure to locate it in an area protected from animals getting in and provide a means for hikers to leave trash created. Check on it regularly to replenish goods as needed. Watching trail updates (Facebook groups mostly) can help time your magic to coincide with bubbles of hikers coming through too.

Trail magic is one of the sweetest traditions reminding thru-hikers of the immense kindness of strangers. Whether big or small, these simple acts of generosity are always remembered and appreciated.