Easter Trail Magic

Early Saturday morning, I headed down to Blairsville GA to meet up with the Trail Dames to participate in some Trail Magic. It's the third time the Dames were feeding hungry thru hikers at Mt. Crossings and my first time helping out so I was excited. I arrived at 8:30am and helped Muddbutt and Joan set up. All weekend long we grilled Nathans hotdogs, veggie burgers, had beans and chili simmering in crockpots, and a picnic table full of treats, goodies, and fruit. The faces of the thru hikers made it all worth it. They were so appreciative and grateful. I loved interacting and chatting with them. One stands out to me the most. It was Melissa Stylos, she doesn't have a trail name yet, but she was so happy, cheery, and excited that we had veggie burgers. I hope her hike goes well and she makes it all the way to Maine. I was a bit surprised to see the hikers going for the veggie burgers and fruit over the snack cakes, fudge, chips, and cookies. But I suppose after only 30 miles, their hiker appetite hasn't shown up just yet. I met so many diverse people hiking the trail this year, I was totally celebrity struck just talking to them. I really think what they do, hiking from GA to ME, is amazing and was so glad I got to meet some of them.

As for the Dames, I got to catch up with Lori, Shoe, Muddbutt, Shemea, Sherry (Thank you for organizing everything), Kellye, Sunny, Dawn, Jen and her mom, Joan (who will be thru hiking next year!), Bumpkin (you and your fudge are awesome! Good luck on the Camino de Santiago in Spain this year!) and so many more Dames. Such a great group of women.

Sunny brought out her sack of gear and I had so much fun checking out all her ultralight weight stoves. Lori and I agreed that Jolly Green Giant would be soooooo jealous of us. haha! We actually got to play around with a new Evernew 4oz stove that I know will be pretty popular. This little stove combines an esbit, alcohol, AND wood burning stove all in one. It compacts as small as a regular alcoho`l stoves. See the pics on the side. Really cool stuff, and the best part is that we got to try it out before it's out on the market! whoo hoo! I also did some shopping while up at Mt. Crossings. I bought a titanium evernew mug to boil water in. It's so light and fits perfectly on my little esbit stove. I can't wait to try it out.

It was also a weekend of reunions for me. I saw Lori (head Dame of the Delaware PA chapter) whom I had hiked with in October on the Shennies trip. We also met up with Rylan of Southeaster Backpackers podcast fame, who was also on the Shennies trip with Lori and I. He was backpacking/sectioning with some friends that weekend. It was awesome to see them both again. I really missed hanging out with them. Anyways, we caught up and took photos. Rylan and his group went hiking northbound from Neels Gap, while Lori went southbound to climb up Blood Mountain. I had a long week of hiking ahead of me so I took it easy and took a short hike up to balanced rock at the base of Blood mountain and came back. I also got to meet the famous Miss Janet of Erwin TN. She is now the care taker at the hiker hostel at Neels Gap and has done a phenomenal job with it so far. I took Lori down to the hostel for a tour and before we entered, I warned her of the hiker stench. Well guess what, Miss. Janet had it smelling clean and fresh, even in the bunk room! She really did improve the hostel. I hope she stays on, it would be a good thing for the hiker hostel at Neels Gap.

Saturday night, we had an Italian dinner for all the Trail Dames that stayed at Blood Mt. cabins. With all the appetizers, lasagna, and wine, we had a silly time. I crashed early cause I was tired. I had been up since 3:30am and just needed to sleep. The next morning I got up early and helped Mudd Butt set up for a second day of trail magic. It was another great day and I met a few more thru hikers and got to talk to some of the same from Saturday, who stayed for another hot dog breakfast/lunch before hitting the trail. In the afternoon SHOE and I moved her car to Franklin NC, where we would end our section hike, and then came back to help clean up the. After good byes, SHOE and I got a ride from Cool Breeze to Dicks Creek, where we camped out and were meeting Kellye the next morning to begin our trip. Being able to participate in trail magic for thru hikers this year was exciting. I am so glad I got the opportunity to help out. It was so much fun, but I am really looking forward to our section hike on the AT! Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!