Trail Magic

 

 

Have you ever been the recipient of trail magic?

 

Have you ever given trail magic?

 

The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is 2,197.4 miles (of course you knew that!). It has approximately 464,500 feet of gain and loss in elevation. The total elevation gain on the trail is equivalent to scaling Mt. Everest 16 times.

 

How many states does it cross? Quick! How many? 14 (of course you already knew that!).

 

The A.T. has about 3 million visitors each year, some are day - hikers, some just visit a visitor center or vista for a picnic, some hike a leg or two of the trail. Then there are the thru-hikers, the hardy souls who attempt to hike the entire trail in one continuous trip, typically traveling south to north, from Georgia to Maine, taking an average of 6 months.

 

Every year about 3,000 hardy and determined souls attempt a thru – hike, with an average completion rate of 30%. Well, better to have tried and done the best you could than sit home and just think about it.

 

One of the surprises that thru - hikers can look forward to is trail magic. Trail magic consists of acts of kindness by strangers on or just off the trail. This can take the form of meals (usually breakfast or lunch), water supply, rides to a nearby town (and back) or hostel for resupply and meals. It can even take the form of free repair services for backpacks and tents.

 

Perhaps the best thing about trail magic is the kindness of strangers, their thoughtfulness, their encouragement, their smiles, their hugs. Trail magic is for thru-hikers, it is geared to encourage those who are making the attempt at something few are prepared to try.

 

Trail angels with their trail magic are amazing. They can be individuals, couples, civic groups, churches, even towns and villages.

 

One trail angel can make the difference between a good day and a bad day for a thru – hiker, maybe even the difference between pushing through and giving up. By design, the AT is wilderness, it is not an amusement park; it is challenging.

 

Perhaps there is a sense in which we are all on an AT, all on a journey in which some days are better than others, some days lonely, some days not so lonely. Some days we enjoy beautiful horizons, other days we are enveloped in fog, rain, sleet, and miserable cold. Some days we are soaked through, other days we bask in the warmth of the sun.

 

Some of us have been on the trail longer than others and know the surprises that can happen, some of us may be a little more humble than we were when we began, others may still think they are going to conquer everything they encounter and leave everyone else in the dust, others may simply be trying to make it through another day.

 

Paul writes that we are to “do good to all people” (Galatians 6:10). Jesus says that we ought to be like our Father in heaven, blessing the unthankful as well as the thankful (Matthew 6:43 – 48).

 

A kind word, a smile, an inquiry into someone’s well – being, an offer to pray, a word about the Gospel and God’s love, a cup of coffee, a meal, mowing a lawn, a gift of cookies, a card in the mail, a phone call – how many ways can we be trail angels to those around us? To the folks who serve us when we shop (whether they are personable or not!), to the people we work with, see in the neighborhood, or even see on Sunday mornings.

 

Years ago (decades really) I knew a man named “Ross” who was the night manager at a truck stop (the 11 PM – 7 AM shift). One night at about 2:00 A.M. a tired and weary trucker came into the store to pay for his fuel. Ross and the trucker (Mike) got into a conversation that led to Jesus.

 

Mike shared with Ross that he was losing his faith; things weren’t going well in his marriage, with his kids, with his job, at his church, he was ready to just give up. Ross did his best, by the grace of Jesus, to encourage Mike and to point Mike to the incredible love that Jesus had for him and his family and to encourage Mike to read the Bible. Ross never saw Mike at the truck stop again.

 

About two years later, in a city about 100 miles from the truck stop, Ross was with a church group at a nursing home on a Sunday afternoon. The group was leading a worship service for residents and staff when a musical group from another church arrived; they were invited to join in ministry and worship.

 

During the service one of the guitarists began telling a story about a time in his life when he was discouraged and felt like giving up; he felt far from God, far from his wife and family, far from hope. Then he shared about a night when he pulled into a truck stop and had a conversation with a man who encouraged him in the love and grace of Jesus, and how Jesus used that conversation to turn his life around.

 

Then he said, “And that man is here this afternoon,” and pointed to Ross.

 

Ross had not recognized Mike, after all, not only had he not seen him again, but he was 100 miles away from where they had met. Ross had not recognized Mike, but Mike sure had recognized Ross…his trail angel.

 

Who can we share trail magic with today?