Trail Angels

When I was at the Bluegrass Festival recently, I met an adorable couple, Bill and Linda.  They shared their phone number with me and told me to give them a call when I got to a certain place on the trail, and they'd give me a homemade dinner.  Well, I'm at their house as I type this.  Not only did they come get me from the Trail, they grilled out blackened salmon, pan-fried chicken livers, had TONS of salad and corn and MILK!!!  Wow.  Now, I'm munching on fresh strawberries and grapes because as Linda says, "You need fresh fruit and veggies.  You don't get any on the Trail."  So true, and who am I to argue?

My clothes at drying in the dryer.  I'm wearing one of Linda's robes in the meantime and I had a most luxurious shower.  Oh, and now she just gave me the rest of her chocolate chips from the cupboard because I mentioned I didn't have any chocolate in my gorp, and I missed it. 



These are my angels, Bill and Linda.

To think that in any other place, I would have looked at this couple suspiciously, taken their number graciously but never called it.  I love the Trail.  I have made so many friends out of strangers that I would never have taken the time for previously.  There's a trust factor that I think could be beneficial to practice other places outside of this little corridor of rocks and trees. 

It's called Trail Magic when somebody does something nice for a thru-hiker.  I've missed a couple of Trail Magic afternoons at the gaps recently, but people have set up tents with grills and given free hamburgers and gatorade out to the hikers that hike through those gaps.  The people who run those events, well, we call them Trail Angels.  Today, I got my very own, personal set of Trail Angels.  I'd have shared if anyone had been hiking with me, but apparently the Trail didn't think that anyone else needed this moment along with me. 

I've heard it said by many hikers "The Trail provides."  It sure does.  In every hiker box in town or at a hostel, I've had one friend who's been able to supply all his food from what others have put in there.  I've been able to sleep in a sanctuary - just me and a friend - and watch a meteor shower through the clear glass behind the cross.  I've stayed for free at a hostel for 3 days when I had only budgeted 1 day.

And just today, I didn't have signal to call Bill and Linda.  When I got to the gap, there was a lady in a car.  She said she had AT&T and needed to drive down a few miles to get signal.  I asked if I could get a ride since I also needed to make a call.  Wouldn't you know it?  We got signal just about where Bill and Linda lived.

Sure, you can say the Trail provides.  But I know better.  The Trail just brings out the best in people so that God can have His way better with them.  What if we all lived as if we could be Angels for whatever Trail we meet someone on?