Last year, my mom, husband and son decided to try out offering some Trail Magic to thru hikers at Pen Mar Park near the MD/PA line. It was a success and extremely rewarding, so we made sure we planned it again this year.
Our Trail Magic was planned for June 10th. It coincided with my unfortunate circumstances. I managed to fracture my foot by stubbing my toe, and I was on crutches. It didn't stop me from "hiking" along the trail a bit and taking advantage of being able to get an awesome photo op. Now my Trail Name "Badass" isn't just because I have one,
in this photo I look like one hiking on crutches.
When we do Trail Magic, we go all out.
It isn't just a few sodas and snacks,
we transport our gas grill to Pen Mar Park and grill up burgers and dogs.
There's cheese, sliced tomatoes, onions,
potato salad, macaroni salad, chips,
fresh fruit, candy, sodas, water, lemonade,
and homemade cookies.
The one thing we were told over and over was that each hiker was afraid to get excited about the Trail Magic signs, because in their experience, the signs could actually be old ones.
They had run into that often.
So keep that in mind if you're doing your own magic,
make sure you take down the signs when the magic is gone!
We served over 20 hikers and 2 dogs.
Gino here was owned by thru hiker Cookie Monster,
who did, in fact, eat the rest of our cookies.
This little Chi-Weenie had a trail name- Drumstick- because of her
very meaty back legs.
Thru Hikers think about food a lot.
It was a great day, and we met a lot of great hikers.
I heard later that we had the most significant amount of Trail Magic.
We've made a few notes for next year
like being there an hour earlier to accommodate the early risers
and have coffee and donuts.
We'll also bring some dog treats and a bowl for water
just in case we get some more 4 legged hikers.
Trail Magic continues to be one of my favorite things to do.
Never have I done anything else that has been so greatly appreciated.
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