Trail Magic of the Week
First week of February 2025
On my hikes in the local nature preserve, I often stop to converse with interesting beings I encounter, and sometimes they are humans. This week I was walking along and noticed the unusual sight of a young woman resting on a fallen log with a fully loaded backpack on the ground next to her. This is not something I have ever seen in this little nature preserve, as there is nowhere to camp (legally anyway). As I got within speaking distance I said…”Are you thru-hiking the preserve?”
To my relief, she immediately got the joke and quickly explained that no, she was not out camping but she was “training”. She had joined the Conservation Corps and was assigned to work on the Appalachian Trail this Summer. Oh be still my heart. This sweet young cherub had won me over more than finding a lifer to add to my species list!
We had a brief conversation as she sat munching on some type of energy bar and I asked her if she had read On Trails by Robert Moor (the current selection of the Ecological Book Club of the nature preserve on which we were both hiking) She was not aware of the book, and eagerly scribbled down the title and author’s name in a little notebook. I told her about my “Year In The Woods” project of spending one night a month in 2025 on the Appalachian Trail, and that while I was never a long distance hiker, that I had spent a lifetime enjoying the trail, and have a deep appreciation for those who maintain and care for this national treasure.
I wished her the best and thanked her for what she was doing. We smiled and parted ways. As I walked on into the woods my mind began to veer off into worries about the cutoffs of funding that will surely effect programs like the Conservation Corps, and will my young forest friend still have her assignment by the time Summer rolls around? I wanted to turn around and run back to tell her I hope she continues her training, and spreading trail magic, regardless of what lies ahead. Keep going! In the words of Robert Moor…. “This way….this way…..this way!”