From Trail Angel to Emptynest

For those who are newer to my blog and lifestyle - one crazy thing I do (although not so much now) is that I am a trail angel along the Appalachian Trail in PA. It's something I truly enjoy; Gene has also come to enjoy it as well. We are both social people, and the trail gets hundreds of hikers each year, so we meet lots and lots of people, make connections, and mostly stay in touch with them.

What is a trail angel? A person or group of people who randomly help out hikers - for free. We give what we can, when we can. There is no rhyme or reason to when or what we give. There's also no rhyme or reason to who gets the magic of us being trail angels. The help can be anything from a ride to or from the trail, taking their trash, providing snacks & drinks, charging devices, offering a place to shower & do laundry, and more. It truly is up to each trail angel what they do, how often and when.

Pre-Covid, we used to have a large trail magic event—never published anywhere. We just set up a tent, all the chairs possible, and provided cold drinks, snacks, hot dogs, and hamburgers. What do we get in exchange? Great company from stinky hikers—they tell us stories, give us hugs, and tell us how we made their day/week/month/hike or made them not want to quit! As we did that, we met hikers and stayed in touch over the years. Our door is always open to them anytime.

The last few years we've had three hikers staying with us. First up, Chops - we met him more than five years ago on his thru-hike. He happened upon our trail magic and had an injured knee that he desperately needed to rest for a few days. So he stayed with us, two times as he finished the trail. The second time he re-injured his knee and took a train from NY back to PA with a promise from me - I'll take you to where you got off the trail so I can hike a piece of the trail in another state! He finished and went back to his home state, WI. Wanderlust hit him a few years later, right about the time we got married - and he surprised us with a visit and has been here since.

He's been a huge help around the house - from cleaning, to yard work, to raising the last batch of kittens. Chops left last week to hit the trail again. He's currently hiking the PCT and anticipates that he should be back around August. I'm not sure who misses him more - us or the cats. The cats have been spoiled by him with his attention and extra feeding times. He's only been gone a few weeks, and the kittens are growing like weeds - they will be huge by the time he gets back.

Second and third up - Wally and Scatter. Wally was the first of these two; I met him about 7 years ago. I answered a post about his needing something and delivered! Since then, we have stayed in touch. He's a multi-year AT thru-hiker, so we see him every year. He was reluctant at first to come to our house, but I finally broke him down and had him visit. I told him it was Gene's birthday and I was having a big party for him. Gene would love to have some hikers at his party.

Wally has brought many hikers (with our okay) to our little hiker haven. We love each of them; they leave well-fed, feeling all the love of humans and cats. Somehow, our unofficial trail angel status is talked about on the trail. The hikers never know if they will get to experience this little slice of heaven, which is the magic of trail angels. You take what comes your way and don't expect anything!

Wally's thru-hike two years ago was with a group, including Scatter, one of the ladies strong enough to hike the trail. When they got off the trail, they stayed with us for a bit. Scatter got a job and stayed instead of going back on the trail for the next hiking season. Wally, on the other hand, was getting restless and ready to hike. So he headed out for the trail and did some hiking—not a full thru-hike but enough to satisfy the need to hike and move. They spent the winter with us, saving up for their next hiking adventure. They are now on the trail, hiking the AT parts that Scatter missed, doing some side trails along the way, and doing trail magic. They have their car, so they are able to help other hikers.

With the 3 "kids" out of the house - its quiet, mostly... The grocery bill has gone down, meals are smaller. The cats are all wandering around looking for the extra hands for pets. Roughy became very attached to Scatter and Wally - and still walks around yelling for them. He absolutely misses nap time, tv time and bed time with them. Roughy learned how to manipulate humans to the max. He loved watching Naked & Afraid, Elf, and some other shows.

I find myself missing the full house of people most of the time. One of my many traits is taking care of people, so it came naturally to take care of a full house of people. Now it's back to me, Gene, and the 21 cats. A much different pace all around. The cats are doing their best to make as much noise, mess, and chaos as they possibly can while our "kids" are out doing their hiking adventures.

Trail Magic season will be here soon - only time will tell if we do some trail magic this year.

Til our tails cross again,

Melanie