Title: Trail Magic
General Information about Item:
- Customary Folklore (Tradition)
- Informant: Stacy Liedle
- Date Collected: 15 November 2019
Informant Data:
- Stacy Liedle is a 29 year old MBA candidate originally from Texas. She now lives in Indiana and works as a professional mountaineering instructor while earning her degree. Stacy hiked the first 220 miles of the Colorado Trail in 2015 when she was 25 after being laid off from work. After witnessing a motorcycle crash and using her first-responder training to care for the victim, Stacy decided to leave the trail because the incident “messed with her mind.”
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Thru hikers’ meals are limited by how much food they can carry. Hikers often eat the same foods, such as rice, oatmeal, or protein bars, for their entire journey. “Trail magic” lifts spirits by providing a change of pace and can happen on any long trail.
- Social Context: Past hikers of trails like to spend time with current hikers to reminisce about their experience and pass on the gifts of food that they received during their own hikes. Thru hikers get a reprieve from culinary drudgery and a chance to connect with the outside world.
Item:
- “Trail magic” occurs when non-thru hikers go to a section of a trail to bring food to passing thru hikers. They usually bring cold drinks or a grill to cook burgers. Thru hikers especially appreciate coolers of beer. People who create trail magic have often hiked that same trail before and use the experience to
Transcript:
- “It’s just about having a good time out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never done trail magic, it’s usually local people, but who have thru hiked before and want to give back. I saw Goal Zero partnered with another brand to do corporate sponsored trail magic so it’s definitely a big well-known thing.”
Informant’s comments:
- “Trail magic only happened to me once. It’s talked about way more than it actually happens.”
Collector’s comments:
- Though I didn’t know the term “trail magic,” I actually experienced this before during Dartmouth Trips. Upperclassmen met my group on our route and brought us pizza. Trail magic is widespread and not limited to the Colorado Trail.
Collector: Rachel Lincoln
Tags/Keywords:
- Trail Magic, Tradition, Colorado Trail