Date: 2015-04-29
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cody Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

2033.2 miles to go.Two German guys (Kurt and Max, trail names to be determined) were making bacon at the shelter this morning, and they shared with everybody!!!! Ahhhh, it's the little things.The shelter had been full last night, both inside and out: Wrangler and Loretta, Superman, Honeybee, Crusty, Grams, Duster, Gentleman Jim, Goldilocks (who I had known previously as Jessica in the pod), Superfeet, etc, etc, etc. Twister was there and decided to walk with us, so the three of us (Twister, This Guy, and myself) headed out. Most of the hikers at the shelter left before we did, since we had such a late night.All day, we leap-frogged ahead of some of those people as they either walked slowly, or stopped for a break. Subsequently, many of them leap-frogged us as we took a break. This is my "bubble" - the group of people that I see repetitively on the trail as they and I cross paths anywhere from once a day to many times per day. Occasionally, someone who hikes fast (more miles per day, say 15 or more on average) will 'pass thru' my bubble, or someone who hikes slow (fewer miles per day) will eventually get left behind.We had planned to stop at Stecoah Gap for lunch, and when we did, we had a nice bit of trail magic. There were two nice sized picnic tables in a little clearing beside the road with a decent view, and a small parking lot alongside the road. One table was occupied by a few couples, retirement age, who were clearly just day hiking. We took our ease at the other table, dropping our packs nearby and sitting gratefully on the picnic table benches. Several other hikers had also just arrived, and we all piled in together.Almost immediately, one of the older ladies from the other table brought over a few bananas and apples, giving them to us - clearly, she knew thru-hikers. We thanked her profusely, and she returned to her table .... only to ask the OTHER members of her group if THEY had any food they didn't want. This time she brought over a few cookies, bags of potato chips, and granola bars. We thanked her again, and as she headed to her car, we began to carefully divvy up the cookies and such so that we all could have a piece and no hiker would get left out....Only to have her return from her car with even MORE food that she had scrounged! A can of mixed nuts, a few more granola bars, a can of Ginger Ale, a container of wasabi flavored peas .... she just kept giving, and giving, and giving! She even have us a jar of her homemade granola.At this point, the rest of her companions caught on, and they brought over everything they weren't eating: a couple of hummus sandwiches, a few more cookies, a few more pieces of fruit, a couple of unopened bottles of water. To them, it was just odds and ends that they didn't want, but when they put it all together for us, it was a veritable feast! Thank you, Anne Marie Warren from New Hampshire, for your impromptu demonstration of trail magic!The coolest part was they way all the members of our bubble joined in, like an impromptu family, and practiced "share and share alike." We've only known each other for days, or maybe a week or two, but nobody grabbed all of the "good stuff". Everybody took a small portion, and then considerately passed the remainder of the food on for others to partake as well, even going so far as to cut the cookies and sandwiches into quarters to ensure everyone had a chance to get some. There was no thought, no discussion, everyone just ... DID it.