Date: 2014-06-20
From: Blackburn AT center

To: Stoneybrook Farm
Miles today: 12.0

Made it to Harper's Ferry. Out of the Shenandoahs and over 1000 miles done. Town is expensive but hippy people living on an amazing commune farm drove up as soon as this picture was taken and took us to their home. I'm blown away by how they live their lives and how much they give. Unlimited amounts of love, an open armed community, work if you want it, a place to sleep, as much home cooked organic food as you can eat, and they bend over backwards for any opportunity to assist you in your journey in life.Yesterday I felt like I woke up in a dream and was walking in the movie Big Fish. I ended up in the place you never leave. But don't worry. I'll keep on keeping on and come back to this farm one day to give back. Plus there's like 50 of these farms all over the world including California. Some of them participate in wwoof programs but really anyone can show up and find home. What's more is that this is the second time they found me. They realized 2 years ago hundreds of traveling hikers from everywhere come long miles right around their backyard. So they reached out to The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club which maintains this section and offered to do trail magic Friday night. I happened to come across the PATC headquarters at the right time and was served up a full course home cooked organic meal with live music and everything. AT guidebooks definitely need to update their little side notes about Stoneybrook Farm. Update: well yes I should have mentioned that or made it clearer that the belief system here is a little culty but there's no kool aid to drink. It's your choice if you want to stay here forever. That's why I'm a bit freaked out about how eerily similar my current page in life is just like the movie Big Fish. This place is not my final destination and yet it's as if I just stumbled out of the woods into the most perfect place on Earth. The way this is playing down is basically the exact same allegory the movie was portraying. As for lacing food and the lies... There's nothing here for them to lie about. It's all right out in the open and you can take it for what it is. I just explored the whole farm and even was shown their market storefront. A man holding his daughter brought us into the closed business just because we were interested in seeing the marketplace (Saturday is a non working day/a sabbath and they knew Voodoo are were going to be gone soon) and he pulls out a vegetable/fruit drink mix they sell there and gave it to us as a gift. This is a work for stay kind of place. But at the same time, these people feel an affinity to AT hikers. They know how hard it is and they respect the struggle. They know hikers will carry on with their lives but the whole point of their community is not to be like where a majority of civilization is heading - take everything and live a life without purpose (for example slave away at a career you don't like to live a certain way because that's what culture expects of you). Here these people live fully under the concept of give more and take less. Right now they are working on giving to people outside of their community and they love the kinds of people hikers tend to be. The work for stay tends to be farm related stuff but recently they've been using hikers to help build cabins for future hikers. Not cabins to stay forever in. More like hostel bunk houses. They have actual houses for their "cult" members who work to earn their stay and leave whenever.I sat through their "gatherings" and really it's just an open environment for you to say whatever is on your mind or want to share. I'll say it again, you don't have to drink the kool aid. These people just want to share what they have found to be the greatest gift in life. Maybe some of them wrap it up entirely in a religious way. But there is a fundamental truth here - be a good person and help others be the best they can be as well. And they expect their peers to help them be a better person as well. I'll stand by that any day. No need to make claims they put chemicals into the most amazing food you'll ever get the pleasure of eating while hiking the Appalachian trail. This is a great experience for anyone to have and it's quite humbling. Between Woods Hole hostel, the New Union Church trail magic, and now the Stoneybrook Organic Farm - my positive feelings towards humanity is at an all time high. Why would I ruin the benefit of these experiences by judging whether or not people have faith. I have my own beliefs and my own affirmations. Why not share them without making others feel like they have to defend their beliefs? Giving does not always come with double meanings. Some people give because they are givers. Strive to be a giver and surround yourself with those who appreciate it... Such as other givers. Stoneybrook Farm needs more givers because they are looking to help more AT hikers. That's a huge undertaking and they could use more hands to help feed/house us hungry and dirty hikers. They're obviously not making money by helping us.