Trail magic.

Trail magic is when hikers along the Appalachian Trail (AT) - indeed, along any major trail - encounter folks who, well, are just tickled to see them there, or want to be hospitable, or hiked that trail themselves in the past , magic happens in the form of snacks, and drinks, and trash bags.

And today . . . portraits.

A fellow photographer, Kevin Newsome, is presently away from his Tampa, FL home and heading to Maine along the AT. Now, when photographers get to know one another online, and the opportunity arises to meet in person, we grab it. I have never met Kevin personally and as he was - for all intents and purposes - in “my neighborhood,” that is, the Smokies, I knew I had to meet up with him as he hiked through my playground. Please, follow his adventure from Georgia to Maine on his YouTube channel.

So I grabbed some peanut butter cracker sandwich packs, chocolates, garbage bags, and my photo gear. I headed up to Indian Gap, which is along the road to Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Clingmans presents both a challenge and a milestone - it is the highest point along the AT but it is also the hikers’ 200-mile mark. Granted, that is only about 10% of the way but still, it is something to know you have made it that far.

Let me tell you, if you have thoughts about hiking the AT but are worried about the type of person who does, I never met a more delightful and grateful bunch for the trail magic offered. So, I did everyone’s portraits, collecting their emails so a copy can be sent to them. Because really, isn’t that some trail magic? A lot of the hikers wanted to be photographed with their packs. I can understand that - after all, these packs and the contents within are what is keeping these people alive and well.

Let me show you this gallery of faces. In case you do not know, when you are on the trail, you usually do not use your real name. Instead, you have a trail name. Some people choose it, some get their name bestowed on them by fellow hikers, depending on incidents or mannerisms seen. I have identified Kevin - whose trail name is Reckless Abandon (it seems he was navigating a muddy and slippery hill from his tent to the shelter where other hikers were and came sliding in fast, crashing into the picnic table - and the hikers present to witness this bestowed upon him his trail name). For these portraits, however, I will use their trail name where they have one. Click on any image to see it larger.

These people are to be respected - starting in Georgia, they will walk some 2100 miles to Maine over these months!

As I said, they are just at the 200-mile mark. I think it would be interesting to see their portrait after they descend Mt. Katahdin in Maine and have to return to “normal” life.

Normal life? Maybe the life they have chosen for this year is not normal . . . but isn’t it great?