“All we have, it seems to me, is the beauty of art and nature and life, and the love that beauty inspires.”
~Edward Abbey, The Journey Home (from Pyrite and Chinchilla’s Blog)
I have been known to use the term “reverse savings” when speaking to my darling children that are now grown. Yes, I realize this really does not make any sense, but in my mind it does when it comes to getting a great deal on a purchase, then after the fact saving for the very same purchase (especially when it comes to buying gear), hence reverse savings. 🙂 On the other hand, I also have been known to freely use the term “crazy spaghetti” when something is beyond belief, way cool, or just baffling. Oh well.
The last couple of days our family had the amazing opportunity to do some trail magic (assistance from strangers through kind actions, gifts, and other forms of encouragement), but in the end it was us that experienced “reverse trail magic”.
Chinchilla, Pyrite, and Kung Fu are currently hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. We provided rides to and from the trail head at Willow Springs Road, food, a place to rest, clean up, do wash, use the Internet, and hang out. This is small stuff compared to the gifts they gave.
I not only got to take part in one of MY very favorite things, exchange talk about the trail, trips, and gear, but also entered into the world of vegan cooking. Immediately, I knew I needed serious help, and quickly enlisted some local friends for menu ideas. I had fun reading labels in the grocery store and scanning for the ingredients of eggs and milk (can’t have those). It was a great challenge and very educational. As it turns out, they surprised US by cooking a full meal, baked two of the most amazing homemade pies ever, and garnished our table with a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Vegan dinner with Pyrite, Chinchilla, Turbo, and Kung Fu
Way delicious homemade apple and blueberry pie
Pyrite and Chinchilla at the Willow Springs trail head outside Tehachapi
Kung Fu at Trail Head
We wish these quality, kind, giving, and loving people all the best on their epic adventure. Be sure to follow them through their online trail journals.
View additional visiting PCT Hiker Photos on Flickr
I love your posts Rockin!
BUT, I love the look of that pie more…….
Really think we are missing something here in Oz by not having a culture of Trail magic 🙁
p.s. a lot of the reason is the trails rarely go near civilisation or houses or towns!
Thank you Frank. Boy, I have to break the news that the taste of the pie was even better than it looked. We are lucky we know to house and hear of trail trials, challenges, successes, and joy. I just love it.
Oh no, cooking is not a skill of mine…I’ll think of something. It looks like we are taking a day at the Andersons today and I should be at hikertown on Sunday. Blister may come with me too if that is okay. I’ll call u from hikertown.
PLEASE NO WORRIES. Dan loves cooking. We had new recipes, so everyone pitched in. Blisters is welcome to stay. Looking forward to seeing you sounds like Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when you leave hikertown.
Wandering Dot is here too and we may overlap. Not sure how much time we’ll spend at hikertown. Looking forward to coming:)