Carrie

Today, my heart was touched by someone I may never see again. I just talked about hitch hiking and the variety of people and the generosity we have found. But today we met a woman, a true trail angel, who went above and beyond for us.

We came out on Route 22 in New York and stuck our thumbs to get a ride to the Stormville post office. The first car that came around the curb pulled over onto the gravel. It was bright yellow and Carrie (I’m not sure if that’s the correct spelling) was inside pushing items around to make room for us.

She gave us a quick jump to the PO and then asked where we were going from there. We told her we were looking for a barber for Treasure Hunter and maybe a thrift store (his shorts ripped irreparably a couple days ago). She told us she would take us into an actual town where there would be everything we need. She drove us down and gave us a run down of where everything was, all the while offering us snacks.

When she dropped us off, she said that she will be coming back that way  toward the trail if we wanted to meet her at the library to ride back out. We said, of course and that would be great.

She picked us up as promised around 2 o’clock. On these two short drives she told us about her life and her family and all that she has overcome. I won’t put her business on a public domain, but this was a strong woman who has gone through fire to find light at the other side of life. She told us about how she loves her job taking care of this older woman who is now her friend and a joy in her life. It reminded me of another powerful and compassionate best friend of mine.

When she dropped us at the trail head, she gave us a bag of food and snacks.

Apples, grapes, mini oranges, pretzels, nuts, donuts… Just an array of goodies. Plus a spare lighter, which we needed. She would have given us the shirt off her back if we had needed one.

and to top it off, we get to camp and go straight for the donut bag. Open it up and…

A ten dollar bill AND donuts. I am just floored.

So, it would behoove us to realize that we don’t know the stories of the nameless faces around us. Having a little faith in others and sharing positive energy can make a difference to people. It’s not just trail magic (who knows if Carrie has ever been a trail angel to another hiker) it’s one person giving joy to others around her.

Thank you, Carrie.

Happy trails,

Artemis