I want to recognize the Hammockforums community and in particular the great group of folks that were at the hang at Buck Lake in Florida last month. I donÂ’t know if I am allowed to recognize specific people on this forum.
My buddy and I were on day 1 of a 3 day hike with 16 miles to complete that day, and about 3 hours into it, I realized how foolish I was to be wearing a pair of new poorly ventilated boots for the occasion as I started getting blisters on both feet. Besides bad boots, I also packed only cotton socks (problem #2) and sported a waaaay overpacked 38lb load.
I spend the next 5 hours trying to figure out how I would get a ride 40 miles further down the trail to where my truck was parked to pick up a decent pair of hiking shoes to save my feet and the trip. I tried Uber and Lyft but they donÂ’t seem to hang around remote places for some reason 🙂.
As we pulled up to Buck Lake, we passed a group of folks and chatted for no more than a minute about how worn out we were and how my feet were in a bad state when one of them offered me his camp sandals to borrow while he went to see if someone from the group could drive me to my truck 45 minutes away. While we waited, another person (a former military medic) offered to patch my feet up (gave me extra leukotape too) and offered me an extra (clean) pair of injinji socks. Then another member drove me to my truck, and while I was getting my other shoes, went in to a store to buy us both Gatorade, then drove me back to Buck Lake where we were greeted with ice cold beer! Although the group had reserved the whole camp area for their hang, they offered us to stay with them, share their bonfire, beer, bourbon, moonshine, conversation, advice, and camaraderie. Needless to say I was blown away by their kindness. Kudos to them, their kindness, and the much appreciated help that saved our trip!
I hope to be able to pay it forward one day.
I’d be curious to hear other people’s experiences with trail magic. What’s the best thing someone did for you while on a trip?
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