Doing a long distance hike looks like a solo adventure. For a few people it is, but for most hikers these seemingly solo adventures are enriched and made possible by the many people who support hikers. This could be someone who mails resupply boxes to the hiker, someone who provides transportation to the start or end of the trail or to resupply points, or someone who offers food or lodging. It also includes people who give positive encouragement in a myriad of ways.

When I first started long distance hiking in the 1980s people sometimes helped me along the way but the concept of Trail Angels didn’t exist. I certainly didn’t meet any when I did the Pacific Crest Trail in the 80s. Back then I only saw two long distance hikers and a few day hikers on the entire trail!

Through all my adventuring over these last 4 1/2 years I have been blessed to meet many trail angels. I met them on all eight of the eleven national scenic trails I’ve been on since 2020. (I didn’t include the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail because I hiked them in the 1980’s before the term trail angel had been coined.) I was also blessed by angels on my ski of the 300 mile Catamont Trail in Vermont, my 1652 mile bike ride to complete the 251 club challenge of visiting all the cities and towns in Vermont, and my solo paddle of the 430 mile Connecticut river source to sea. All of this has reinforced for me that most people do believe in kindness and feel good about spreading it in the world.

I’ve written numerous times about my struggles with feeling lost and alone in the world. I’ve come to recognize that while much of my daily life is spent alone, those intense feelings are remnants of my childhood experiences. As I’ve learned to lean into the pain, welcoming it as a teacher, l’ve been able to connect with those traumatized, dissociated parts of myself who were always living in pain. This, coupled with the kindness I received, has helped me move away from the traumas in my life and embrace the belief that I will be OK even if I always live alone. I am humbled by the amount of kindness that has been bestowed on me and I’m working not to feel unworthy or guilty about it. In fact, with all I have received I believe it would be ungrateful for me not to find ways to shed the guilt and accept what has come with gratitude along with a desire to let go of those who have wronged me. I feel a responsibility to pass on kindness however I can.

I have barely 100 miles under my feet on the Florida Trail and yet I’m already indebted to so many people. I consider all of them part of my pit crew. While I get the credit for the hike, I know the real credit should go to all of my pit crew.

The badass chief of my pit crew is Debbie Downey who I first met when I did the CDT. Over the past five years she has been my on-trail physical therapist, providing me with exercises, stretches, and advice for whatever part of my body is acting up. In addition, in honor of her Aunt Doris June who I wrote about in the blog “The Blessings of Doris June,” Debbie has helped provide me with gear when I need it, including recently an orthopedic boot which my insurance wouldn’t pay for as well as a new pair of study hiking boots recommended by a sports medicine doctor here in Florida.

Other members of my pit crew include Deb in Vt who is picking up my mail and Donna, who offered to keep an eye on my house. Florida Trail angels Eric and Kate spent a fair amount of time talking with me on the phone while I was planning my hike. Others offered to hold resupply packages for me. Countless numbers of people planned and executed the Florida Trail kickoff event which I’m really glad I went to.

Blueberry not only drove me to the trailhead and gave me a wonderful sendoff, which I wrote about in a the blog “A Very Special Sendoff,” but he also recently met me at REI and shared with me his boot fitting expertise as I searched for boots that might be better for my feet than a zero drop Altra. Besides offering to slack pack me for a number of days, Blueberry has offered to hike with me as I crutch along some paved bike path section of the Florida Trail, ensuring that if I can’t go a planned 13 miles in a day on crutches I will be able to stop while he goes ahead and brings a car back to me.

I will hike on crutches lent to me by the Casteel’s (see blog “A Mary Christmas”) who have continued to shower me with blessings and kindness. They have given me a place to sit for a week while I rehab my broken foot. Pam Casteel, the matriarch of the group, drove me around and kept me company for an entire day when I had medical appointments for my foot. She’s definitely become location chief for my Florida trail hike.

Her children, considered disabled by much of the world, have gone out of their way to be kind. Kai found an exercise bike in the garage that I could use. Josh continues to insist that I use his room and won’t allow me to lift a finger in cleaning up after dinner. Brandon makes me smile with his enthusiasm and kindness by sharing his stuffed cat and other items with me. Tylen stayed by my side one day when I couldn’t find my wallet, helping me search until I found it. He also makes sure I get up and down the steps safely. Kyle insisted on buying me lunch one day and a pizza, a second day, refusing to allow me to reimburse him. Dad Chris braved going into the garage to find crutches for me to use. He’s also offered to pick me up if I run into trouble at some point on the trail.

Then there are those of you who have supported my writing by covering the cost of my iPad and my WordPress site. Your support of my writing means so much to me. Marty Gregory whom I first met while hiking the Ice Age trail, has taken on responsibility of keeping my Garmin device working. This is a satellite device that I can use in emergencies which also sends out a daily ping showing where I am camped for the night.

Kremlin, Chaps, and Shelby, three wonderful young women who I met hiking on different trails, continue to check in with me and offer me emotional support which is incredibly valuable. And Laura in Vermont is my Trail librarian sending me multiple poems each week. On the Arizona Trail I received poems about rattlesnakes. On the Florida Trail there have been a plethora of poems about mosquitoes.

When my foot first began hurting on the Florida trail I could feel the inner traumatized parts of me start to catastrophize it, but because of the kindness I’ve received over the years and the inner healing I’ve done, I was able to lean into this experience, curious about what would come rather than feeling hopeless. By doing that I stayed out of the overwhelming feelings of my little ones who were hopeless and powerless in the face of early childhood abuse. By working with them to lean into whatever happened and by reminding them to trust in the future, I saved myself a lot of grief. This left me available to accept with open arms the help that is coming to me.

I have no idea how it will go hiking on crutches this next week, nor when I might be able to return to the non-paved sections of the Florida Trail with my full backpack, but for now I’m staying in the present moment enjoying what I do have rather than bemoaning the injury. And for all of this, I must give credit to the most Badass pit crew on the national scenic trail circuit! Thank you one and all.

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