The Terrifying Truth About «Path Angels»

tThe magic of the railroad is supposed to be one of the best things about hiking.

But the reality is that some of the worst things that have happened on the trails started out as completely normal encounters.

In 2008, Gary Hilton I saw Meredith Emerson hiking Blood Mountain at the intersection of the Appalachian Trail and the Herbert Reece Connector Trail. He stopped to have a friendly and seemingly innocent conversation with her and ultimately ended up kidnapping and murdering her.

In 2017, Richard Allen I encountered two solo hikers on a trail in Indiana. He kidnapped them and murdered them.

And in 2022, James William Parrillo Jr.., a suspected PCT hiker, encountered another PCT hiker in the town of Julian. He ended up assaulting her, kidnapping her, and holding her hostage for a full year.

Now, those are extreme cases, but I mention them because extreme cases don’t start out being extreme. They start very innocently. They begin the same way trail magic does.

Disclaimer: Most Trail Angels are awesome

Now I want to make something super, super, super clear: most trail angels are amazing.

They are very generous and kind people who donate their time and money to help hikers. These are complete strangers who do everything they can to give you food and water, sometimes shelter and transportation. And when you hike 500 miles, that kind of generosity can make a big difference.

It’s the kind of thing that can mean the difference between finishing a hike and going off trail.

But that being said, there is a side to the magic of the trails that many people don’t talk about. And people don’t talk about it for a reason.

They don’t talk about it because it’s uncomfortable.

Because, again, while most path angels are amazing and generous people, many times they become good friends or good memories.

But if you hike enough or talk to enough hikers, you start to see a pattern of people who don’t have the best of intentions.

Photo: Plum Hiker

The experiences that hikers don’t talk about

Madison Blagden, aka PegLeg, Calendar Year Border-to-Border Triple Crowner, Multiple Triple Crowner, Influential Walker, is incredible.

He recently published an article in The Trek titled The Dark Side of Trail Magic: The Negative Experiences Hikers Rarely Talk About. And I want to reiterate: PegLeg has traveled many paths. She knows what she’s talking about here.

The reason he shared this story was because he was curious and asked on his social networks: Hey, have any hikers ever had strange or strange encounters with trail magic?

He received dozens of responses.

Therefore, this is not any kind of isolated incident. This is something that many hikers experience and simply don’t talk about publicly.

When normal conversations become awkward

The first thing I want to talk about is when an encounter starts out normally but then gets weird.

Maybe you’re hiking and you come to a trailhead, and someone has set out chairs and a cooler full of cold drinks, food, and all kinds of things. They start asking you questions, you get to know each other a little, but then the questions start to feel awkward.

Questions like:

• Where will you camp tonight?
• Where is your husband?
• Where is your boyfriend?
• Do you have a husband or boyfriend?
• Is it scary to be alone as a hiker?
• Do you wear protection?

These are things that may seem normal to someone having a casual conversation. But in the mouth of someone with malicious intent, the conversation becomes a very different conversation.

For someone who wants to be alone with hikers, trail magic is a pretty easy way to do it.

Now you’ve given them free snacks and now they have to sit and talk to you, and a scoundrel loves a captive audience.

The hard part is that it’s not always obvious what someone’s intentions are. Even if their intentions are good, that doesn’t stop you from feeling uncomfortable.

And who knows how far that conversation could go.

Pringles received through Trail Magic at Smokeys on Appalachian Trail.

Being followed or harassed

Another common, and truly disturbing, theme was trail angels following or even stalking hikers.

PegLeg shared a firsthand account: a trail angel saw a female hiker at the trailhead and then drove down the trail to intercept her.

Now, in this case, perhaps his intentions were not malicious. But the reality is that doing that is a strange thing.

Even if you’re trying to be generous, showing up in front of someone and saying, «Hey, I saw you there, I drove over here to give you something,» it raises questions.

Was it really out of kindness? Or something else?

On the Appalachian Trail, I had a friend who caught the unwanted attention of a local. He began to follow the trail and wait for her at the trailheads. He had to make blue fire to avoid it. She started walking with boys because she was afraid he would try to find her.

This is something that could easily be disguised as «I just want to help hikers.»

But it’s creepy.

A group of AT hikers receiving Trail Magic around a campfire.

When Trail Angels Get Too Involved

Another common theme was the path angels becoming too involved in someone’s hike.

PegLeg even said that as a public figure with a following, this is something she has experienced several times.

Helping a hiker can be an incredible gift, both for the hiker and the trail angel. But there is definitely a line that can be crossed.

Things like:

• Relentless communication without any response.
• Prompt inappropriate questions
• Getting too personal
• Get physical
• Unwanted comments about someone’s body.

Relationships with trail angels can start out very friendly and then drift into overly familiar territory.

Many times, hikers and trail angels become lifelong friends. I have friends that I met simply because they helped me on my AT hike and they are wonderful people.

But there are also people who go overboard, who make things uncomfortable, who must be isolated. And that can turn the whole thing into something really negative.

It raises questions about their motives: did they really want to help the hikers? Or did they just want to talk to attractive people along the way or experience someone else’s hike vicariously?

There are many ways a relationship can go wrong very quickly.

Hikers at a community festival in Ceres, VA, welcoming the magic of the trails.

Unsafe situations and exploitation of hikers

The last thing I want to talk about is not always malicious intentions, but it still creates unsafe situations: trips and hookups.

There are cases where someone offers transportation and is under the influence of alcohol. I’ve heard of this several times: people on the PCT getting into cars full of beer cans, or drivers who have been drinking.

In my case, on the AT, I had some friends give me a ride and the trail angel was smoking marijuana in the car while driving fast. We were 30 minutes from the trail, in the middle of nowhere, so we didn’t really have the option to say, «Leave us.» We just had to hold on.

Another example is when a “free” trip is offered and suddenly the person asks for money. Driving a ferry is totally fine. Asking for gas money is totally fine. But that must be communicated from the beginning.

Putting someone in the car and then saying, “Hey, can you give me X amount?” It puts them in a really awkward position. He feels predatory. It may seem like they were stuck paying.

Hikers in the back of a truck returning to the trail.

Trust your instinct

So what’s the takeaway here?

Listen to your instinct.

If you are in a situation where you feel uncomfortable (if something feels wrong), it may not be a good idea to sit and hang out. Maybe you shouldn’t accept the help. You should probably keep moving.

You’ll hear many stories from hikers, especially women, who say they only got out of uncomfortable situations safely because something in their instincts told them to leave. But it’s not always that simple.

Sometimes you need help. Maybe the sun is setting. Maybe you’re hurt. Maybe you’re out of food or money. Maybe this is the first car you’ve seen in hours and it’s giving off a strange energy.

It’s a gray area.

A group of AT hikers pose with the shuttle driver.

A final reflection on the magic of the trails

There was one comment on the PegLeg article that really caught my attention:

«This is the exact reason I can never go on a trip with you. I’m never inappropriate in my mind, but I love the idea of ​​your hair hanging in my face and you laughing. That thought alone is probably inappropriate, and I’d be a fool to ask you to do that in front of my wife. It’s probably the only reason I follow girls hiking and not guys.»

That person could easily go to a trailhead with some snacks and talk to any hiker passing by. That’s the reality.

But then again, path angels are generally amazing people. I’ve met so many wonderful people who love the trail and want to help hikers, whether they’ve done it, know someone who has, or just feel inspired. The trail angels have helped me and many others finish our hikes.

But there have also been situations where boundaries were crossed, where people felt uncomfortable, where someone offered a Gatorade and then felt entitled to say or do whatever they wanted. And clearly, many hikers have had that experience.

That’s why I want to thank all the trail angels who are truly amazing. And I want to thank PegLeg for writing her article; It was a really brave thing.

Because there is this kind of unfailing love for the angels of the path in the community. And perhaps it needs to be examined a little more closely. There will always be bad actors in any community. But when there is a repetitive pattern of uncomfortable experiences, it may be something worth paying attention to.

My name is Jess, also known as Sassafras. Thanks for reading and happy hiking.

The above is a transcript. Minor edits have been made for clarity and readability, while preserving the original message and intent. This video is part of a new series about Youtube of the trip. Be sure to check the full video and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

This article and video were inspired by Madison Blagden’s original Trek article “The Dark Side of Trail Magic: The Negative Experiences Hikers Rarely Talk About.”