Most thru-hikers step onto the Long Trail at a transition point in our lives - graduation, retirement a major move – and each of us is searching for something - clarity, adventure, a connection with nature. In 2005 I was reeling from a year of change - major move, new job and the purchase of my first home. When I stepped onto the Long Trail I hoped to reconnect with both my home state and my self. I little suspected the trail magic I would encounter.

'Trail magic' is a term thru-hikers use to refer to serendipitous occurrences on the trail. The trail provides when you need it most and expect it least; whether it takes the form of a mango found in a shelter on a sunny morning as you make a new friend or a cooler of sodas at the base of Killington on a drizzly day. My greatest encounter with trail magic occurred just 4 days into my thru-hike.

On July 4, 2005 I met the man who would become my husband while thru-hiking the Long Trail. We met at the Stratton Pond shelter and nearly three years later we returned to Stratton where we got engaged. The trail provides.

Kathrine Sullivan