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“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares,” reads Hebrews 13:2 (KJV).
During their Monday night hiker dinners, offered May, June, and until July 3, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Glasgow shows kindness to hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT), with meals, such as baked ziti, chicken casseroles, spaghetti, beef tacos, pasta salads, brownies, white chocolate chip cookies, and sometimes ice creams, all donated by the 18-25 parishioners. Glasgow has a population of about 1,100 residents.
Hikers may have stepped through St. John’s parish hall door as strangers but become friends through food and fellowship. Some may even be angels in the ways they share their wisdom, struggles, and anecdotes of life on the trail. Hikers may be angels to one another and to those who serve them at the church, and they may meet angels on the trail as well as in the communities like this one where they stop.
For the past nine years, anywhere from 20 to 45 hikers stop for dinner at this church that has been here in Southwest Virginia since 1902. Hikers share stories of lives transformed by friendships and challenges encountered on the 2,198.4-milelong trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. Extending through 14 states, it is the longest footpath in the world. Virginia has more miles of the AT than any other state. Hikers in Glasgow have arrived from Daleville or Troutville after hiking four or five days. After Glasgow, they will hike four or five more days to Waynesboro.
“Robert,” a 23-year Army veteran, a Green Beret, is hiking as part of Warrior Expeditions, a veteran outdoor therapy program.
“I returned from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in 2006,” he said in an interview on a recent Monday night. “I let the wars come home with me and tear me apart. I am on the trail to restore my faith in God, community, and humanity.”
Robert intends to hike the entire length of the trail, which makes him a thruhiker. He is hiking with his young son as well as other Army veterans, including “Chesty,” a full-time fire fighter from Michigan, who hiked 22-miles on this Monday before hitch-hiking a ride to the Glasgow church. Most thru-hikers start the trail in Georgia in the spring with the goal of reaching Maine in the fall with the entire trip taking about six months.
Hikers use trail names, earned through their experiences, often given by others. Names may also be emblematic of their trail focus.
“Gap,” a 28-year Air Force veteran, also part of Warrior Expeditions, said his trail name came to him in a dream and is an acronym for “God abundantly provides.”
Led by church historian Elaine Massie, who moves around the table, placing her hand gently on a chair or a shoulder, hikers take turns during dinner to share their trail names, how they received them, and why they are hiking the trail. Often after dinner, hikers talk to Elaine for support and to share more of their stories. Massie, a parishioner at St. John’s since 1969, cherishes this ministry.
“They need a personal connection and assurance of humankind because often something terrible has happened to destroy their faith in humankind,” Massie said.
She added that on a recent Monday night a hiker talked with her about his anger with the world, his disappointment in his personal and business life, but in a short distance, he had learned to love those on the trail.
Hikers write their names on a chalkboard in the church fellowship hall. They may also sign a guest book that is filled with notes of gratitude and hand-drawn and colored pictures.
“The sharing adds a real spiritual aspect to the evening, and that’s what I enjoy - soul to soul, and that’s not easy to do,” Massie said.
Retired truckers; people finding their sobriety; a couple honeymooning; and two recent widows trying to find their peace are among the hikers, fed at the church.
Hiker “Iroh” was given his trail name when he made a fire with wet wood in the Smoky Mountains when no one thought he could. The name comes from the show, “Avatar, the Last Airbenders.” A thru-hiker, he plans to hike to Maine, “as long as my body holds out,” he said.
He learned of the trail as a 16-year old and thought of it as a rite of passage. Now at 31, while enduring PTSD from an injury in the military, a bad divorce, and childhood trauma, he is “trying to walk it off,” he says. After the AT, he plans to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.
“Shiner,” from Northern Kentucky, acquired her trail name in Gatlinburg, Tenn., when she sampled moonshine and carried out a quart glass jar of it for two weeks.
“In the last five years, I’ve had lots of family losses,” she said. “I thought this was a good time for me to take on a great adventure. Nature always brings me peace.”
She turned 24 on the trail in April. The group sang a few birthday songs this Monday night, including to a hiker who turned 20 on the trail and to “Green Mountain Girl,” who turned 70 in April.
Trail names are varied and creative. “Toes Show” gained his name from his first day on the trail when his toes popped out of his shoes. “Papa” earned his trail name as a former Scout Master, who is a father figure to young men on the trail, including 20-yearold “Badger.”
“Papa” began the trail almost four months ago, weighing 314 pounds. He is now down to about 200 pounds, while hiking 15-20 miles per day, he said. “Sonic” got his trail name after hiking 30 miles in one day, and “Spotter” hiked with a disabled vet who told him, “You’re my spotter now.”
Eighty-two-year-old retired Marine and section hiker’s name, “Devil’s Dog Seven” signifies a group of Marines who do not quit, he said. A section hiker is someone who hikes a section of the trail, hiking the whole trail over time.
“Chesty,” “Ladybug,” “Bodhi,” “Mandalorian,” “Cryptic Nomad” and “Rocket Sauce” are some of the other trail names written on the chalkboard in the church parish hall.
“This journey and this stop are restoring our faith,” “Devil Dog Seven” said, looking around the room.
“The trail provides,” is a common expression, according to “Iroh.” “The world is still full of good,” he has learned on the trail, he said, “and the most interesting thing is to get help from strangers who don’t have to help you but do.”
Magic and mystical accidents happen all the time on the trail, hikers say. Instances of unexpected generosity or of finding what you need when you need it most are often termed “trail magic.” “The best kind of trail magic is the kind you get when you least expect it,” Iroh said.
“You can be hiking for a month, then see someone you haven’t seen for six weeks. You turn a corner, and there they are,” Iroh said. “Or you can find exactly what you need in a trail box or from someone you meet -- when you thought you wouldn’t find it.”
Roger Funkhouser, owner of Glasgow Grocery Express, across the street from the hiker shelter in town, makes trail magic happen for hikers by supplying the right tool at the right time or by offering favorite hiker snacks not found elsewhere. Freeze dried meals, Gatorade bars, shoe glue, plus 12-15 kinds of tuna are a few of the items Funkhouser stocks because he’s paid attention to what hikers need and want over his 30 years in business. He makes sure he supplies these for the season and has honed his hiker supplies over years.
“Hikers say we have supplies better than most stores,” said cashier Tammy Hayden. Hikers intrigue her with their variety, including recent ones in their 60s and 70s; a woman hiking with her two children, ages 8 and 10; and many women hiking on their own.
Cans of Sterno brand Isobutane/ propane fuel mix for camp stoves is a sought-after item, hard to find on trail stops, according to Funkhouser. He makes sure to stock these for hikers.
“Honey buns, too. They love honey buns,” Funkhouser said, adding that hikers need about 5,000 calories per day, and a couple of honey buns may be about a 1,000.
About 15-20 hikers per day shop in his store during the summer, Funkhouser said, while Glasgow receives about 800 to 1,000 hikers a season. Some stay the night at the outdoor shelter across the street and some stay at a hostel in town.
St. John’s Episcopal Church parishioners Courtney and Dave Van Osten began the Monday night hiker dinner ministry nine years ago. Dave serves as the church senior warden. They were moved to fill the need in the community when the town’s main restaurant, Scottos, was closed on Monday nights.
After dinner, some hikers chat around the table, sign or draw in the guest book, and some drift into the sanctuary, which is cool and dark with cherry pews and soothing, graceful rose and violet stained-glass windows.
