"Trail angels" ease the way for thru hikers all along the A.T., from Georgia to Maine. You can become one of these angels by sharing some "trail magic" with hikers finishing up the long Virginia stretch of the trail. What is “trail magic”? It’s any act of generosity that helps an A.T. thru hiker keep going. 
 
By the time they reach our neck of the woods (Keys Gap, where we’ll offer them a shuttle to the festival), hikers who started at Springer Mountain in Georgia, will have walked 1012 miles. We’d like to “make some magic” for them.

If you'd like to donate something (see the list below for suggestions) to this year's thru hikers, we have collection boxes at the Round Hill Town Office and the Old Stone School in Hillsboro. You can also bring donations for thru hikers on June 10th to the Festival Welcome Tent.
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Here's a list of things hikers have told us they'd appreciate:

• Candy bars and fruit snacks 
• Individual bags of potato chips, Oreos, cookies, rice crispy treats, etc.
• Packets of instant coffee and Gatorade/Propel mix
• Coconut or vitamin waters and caffeine drinks
• Batteries
• Gas canisters for jet boils
• Ramen 
• Tuna packs
• Hiking socks
• Blister first aid
• Small packets of bug repellent
• Small packets of ibuprofen
• Bags of coffee (so trail center caretakers can have it warm and ready for hikers) 
• Fresh fruit*
• Carrot sticks*

(*Please only drop off these fresh items at the festival, 6/10.)
 
We’ll be sharing some of this trail magic with hikers who join us at the festival (for a free lunch and great music); the rest will go to the Bears Den and Blackburn trail centers for other thru hikers as they make their way north.

Today's guest post comes from Carol Lenhart of Birch Hollow Yoga in Hillsboro. Carol will be leading sessions of Yoga for Hikers at 11:45 and 4:15 during the festival.


Six Reasons Hikers Should Do Yoga

We love hiking and being in the woods. Especially the challenge of a long and arduous trek through tough terrain. Or maybe a gentle stroll along a nice, flat scenic trail. Whatever style of hiking you do, yoga can be a great addition to your fitness habits.

Here are some reasons why:

1. Yoga Builds Strength: Many of the yoga asanas (poses) activate and strengthen muscles in a gentle but effective way. Particularly, a well-rounded yoga practice will condition all the muscles used by a hiker – legs, hips, back, arms, core, and shoulders. There are even poses to strengthen feet and ankles! Best of all, yoga can be modified to suit all bodies, regardless of previous injury or disability. Some poses to try: Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Plank, Locust, Boat.
2. Yoga Enhances Flexibility: Dropped your water bottle? Pick it up without straining your back. There are any number of yoga poses that provide gentle stretches for the hiker’s body. From head to toe, yoga stretches can relieve the tension of that heavy pack or steep climb. The stretches can be brought on the trail, to create a “pit stop practice.” Try: Forward folds, One-leg toe touches (foot on a rock or fallen tree), Triangle pose.
3. Yoga Improves Balance: Climbing through rocky terrain? Stepping through a creek? Our balance is crucial in creating stability on our hikes. Not only can yoga strengthen our core, which in turn improves our balance, it also helps create a stronger connection between our bodies and the spaces around us. This is called proprioception. When we move mindfully along (or up or down) the trail, our yoga experience can keep us grounded and centered in our pace. We notice and feel the ground beneath our feet, and create a safer and more enjoyable experience by our ability to meet stability challenges. Try: Tree pose, Dancer, Side Plank.
4. Yoga Increases Stamina: A regular yoga practice involves moving through sometimes difficult poses with control and ease. We use breathing patterns to help build endurance and stamina. We work through the challenging or uncomfortable aspects of our practice. We learn that often a challenge can be met though “mind over matter.” Breathing control and mindful movement are skills that will greatly support your challenging hiking goals. Try this breathing exercise (pranayama): Gently close your lips and breathe through your nose. Breathe in for a count of 5, and out for a count of 5. Repeat for 2-3 minutes or more. Maybe try this on your next uphill climb!
5. Yoga Calms the Mind: The word “yoga” stems from the Sanskrit word meaning “to yoke” or “to connect with.” When we practice the poses, and connect our mind and intentions to what we are feeling in our bodies, we create the mind/body connection. This skill is truly handy on the trail, and can greatly enhance hiking enjoyment. A calm mind also enables us to be less reactive to the events around us, and less distracted by our worries and cares. This mind/body connection allows us to get the absolute most out of our hikes, allowing us to enjoy a peaceful and serene experience. Try a “Woods Meditation:” Sit or stand in the woods and focus on one thing (tree, rock, flower, etc). Keep your attention on that item for 5 minutes. Breathe gently.
6. Yoga is Accessible to Everyone: Yoga can be practiced by anyone who breathes. It requires no mat, special clothing, or particular space. It can be short or long. Plenty of quality instruction can be found in local yoga studios, fitness centers, internet videos, and books. True yoga can be modified to fit any person, and can be done at any time or place. It can be done alone, or with others. It can involve movement, or simply breathing. There are many styles of yoga to fit a multitude of practitioners, and yoga doesn’t care about age, fitness level, or social status. Just like hiking, yoga is for Every-Body.

Carol Lenhart is a yoga teacher in Hillsboro, Virginia. She has been practicing yoga for over 35 years, and has been sharing the practice with others for 10 years. She loves all styles of yoga, and her favorite pose is “feet on the wall.” Carol lives on a farm with her husband Ben, their children, and an assortment of animals. She enjoys hiking, cycling and paddling around the beautiful Virginia countryside and waterways. She can be found on Facebook and Instagram through @birchhollowyoga.

We have Virginia's newest state park, Sweet Run State Park, set to open May 26th. You may have already been there, if you've ever traveled down Harpers Ferry Road to visit the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, which will become the new state park.

How does beautiful rural land like this, much of it a former farm, get protected in perpetuity? That's where our festival's newest sponsor, Old Dominion Land Conservancy (ODLC), plays a part. ODLC assisted arranging the donation of the land to the state, helping protect Potomac River tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay watershed, preserving Appalachian Trail views and conserving the natural habitat for hundreds of animal species in the process.

Under the leadership and guidance of ODLC, more than 18,000 acres of land have been successfully designated and preserved in conservancy. Here's why the ODLC folks do what they do:
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"For us at ODLC, it’s more than just preserving open countryside, habitats and waterways we all love; it’s providing options for landowners and purchasers to maintain family legacies for generations to come."

It takes a village (actually two towns this year) to put on our free, fun-for-all celebration of the A.T. and all the Great Outdoors. If you can give us a couple hours on June 10th, you'll be a most welcome member of our team.

Click here to find our day-of volunteer sign up.

Have a couple hours to help us out? We are stilllooking for day-of volunteers! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0848a4a728a1fa7-appalachian#/

Can you help us spread the word? We're reaching out to any northbound A.T.  thru-hikers who will be in the Round Hill/Hillsboro area June 10th, and who would like a break from our infamous "Roller Coaster" stretch of the Trail. We also invite section hikers headed in either direction to join us at the festival. 

​Here's what we have in store for them:

Here's a guest blog from friend of the fest, the Village of Bluemont. We're happy to announce that Bluemont has just been designated an A.T. Community by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and has signed on as a sponsor of this festival.

Bluemont’s beautiful outdoors provides hiking along the Bears Den and Raven Rocks sections of the A.T., as well as camping at Bears Den and ample bird watching. As an A.T. Community, we  plan to offer organized hikes (in conjunction with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) of “The Roller Coaster” section of the Trail.

And Bluemont offers more than hiking for outdoor enthusiasts. Cycling by both professional and amateur cyclists is popular on Blueridge Mountain Road (which runs past Bears Den), as well as on the historic turnpike that runs through our village. The Bluemont Community Center provides an outdoor playground area for children with a newly established nature area. The Shenandoah River is located just four miles west of Bluemont with opportunities for kayaking and tubing. Equestrian activities can be found at Red Gate Farm Equestrian Center in Bluemont.

Unique to our village is Boulder Crest Wounded Warrior Retreat, a non-profit committed to serving our nation’s combat veterans, first responders and their families struggling from the aftermath of trauma. The 37-acre retreat offers guests horseback riding, hiking, fishing, archery, labyrinth walks, music and art—as well as a variety of in-depth therapy programs. Boulder Crest holds annual events in Bluemont including the Healing Heroes Ride, Ruck-A-Thon and a family Easter Egg Hunt. Partnering with Boulder Crest as an A.T. Community opens a multitude of doors in reaching veterans with the healing powers of the A.T. Bluemont is working with Boulder Crest to organize special hikes for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

Ongoing events in Bluemont include the annual Bluemont Fair, held the third weekend in September. The Bluemont Fair is a true country fair, drawing over 10,000 visitors and hundreds of local volunteers. This year we will celebrate our 53rd fair. Our annual Bluemont Shamrock 5K/10K is held every March.​ And, this June, we are partnering with our fellow A.T. Communities of Round Hill and Hillsboro for Western Loudoun's annual A.T. Festival.

Here's a guest blog from friends of the fest, Warm Peet.

In addition to being loyal sponsors of our A.T. Festival, the great folks behind this company will be joining us in person, again this year. Stop by their tent to pick up a pair of great hiking socks and learn more about their mission. (You could also win a pair of their socks in our raffle!)

Since launching the company in 2021, we’ve been able to donate more than $11,000 to nonprofits leading the charge in issues that matter most to us: Outdoor Recreation, Nature Conservation, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health services. We are firm believers that being outdoors and staying active are integral parts of our mental, emotional and physical health.

Warm Peet is more than just amazing socks; giving back will always be our #1 goal. Support from our customers and events like this A.T. Fest are why we can continue sharing 100% (that’s right, 100%) of our profits. Just to name a few, we’ve been able to give to The Trevor Project, The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Nordson Green Earth, Teens to Trails, Head Strong, The Suicide Crisis Lifeline and We Are the 22.

What’s next for Warm Peet? We currently have no-show athletic socks and some new designs in the works. Our newsletter is the best way to stay up to date on when new products will become available. Until then, our OG Hiker Crew socks are still getting five-star reviews from every single person who wears them! They have made their way off the trail and into the gym, on bikes, at work, or the couch :)

We absolutely love this A.T. Fest and everything it sets out to achieve. It’s also where we launched our socks in 2021—we literally took our first steps there—so we may be a bit biased. We can’t wait to be a part of this year’s event, because it creates an opportunity for people to come together to celebrate, support and protect the A.T. and the Great Outdoors. We look forward to sharing our vision and our socks with the outdoor/hiking community…they’re our peeps! We want to keep their feet happy, while they keep their minds healthy.

Fun fact! Did you know it takes 9 minutes and 39 seconds to make a pair of Warm Peet socks? We’ve challenged ourselves to think about all the things we can achieve in just ten minutes to make a positive impact on someone else, on the world, or even on ourselves. Just another way we try to give back and spread some kindness.

Looking forward to seeing you in June.

Stay Warm,
Your friends at Warm Peet

The A.T. gives us amazing vistas and hikes, natural wonders and zen moments. It's a privilege to give back a little to the Trail that gives us so much.

At our first Bears Den Volunteer Day a wonderful crew of A.T. appreciators gathered to clear fallen branches from a campground, clean up litter left behind at the overlook and re-establish water breaks to protect a side trail. 

We also took the opportunity to talk about the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and all the many, many volunteers who work throughout the year to keep the Trail and its environs in great shape. We even got to talk to a group of Boy Scouts and day hikers about Bears Den and what it takes to keep it the beautiful spot it is.

Bears Den Trail Center's caretaker Glen provided our crew with coffee and donuts. (Many thanks!) The event was co-sponsored by the Blue Ridge Chapter of PATC, the Round Hill A.T. Community and the Appalachian Trail Festival in The Gap. Response was so positive, that we all decided we want to do it again.

You can find out more about the Bears Den Trail center at their website. To learn more about the amazing trail maintenance work of PATC, check out their website (and consider becoming a member, if you aren't already).