BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Ask an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker heading north in the spring, “Where are you headed?” They will invariably answer with a grin, “Katahdin!” The mountain is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
FBC Blairsville is located on the opposite end of the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail’s southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia. The church is in a prime location to minister to the approximately 3,000 thru-hikers and many more day and section hikers who frequent the trail each year. Hikers leave Springer Mountain between January and April, mostly in March, on a journey that takes five to six months to complete.
The Blairsville church has two ministries serving the hiking community. The senior adult Beacon Mission Team has been supporting an organization called the “Warrior Expeditions” since 2012. The second is a new ministry organized by one of this year's classes. Both efforts reflect and illustrate the need for more faith-based ministries along the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.
Mike Baldwin, a member of FBC Blairsville, explained that the Warrior Expeditions ministry began when his late wife Pat, a former Navy nurse, was doing “trail magic,” feeding hikers at the Neel Gap trail crossing in 2012 with Georgia Mountain Ministries. Trail magic can be anything to help hikers, from providing water or snacks to a full meal. That year Pat met Sean Gobin, a recent Marine veteran, who had completed three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sean described that first Appalachian Trail hike as attempting “to walk the war out of his system” before continuing his college education on the graduate level.
The following year, wanting to help other returning veterans, Sean began Warrior Expeditions. It sponsors 20 hikers, two groups of ten, each year on the AT as well as a multi-state bike experience and a Mississippi River paddling trip for returning veterans. The nonprofit, which is supported by the Marine Corps and other organizations, provides equipment and support for hikers during their long journeys.
Mike said in 2013, “Sean called Pat and said, ‘Can you feed us again this year? This is when I'm coming through.’ She got the Beacon Team, and they started feeding and ministering to them.” Baldwin said they didn’t go looking for this ministry, “God brought it right to us.” Fourteen years later, they continue to host and feed two groups of veterans and their support team on successive weekends in March. The hikers have a “zero day” scheduled in the area, and the Beacon Team feeds them both days before sending them on their way. A zero day on the Appalachian Trail is a day when a hiker travels zero miles, typically spent resting, resupplying, and recovering.
The ministry provides food for both body and soul for these veterans who are readjusting to civilian life.
This spring, a second Appalachian Trail ministry was launched by the Journey Together class. This ministry is led by Jon and Melissa Womack, who moved to Blairsville from Birmingham, Alabama, about a year ago. The Womacks had done trail magic over the years with friends from the Spring Valley Baptist Church, Springville, Alabama, and on their own. The Spring Valley church began its outreach a number of years ago by partnering with the former Georgia Mountain Ministries.
The Womacks are section hikers, spending time each spring and fall hiking a new section of the Appalachian Trail and have completed nearly 200 miles. A few years ago, they began doing trail magic on their own while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Melissa said, “We kind of accidentally discovered it doesn’t have to be a big production at a gap. We had some leftover coffee, and somebody walked by, and we said, ‘Hey, do you want some coffee?’ We shared a little cup of coffee and got to talk with them, and we're like, 'Oh my gosh, we could turn this in the trail magic too!'”
“So, we started hiking in a little bit, sitting up by a creek without chairs or anything else. We would make coffee and, as people came by, we asked, ‘Do you want some coffee?’ Then just talking with them and we end up praying with a lot of people.”
This year the Womacks invited their class to join with them in a feeding effort at the Unicoi Gap trail crossing. Typically, hikers burn between 3,000 and 6,000 calories a day while on the trail. The Womacks reached out to hikers a few days before on a popular hiker app called FarOut, publicizing the time and place. Hikers began adjusting their hikes to arrive in time to receive the trail magic.
Hungry hikers are usually waiting when they arrive. Even a little help is appreciated by hikers who are carrying their food and shelter in a backpack. Taking care of others is valued on the trail, and unexpected help is like “magic,” physically, emotionally, and spiritually to a distance hiker.
Jon reflected, “Romans talks about nature showing the attributes of God. And I used to think that was just like the landscape or the animals or the rivers or the storms. But now I'm starting to see that that includes people taking care of each other. Because you're so close to creation and you're spending time in it. It's almost like the characteristics of God just kind of seeps into you a little bit, and they know they're supposed to take care of each other. They know they're supposed to have empathy for each other. That's the only way I can explain it because they have nothing in common other than the trail.”
Their conversations with hikers often include the question, “How can we pray for you today?” Some of the hikers they shared with haven’t had much experience praying and have asked questions like, “Is it okay to pray for our blisters?” One thing many hikers have in common is that they take this journey because they are looking for something. The Womacks shared that on several occasions at the end of the prayer those they had prayed with were moved to tears.
Ricky Powell, pastor of FBC Blairsville, said, “We are a church that cares more about what we're doing out in our community than just in our building. I love it because it's not a program the church had to organize. Church members saw a need, realized the world is coming through our community, and that we could minister the good news in practical ways. It's just a part of our mission to help all people find and follow Jesus.”
Sometimes trail magic leads to a magical moment on the trail. The gospel is shared in word and deed. Trail magic, taking care of others, is simply another version of giving a cup of water, or maybe a cup of coffee in Jesus’ name. The folks at FBC Blairsville are hitting the trail and getting it done!
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