The Unsung Heroes of the Appalachian Trail
By Jessica L. Knouse • Photography by Melissa Ring
One thing is clear when you speak to Soolah Hoops about anything in her life: she’s a passionate, vibrant, pure soul who yearns for genuine human connection. A professional hula hooper and fire dancer, Soolah has a unique way of drawing people in with her infectious energy and presence. Whether she’s spinning a hoop in a mesmerizing pattern or dancing with flames that seem to mirror her fiery spirit, she radiates an authenticity that’s hard to ignore.
Living on the outskirts of the Appalachian Trail in Cascade, Maryland, Soolah has set up her tiny slice of paradise to make those genuine connections that she craves with thru-hikers as they traverse the 2,190-mile-long journey that spans from Georgia to Maine. Some hikers, as Soolah will tell you, are hiking portions of the trail rather than tackling the entire length in one, long continuous expedition. However, for those thru-hikers who are taking days, weeks or months to complete the trail, Soolah has cultivated a hiker’s sanctuary.
“Sometimes hikers are by themselves for miles and miles upon miles, even if they’re in a tramily”—a trail family— “they at least have somebody they can sort of decompress with,” Soolah explains.
Hikers can find Soolah’s hikers haven accommodations on her website or through an app called FarOut.
For a nominal fee, the app features places to stay along the trail, as well as offline maps and GPS, detailed waypoints and ways to send check-ins to family and friends who are watching hikers’ progress.
“When they get here, hikers can just kind of anchor in for a little bit, get themselves back on track, and you see them happy. And then when I give them breakfast in the morning, they’re so thankful because they don’t get to eat full meals on the trail,” Soolah shares.
Soolah isn’t just a hostel host on the trail, however. She’s what hikers would call a “trail angel.” Appalachian Trail angels are people who provide support and assistance to hikers, and their role is to offer kindness and aid in various forms, often making the challenging journey more manageable and enjoyable for thru-hikers.
Angels may provide practical support, such as rides to nearby towns, food, water or a place to stay, especially in remote or hard-to-reach sections of the trail. Some set up “trail magic”—unexpected and often spontaneous offerings like snacks, cold drinks or hot meals at key points along the trail. Others offer more structured help, including shuttling hikers to resupply points or assisting with gear repairs.
“Anybody who tries to help in some way shape or form can be a trail angel,” says Soolah. “That means you could be on driving down the road and and a hiker’s coming off of Route 16 going down towards Walmart, and you give them a ride.”
At first, Soolah opened her home as an Airbnb in 2012, but over time, she developed a deeper relationship with the trail and decided to create a place for hikers to stay by utilizing a shed given to her by her neighbors. At first, Soolah thought she could use it for storing her hula hoops. “But then it became a place I could host hikers to stay,” she says.
Hikers can stay at Soolah’s Sunflower Cottage, the Polska Hiker Cottage or camp on her property. She does, however, require that her guests be hikers on the Appalachian Trail to take advantage of the hiker rates.
Soolah’s friend Linda Ott is also a trail angel, as she provides shuttles for thru-hikers and is also listed on FarOut. After she retired in 2020, the pandemic hit, and Linda began exploring the outdoors more. “But then I fell in love with the trail,” Linda explains. “There’s magic on the trail. People may think it sounds silly, but there really is.”
Linda’s experiences as a trail angel has turned into a small shuttle business, but it’s not necessarily for making a living. Instead, like Soolah, she does it for the human connection. “There was a need. I met some wonderful people who helped, guided me and mentored me on how to shuttle… I have met people all over the world from England, Australia, Germany and beyond just to hike the trail,” she says.
For hikers, trail magic can make a real difference. Being out in nature for long periods can be isolating, and the solitude of hiking can sometimes lead to feelings of doubt or exhaustion. When hikers encounter trail magic, it lifts their spirits and reminds them that there are people out there who care.
“I have met people who have hiked the trail to work through issues like PTSD,” explains Linda, “and they had such a peace about them. It’s really hard to describe, but it’s a thing that the trail gives them. The hikers find what they need on the trail” — not only for physical purposes, but for mental, spiritual or emotional purposes.
Trail magic is so important because long-distance hiking requires a great deal of physical endurance, mental toughness and careful planning, as hikers need to prepare for varying weather conditions, difficult terrain and the logistics of resupplying along the way. With trail angels like Soolah and Linda, a small gesture of kindness, like a hot shower or ride to a grocery store, can be just the thing to rejuvenate a weary hiker’s body.
At its core, the work of trail angels is about fostering a sense of community and goodwill along the Appalachian Trail, creating a network of kindness that helps hikers during their physically and mentally demanding journey. For experienced Appalachian Trail hiker Barbara “Forklift” Sammut, making connections with trail angels along the way is an experience that she’ll never forget.
Barbara and her “tramily” (trail family) stayed with Soolah last summer on their journey from Georgia to Maine. After a grueling day of hiking, Barbara was in great need of comfort and rest. Soolah welcomed her with open arms, offering a warm meal and a cozy space to relax.
“I just remember Soolah having the most calming presence. And I was getting little bit stressed about having to keep up with people that I was about to be leaving to take a pre-scheduled break from the trail. I just remember how calm I felt being around her and how much it helped me,” she says. “I even wrote down that I just had the best time with Soolah. She was just so lovely and really spread love and kindness to everyone she’s around.”
Barbara, originally from Birmingham, Michigan, now lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and works for the Idaho Trail Association. Throughout her journey on the Appalachian Trail, she and Soolah kept in touch as she made progress toward Maine.
To Barbara, “trail magic is the selflessness of strangers to help people achieve their goal by offering something that will help them get there. Trail magic has helped me through so many hard days where something as small as a bottle of Gatorade could get me back on track and headed north again. It’s so beautiful to have other people care about your journey enough to sacrifice for you and get you to where you need to be. I have never experienced that in any other place—where everyone was working with me to help me get to where I wanted to be, and it’s empowering to have so many people backing you up as you keep going towards your goal.”
Barbara describes the trail as an awakening place. “Access to the wilderness is something that can change so many people’s lives. This connection with nature is something we can’t sacrifice, and as we stray further away from our natural selves, we need to be reminded of who we truly are and where we come from as people.”
In the end, the magic of the Appalachian Trail isn’t just found in the beauty of the landscapes or the challenge of the journey itself. It’s in the people who offer their time, energy and kindness to strangers, knowing that even the smallest gesture can make all the difference. Soolah, Linda and countless other trail angels are the unsung heroes of this vast, sprawling trail, their acts of selflessness providing hikers with the physical, emotional and spiritual support they need to keep moving forward. Their efforts embody the spirit of community and connection that makes the Appalachian Trail not just a physical path, but a deeply human journey. Through their generosity, they remind hikers—and all of us—that we are never truly alone in our quests, no matter how far we travel.
The trail, after all, is not just about reaching the end; it’s about the people met, the connections made and the kindness that carries us all along the way.
Soolah Hoops, Hiker Hostel
Sunflower Cottage, Polska Cottage and camping accommodations: soolahhoops.com
Join the trail angels list
trailangellist.org/appalachian-trail
Learn more about what trail angels do appalachiantrail.org
Trail names on the Appalachian Trail are given to hikers by other hikers. Occasionally, trail names can come from trail angels or other people in the trail community originating organically over time. It’s part of the culture of the trail, and getting a trail name is considered a rite of passage for many long-distance hikers.
Find your trail name!
Birth Month + Favorite Activity = Your Trail Name
January – Frosty
February – Echoing
March – Shady
April – Moist
May – Rolling
June – Wandering
July – Misty
August – Sweaty
September – Rustling
October – Wild
November – Chilly
December – Silent
Hiking – Buck
Backpacking – Turtle
Camping – Squirrel
Kayaking – Duck
Fishing – Trout
Swimming – Beaver
Birdwatching – Ruffed Grouse
Stargazing – Stardust
