September 14, 2024
RANGLEY, Maine — It was the best hotdog I have ever eaten. Coney Island hotdogs, Tony’s hotdogs of Norfolk, Virginia, and the famous Tony Pacos hotdogs of Toledo, Ohio were all great hotdogs. But that hotdog, in a parking lot where the Appalachian Trail crosses on Maine Route 4, near Rangely was the best I have ever eaten. Although the circumstances played a role in making it so, I was exhausted, dehydrated, and hungry!
My friend Donnie and I had just finished a 3-day, 24-mile hike over Sugarloaf and Saddleback Mountains on the AT. It was our first hike after arriving from Georgia and in retrospect probably not the one we should have begun with, but it was my final section to complete the AT in the state of Maine. Each of us was carrying about 25 to 30 pounds in our backpacks. The first day of the hike was like hiking up the outside of the Empire State Building with a backpack on your back! Except the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall and our assent up the mountain was over 1,400 feet, and much of it nearly vertical, hand over hand rock and bolder climbing.
Exhausted after our first day, we had many more miles and five more mountain peaks to climb before we finally arrived at the Route 4 parking lot about 5:30 p.m. on the third day.
Arriving at the parking lot we were greeted with what is called on the AT, “Trail Magic.”One day a week, during the peak hiking season, a local group of friends gather at that parking lot to cook food and provide a free meal for AT hikers. We arrived just in time to get the last cheeseburger and hotdog available.
The trail often diminishes appetites and trail food leaves something to be desired. The hotdog, a bag of chips, fresh fruit, and a real chair to sit in were like magic to mind, spirit, and body. It was washed down with a refreshing, comforting can of Georgia Coke and a can of Moxie, a soft drink indigenous to Maine. Even after finishing the meal and consuming a liter of water, when I stepped on the scales later that evening, I still weighed six pounds less than when I had begun the hike.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). The verse came to my mind and now can be viewed from a new perspective. That was how a “Trail Magic” hotdog became not only the best I had ever had but ranks among the most memorable meals of a lifetime.
In 40-plus years of ministry, I have seen few people who demonstrated that type of spiritual hunger. Who were so hungry and desperate for the righteousness and grace of God, that they abandoned decorum to pursue God. To seek a satisfaction that only the free grace of God can provide for a soul who is hungry, tired, thirsty, and in despair.
Seldom if ever, does someone “run down the aisle” in a Baptist church. That is reserved for other denominations, “the holy rollers,” if you please. This is why, like the hotdog, I will never forget the moment years ago. She was a wife and mother who was living in desperate circumstances that were beyond her control. She did not care what anyone who was looking on thought. She literally ran down the aisle during the invitation and could not get to the altar fast enough. She knew the only answer to her situation lay in the power and grace of God and God alone! She was hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
I would not wish the hunger and exhaustion experienced on Route 4 on anyone, nor lay the burdens, trials, and travails of the wife and mother on any soul. On the other hand, more people who were hungry and thirsty for righteousness is something that would be transformative. Especially in a world filled with Christians, many who are only content to occasionally sit on a pew. Jesus said, those who are empty and seeking “will be filled.” Maybe what we need is a little “Trail Magic” in the pew, it is certainly available to those who are hungry and thirsty, and they shall be filled.
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Charles Jones is a Southern Baptist historian and a retired pastor.
