Trail Magic

After a zero day in Helen I was full of vim and vigour and ready to tackle the trail again.  The proprietor of Woody's bicycle shop in Helen gave me a shuttle back to Unicoi Gap where I began walking at 7:30 am, hoping to take advantage of the cool of the morning as the day's high was forecast to be 82 degrees.  Those kind of temperatures might be a godsend to the southerner's on the trail but they are a real nuisance for someone who trained for a couple of months at temperatures well below the freezing mark.  By the afternoon I was stopping at every stream and spring to soak my shirt to keep cool.  I even soaked my bandana and tucked it under my hat, draping it over my neck, to keep the sun off and cool my neck.  Around mid-day I went through Addis Gap and began the climb of Kelly's Knob.  The climb wasn't ridiculously steep, but it just kept going and going and going!  When will this ever end?  Finally, as I reached the summit, there was a gracious Georgia gentleman with a can of cold Pepsi.  My first instance of trail magic this year, and what a blessing it was after that long climb.  The gentleman's trail name was Tater.  He said he had thru-hiked the AT in 2000 and liked to come out occasionally to provide some trail magic for tired hikers.
As I stood there enjoying the refreshment he asked, "Where are you from?"
"The east coast of Canada"
"Where?"
"The middle part", I said.
"Oh, I hiked with a guy from the northern part in 2000."
"Really?  What was his name?"
"It was Wolfman"
"Wolfman?  Why that's Wolfgang that I race against all the time.  In fact, my wife will be racing against him this Sunday."
"Wolfman was great.  I usually hiked with Sarge, but we joined up with the Wolfman through the Shenandoah's. He sure was fast!"
What a small world!