Welcome to the Cult
Two weeks into the AT and we had met dozens of hikers, some still solo and others that had formed trail families aka tramilies. Since we started the trail as duo, joining a tramily was something we had never even considered. Thus far due to our lack of zeros we tended to meet people for 1-2 days until the next town. We started to become known as our own little tramily - “The Sisters” or better yet “The Nuns.” Thank goodness the latter never caught on. To be clear we weren’t opposed to a tramily but more if we found the right group kind of thing.
There was one group we automatically crossed off the list. They called themselves “The Cult.” The first time we heard about “The Cult” was actually a text from our dad who was subscribed to every AT thru hiker with a YouTube channel. A member of the group had taken a video the night the tramily was officially born. This meant nothing to us until a couple days later when we got to a shelter on a colder, overcast day. An older couple had already set up in the shelter and boy were they prepared to spill the tea about The Cult. They told the stories as if telling a scary story out in the woods.
This was the intel they provided: the group was anywhere from 20-30 people strong under the rule of a triple crowner. In the mornings one of the members would wake up early and hustle out 15-20 miles to get to a shelter in which he would proceed to kick anyone else out to make sure the rest of the group could fit when they arrived. The Cult was aware of their reputation and to spite other hikers would purposely double zero to keep hikers constantly guessing where they were! Oh right, the town stays were also all paid for by a wealthy member of the tramily. Boy does gossip spread fast on the AT!
How are “The Nuns” going to stand up to “The Cult”?! We were actually scared of running into this infamous group, especially in the Smoky Mountains where you are required to sleep in a shelter. Maybe overkill but we even hatched a plan of what we do if they showed up and demanded we leave.
The plan was vain because we had one last night left in the Smoky Mountains and as we came to the shelter it was filled with some familiar faces who we knew where NOT Cult members. Upon arriving though we did hear that there was sick girl in the shelter so we decided to tent a little bit away. It wasn’t until the morning when we were leaving that we saw her for the first time as she was admirably hiking that day.
We didn’t learn her name until a couple miles up trail when we saw a lone cowboy sitting on a log on the side of a forest road. You read that right, a cowboy. Or at least he had on a cowboy hat. Speedgoat had been chanting for “trail magic” ever since she laid eyes on a figure up ahead and scowled when she realized there was no such luck.
“Did you pass Platinum on the trail?” the cowboy asked. We had no clue who Platinum was but my guess was the tall blonde, sick girl we saw that morning.
“She is a mile or so behind us.” Riveter responded. Since there was no trail magic we didn’t stick around.
Since we are all hiking on the same trail in the same direction we bumped in the cowboy and Platinum a few times over the next couple days. They ended up at the same shelter as us that same evening and then ate lunch with them the next day. We learned that the cowboy’s name was Jedi.
All thoughts of the Cult had faded from our minds. It seemed they were ahead of us and we had dodged a bullet. Until we got to Hot Springs, NC the following day. This was to be our first zero of the trail and we had booked beds at the popular hostel there. On our way in we heard the scuttlebutt that The Cult was currently in Hot Springs! Yikes!
Well we couldn’t let our fears keep us from having fun! We headed to the local brewery after showers. When we got there we immediately recognized fellow thru hikers. One in particular we had met at the same shelter where Platinum was sick. Friendly and exuberant, he came bounding over and offered us a seat with him at his table. His table… filled with 9 other people… with Platinum and Jedi…. and oh no. The puzzle pieces clicked. This was the Cult! We had been meeting members incognito!
Too late now, we were committed. After an hour sitting with them we realized something was way off about these rumors. First of all, they had 10 members and no leader. There was no wealthy member and they had taken exactly one double zero during a snow storm. We even told them the gossip we had heard and they were horrified about the reputation circling them.
Over the next week we found ourselves leapfrogging with the group. It was starting to become expected that we would run into them at shelters every night. We enjoyed lunches, tenting, and then even a town stay with them. We eventually accepted the offer to join the tramily. I will note that it required us to hike our first 29 mile day in honor of a member’s 29th birthday. That is tougher initiation than anything college frats have put together.
We would continue to hike the rest of the trail as Cult members and summitted Katahdin as part of the tramily in August 2022.