This is one of the biggest takeaways from the trail for a lot of thru-hikers. The trail truly restored my faith in humanity. The community is such a tight-knit, protective, and loving group . Everyone feels like family (even if some hikers don't get along, you're still family). There are so many outsiders who love to get involved in the community. I met people who had families take them in for a couple nights and feed them just because they wanted to help. I personally experienced loads of trail magic in the form of coolers filled with drinks and food at a road crossing, free rides to and from town, having someone buy dinner for my partner and myself in town, being fed loads of free food by local churches, and in one instance a stranger paid for pizza and ice cream at a gas station by putting their card down as I went to pay. These are just some of the dozens of instances that made me realize that there are in fact good people in the world. Especially in the trail community.