Somewhere on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, a four-pound bowling pin is riding north in a hiker's pack. Its name is Penjamin, and it has one mission: reach the top of Katahdin, the trail's endpoint in Maine, passed hand to hand by thru-hikers.
The story comes from a day-133 trail diary of a northbound hiker heading for Hanover. It was a wet, foggy day — hard rain in the morning, clouds rolling back in by afternoon — the kind that makes you want to stay in your tent. Instead, the hiker and their dad pushed on, thanks partly to some trail magic: section hikers finishing their trip left leftover food behind at their campsite.
The day's highlights were classic trail life. A lunch stop at a two-level shelter called The Lookout, where you can climb onto the roof for a view — though on this day the fog only partially lifted. Some improvised trail engineering too, including a ladder bolted onto a steep rock section where other parts of the trail get carved steps or rebar. And a low-key rescue mission: the hiker's father had boots on their last legs, so the group ordered replacements online to be shipped ahead rather than gamble on outfitters stocking the right size — a lesson learned the hard way back in Pennsylvania, when an entire day was lost hunting for shoes.
Then came the bowling pin. A hiker in Warwick, New York, spotted Penjamin in a trash can, decided it deserved better than the landfill, and launched an Instagram project: the pin travels north entirely through the hands of thru-hikers until it summits Katahdin. The account had only about 100 followers at the time — hardly viral — but one of them happened to be Small Bites, a member of this hiker's trail family. He recognised the pin instantly on sight at the shelter and immediately took over the next leg of its journey. Penjamin now has a tramily.
Why does this matter to anyone who isn't hiking 2,190 miles? Because it captures the culture that makes the Appalachian Trail what it is: strangers sharing food, hikers adopting absurd communal projects, shelters doubling as trail art. It's a good reminder that the trail network around New England — Vermont's section especially, near towns like Rutland and Hanover — is accessible even to weekenders doing short sections, not just end-to-end thru-hikers. If you're hiking a stretch between Rutland and Hanover, The Lookout shelter is a fun stop, though check water sources carefully; a 4.4-mile dry carry with four litres each is enough to change anyone's plan, as it did this crew's.
