{"id":11453,"date":"2017-02-28T11:08:04","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T19:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=11453"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T04:03:18","slug":"rei-presents-trail-angel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/video\/rei-presents-trail-angel","title":{"rendered":"REI Presents: Trail Angel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people look to the outdoors to find peace of mind. For Paul Stiffler, better known as Ponytail Paul, the Appalachian Trail and its thru-hikers have been the therapeutic force needed to turn his life around. Paul has taken on a role as \u201cTrail Angel\u201d to help thru-hikers on their 2,186-mile journey and help himself find a new sense of purpose in the process.<\/p>\n

This is one of a series of three short films featuring the stories of people connected to three trails: The Appalachian Trail, Arizona Trail and Bay Area Ridge Trail.<\/p>\n

Watch: Fast Forward<\/a><\/p>\n

For bikepacker and ultra-long-distance racer Lael Wilcox, taking on the Arizona Trail\u2014800+miles of desert singletrack\u2014is a challenge unlike any other, and it will test her to the core.<\/p>\n

Watch:\u00a0The Pleasure and the Pain<\/a><\/p>\n

Errol \u201cThe Rocket\u201d Jones is a 65-year-old ultrarunner. This is his story of pain, perseverance and self-discovery on the Bay Area Ridge Trail.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people look to the outdoors to find peace of mind. For Paul Stiffler, better known as Ponytail Paul, the Appalachian Trail and its thru-hikers have been the therapeutic force needed to turn his life around. Paul has taken on a role as \u201cTrail Angel\u201d to help thru-hikers on their 2,186-mile journey and help himself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":37227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387,717],"tags":[469,733,8,725],"internal-tag":[1673,1587],"class_list":["post-11453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","category-video","tag-appalachian-trail","tag-co-op-cinema","tag-hike","tag-video","post_format-post-format-video","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike","internal-tag-scenic-trails-features"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/video\/rei-presents-trail-angel","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"REI Presents: Trail Angel","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/video\/rei-presents-trail-angel","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/video\/rei-presents-trail-angel"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/rei-presents-trail-angel.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/rei-presents-trail-angel.jpg?fit=2000%2C1172"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["appalachian trail","co-op cinema","hike","video"],"dateCreated":"2017-02-28T19:08:04Z","datePublished":"2017-02-28T19:08:04Z","dateModified":"2025-11-21T04:03:18Z"},"rendered":"