Travel, Adventure, and the Culture of Hospitality: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail on the Generosity of Humanity

Travel and adventure rely heavily on a culture of hospitality and how one is perceived in an unfamiliar place as either a welcomed guest or a stranger to be feared.

Photo by Takafumi Yamashita on Unsplash

“Oh yes, sir, good old stranger,” the bright-eyed goddess said,

“I’ll show you the very palace that you’re after—

the king lives right beside my noble father.

Come quietly too, and I will lead the way.

Now not a glance at anyone, not a question.

The men here never suffer strangers gladly.”

-Homer, The Odyssey

One of the m…