Date: 2016-04-29
From: Before Dickey Gap

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

Another great day for hiking & a lousy day for trail magic.It didn't take long to go down the hill to Dickey Gap, then a short distance to Comer Creek Falls. I've always thought this was one of the prettiest places along the Trail, & it didn't disappoint. In addition to the falls, this stretch of trail was covered with new wild-flowers, including a half-dozen varieties of violets. I met a few hikers as I approached Hurricane Mtn. Shelter. It's a fairly new one, & I stopped for a snack before going on. NOBOs became more plentiful thru the middle of the day, many of them telling me about trail magic at the trailhead at Va 612. When I got there, I found a young woman resting with her big dog; she told me she had just eaten the last snack. I struck out again!From there, it was only a short distance up to Old Orchard shelter. As I cooked lunch alone, I was joined by a half dozen hikers stopping in for water. Going up Pine Mtn., I met only a few hikers, including one almost my age. This slope was covered with flowers, especially trout lilies. Near the top, I passed a group of longhorn cattle. They can be hard to photograph: they keep moving amongst the brush & shrubs. This was the beginning of several miles of less-wooded Trail.In its midst is the Scales, a place farmers used to bring their cattle to be weighed for market. It looks like a big corral. Near one corner, there were some tents & trucks & a big awning tent set up, like for a party. At first, I thought it was a horsemen's group, but there weren't any horses around. The AT comes in thru a gate, quickly passes a bulletin board, then goes out thru another gate several hundred feet later.I suppose the tent was 75 feet off the Trail, with a bunch of guys cooking & having a good time. No indication whether they were friendly to hikers or not. Without knowing more about them, I didn't feel comfortable just walking over there. As I walked past, I waved, so as not to seem rude, & one guy waved back. No one else said or did anything in my direction.Three miles later [nice views of Grayson Highlands in between], I spoke with someone camped along the trail. He told me he was looking forward to a big breakfast for hikers in the morning at the Scales. When I got to the Wise Shelter, sure enough, there was a flyer announcing trail magic at the Scales: Buffalo wings on Friday evening, breakfast next morning, & a big dinner Saturday night. So I was passing at just past 6:00 on Friday evening & didn't get invited! I don't remember what group was sponsoring it, but I feel sure it was the group I saw. If they'd put one of those flyers up on either of the gates or the bulletin board, I'd have known to stop. And I don't understand why they don't call out to invite anyone they see walking by on the AT with a backpack. I'm beginning to feel that there is a prejudice against South-bound hikers by those who provide trail magic. Having done it twice in that direction {"Maine to Georgia"], I'm well aware that there is a whole lot less trail magic in the Northern 500 miles compared to the Southern 500, & SOBOs finishing in the Fall even find some of the hostels closed. But with the increasing emphasis on "flip-flop" hikes, they need to adjust to the idea that we may be in the area at other times. I'm not claiming trail magic as a right, & I'm thankful for it when it happens. But, not counting water jugs in New York [which I didn't happen to need], I'd only encountered 1 or 2 instances in the Northern 34 of the Trail, thus I've been particularly aware of it around me this week. So far, I'm 0 for 4, which doesn't feel right.I shared the shelter with a British couple, & had supper & a good political discussion with 2 hikers from the many tents pitched between the shelter & the park boundary.