Date: 2014-05-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

What an amazing week of hiking! Trail magic is back with a vengeance. After being nonexistent in and around the Smokies, it became so prevalent again for a stretch that I was almost surprised when I came to a road crossing and there wasn't someone parked, handing out food and drink to hikers. It must be a very fulfilling experience, watching weary, bedraggled hikers stumble out of the woods and seeing their faces light up and moods turn bubbly over a small snack, because some people take their trail magic very seriously. One man I came across parked on the side of Indian Grave Rd., named Brother Tom, is so dedicated that he almost never misses a day, rain or shine. He had flown in from a funeral in Wisconsin around nine o'clock the night before I met him, and proceeded to stay up until almost two in the morning cooking homemade brownies and banana bread and brewing sweet tea for us hikers.The best trail magic I've had so far came on an aptly named bald mountain called Beauty Spot Gap. I arrived at Beauty Spot around 2:30 in the afternoon after hiking about 12 miles out of Erwin, TN. I stopped for a break, closing my eyes and listening to classic rock drifting up from the radio of a truck that was parked in the visitors parking lot a few hundred yards down the hill. It didn't take long for me and a couple other hikers enjoying the spot to confer and agree that Beauty Spot was worth a shortened hike and an extended stay. This was my first night camping on a bald and the soft grass and clear skies promised a great night for my first cowboy camp (no hammock/tent) as well. More than anything, though, it was the view to the west and the perfect weather conditions that prompted us to stay. Beyond ridge on the far side of the valley that housed Erwin and the Nollichucky River, lay an extensive flat area that I assume was the Tennessee Valley. There were several stand alone formations jutting up from this valley that reminded me of plateaus and buttes you would expect to find out west. On the far side of the valley, the mountains began again; first as little hills, but with each successive ridge line rising a little higher like rows of seats in an amphitheater.While we sat around goofing off, killing time before sunset, the trail magic started showering down on us. First, the owner of the truck that had been playing the classic rock offered us the remainder of a bottle of vodka he and his wife had been enjoying. Next, an older couple from Indiana that we had chatted with earlier, gave us half of a pizza that they weren't going to finish. Some local guys came and chilled at our fire for a while and shared some smokes with us, as well as some pretty interesting stories they had from hiking in the area. The kicker was a man named Mark, who taught law and photography at a college (Milligan, I believe) nearby, and also runs a blog about AT hikers. He had been on Beauty Spot earlier in the day with his dog Blue, and we had all got to talking. He even interviewed and photographed some of us for his blog before he headed off. Right as the sunset began we noticed two men walking up from the parking lot with arms full of bags. Mark had gone home and recruited one of his photography students to come back with some very expensive looking cameras and capture the show. They also brought a case of Yuengling and snacks for everybody. So Mowgli, Lotus, Bones, and myself (Lostboy) ended up sharing a full picnic and one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever witnessed with our new friends. The weather proved to be perfect. Some very light, wispy bands of clouds caught every ray of sun and sent them shooting across the sky, and every ridgeline was painted a different shade of reddish purple. As if Beauty Spot hadn't given us enough already, we woke up in the morning to the sun rising in the east over North Carolina (it had set over Tennessee, we were almost straddling the border) and the smell and sound of bacon sizzling. A couple from Asheville, who had arrived during the sunset the night before, sent us on our way with some breakfast bacon to complete the epic display of trail magic. I've heard some stories about great trail magic, but five times in one day, and at one spot nonetheless has to be up there with the best!