Date: 2005-04-26
From: Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Campsite by stream to campsite past Helvey's Mill ShelterIt got quite cold again last night, probably to the mid 30s since it was just hovering around 40 degrees this morning.  There was a cooler of trail magic left at the campsite from a local church, and we enjoyed some fruit juice from it with our breakfast.  The juice was a nice treat to enjoy on the cool morning.We had a mission today to go into the town of Bland, Va to resupply for the three day stretch to Perisburg.  No real lodging to speak of in Bland, so it had to be an in-and-out town stop.  The seven miles from the campsite to the road went fast enough, but ny stomach was rumbling the whole way.  Since we've picked up the mileage lately the calorie expenditure has gone up, and it's tough to get what you need out here.  So, I was looking forward to a nourishing town meal.We reached the road a little past 11 am, and found very little traffic.  We were warned it would be a tough hitch, and didn't want to have to walk 2.5 miles in then back out again in addition to the 5 miles we planned to walk after the resupply to camp.  Spoonie arrived shortly and we all stuck out our thumbs.  A few cars passed, some even swerving into the other lane to get "around" us, though we were far off the shoulder.  Finally a car pulled over and kindly drove us into town.We had a meal, then to the small market down the street to resupply.  We ran into Senator and Frenchie (Geri) at the diner, and found out they'd walked down into town.  They headed over to the market before we did, and when we arrived they were loading up into a car heading back to the trailhead.  As we approached, the woman driver asked Spoonie if we needed a ride to the trailhead as well and said she'd come back for us after talking Senator and Frencie up.  We couldn't believe our luck!So, we hurried to get our errand done so we'd be ready, Spoonie went out to thank the woman again for going out of her way to help us out.  At this the woman replied "well, that's how I make my money."  Confused, Spoonie asked for clarification and the woman said it would be $20 to drive the three of us back up the trailhead.  So she wasn't offering a ride out of the kindness of her heart.  We would have had no problem paying a few dollars towards gas and for the favor, but twenty dollars for 2.5 miles and not communicating the expectation for payment up front didn't seem quite right.  So we declined and caught a hitch down the raod a few minutes later.  We were wondering what happened with Frenchie and Senator since they did get a ride with those people and we were sure they wouldn't have accepted knowing an exhorbitant fee was expected.We ran into Frenchie a ways up the mountain, and she told us what had happened.  Apparently the people offered them a ride, then when they arrived at the trailhead said "we need to get paid."   Surprised and having no cash on them, both Frenchie and Senator told the sneaks that they had no money.  The woman said "well, we need to eat!"  Senator offered them some food out of his foodbag but they declined.  Ultimately no payment was tendered in cash or food or otherwise, but we were all left with a slimy feeling.It is true that as hikers with no mode of transportation to rely upon but our feet, we often rely on the kindness of others to get to town to fulfill our town needs.  We are always willing and eager to offer a few dollars to compensate for the favor. It was an unfortunate thing though to experience this bait-and-switch type of set-up designed to take advantage.  Fortunately such an experience is an anomalie, and ultimately made for a good story and a laugh.  It was a reminder though that there is no place for naivete on the street or in the woods.  It also shines a light on the kindness we do regularly receive from complete strangers which both facilitate and enrich our hiking experience.Danger