View Full Version : Is it too late in the year for Trail Magic to help SOBOers in Northern Va?
Lynn No-Name
11-07-2014, 11:55
I was surprised this past weekend to see some recent (like 10/25/14, I want to say?) entries from SOBO thru-hikers in some of the northernmost shelters in Virginia--but I'm very new to the trail and don't have that great a sense of what the timing usually is. If I were to maybe drop off a cooler of Snickers and the like at Snickers Gap this weekend, would it be likely to actually help anyone? Or did I wait too long to have this brainwave?
HooKooDooKu
11-07-2014, 12:16
I've got a nephew that started a NOBO thru just after Christmas. If he can be NOBO that time of year, I suppose it would be possible to see SOBO thru-hikers in VA and all places south any time of year.
Of course by this time you've "missed the crowd". But from the sounds of it, relative to NOBOers, when it comes to SOBOers, there never is a "crowd".
And given the weather right now... you could drop off a cooler of Snickers at Snickers Gap and leave it there for a month... it would surely be appreciated by someone within that time frame.
rikkitikkitavi
11-07-2014, 14:16
I am a SoBo, and there are about a dozen other SoBo's within a day of me (behind and ahead). I started at Katahdin. The current SoBo "bubble" of which I am sort of in is around Pearisburg. North Bounders get pampered with tons of free stuff. The only trail magic I have had in VA came from someone who saw one of my YouTube videos. He was nice enough to leave me some snacks after he finished his day hike. South Bound thru hikers are definitelytougher, smarter, better looking, and all around cooler than any north bounder (ever).
I've got a nephew that started a NOBO thru just after Christmas. If he can be NOBO that time of year, I suppose it would be possible to see SOBO thru-hikers in VA and all places south any time of year.
Of course by this time you've "missed the crowd". But from the sounds of it, relative to NOBOers, when it comes to SOBOers, there never is a "crowd".
And given the weather right now... you could drop off a cooler of Snickers at Snickers Gap and leave it there for a month... it would surely be appreciated by someone within that time frame.
mattjv89
11-07-2014, 17:50
The shelter logs up here in VT had new SOBO entries till around October 20th, so there's definitely more headed that direction.
Lynn No-Name
11-07-2014, 17:58
South Bound thru hikers are definitelytougher, smarter, better looking, and all around cooler than any north bounder (ever).
This being so, I guess the Trail Magic would be surplus to requirements.
Lynn No-Name
11-07-2014, 17:59
The shelter logs up here in VT had new SOBO entries till around October 20th, so there's definitely more headed that direction.
Thanks, Matt!
The Cleaner
11-07-2014, 18:28
Have you ever tried to eat any kind of candy bar after being frozen for several days? With very cold weather expected next week any food left out will be solid as a rock. Leaving unattended food near the trail is just not a good idea. Bears are still out and do not need human food. Maybe set up a camp with a nice fire and offer hot drinks to passing hikers and they could warm up a bit. You'd get to hear interesting hiker stories too.
I passed through Harpers Ferry on 10/22 last year and there were 10-12 or so more behind me.