Careful dude, you're sounding mighty presumptuous there.

When a dayhiker spends more time on a tough trail than he expects and gets stuck after dark, it can be mighty wise to build a fire and bivy. In fact the fire can be more important for the dayhiker than the overnighter, because the dayhiker won't have the sleeping bag & dedicated shelter than the overnighter most likely has brought.

I regularly hike in this East coast area and I assure you it is no casual stroll like you seem to know from Virginia:

"Hikers should remember that this is a federally designated Wilderness Area. As we learned on our end-to-end trek of the Gorge, trails are not well maintained and are marked only at the trailheads at the top. Even veteran hikers will find that it is very easy to lose the trail. It's no surprise that 45 to 50 hikers per year get lost or injured and have to be rescued by local emergency crews."

Don't globalize your experience to everyone else.