Communication problems (day 63) – The Trek

Dreamcatcher, Thirsty and PK stayed at the shelter almost 4 miles before the tent site where my dad and I were staying. The plan was to meet at 9 at the store location, but it didn’t turn out that way. This incident foreshadowed the rest of the day.

They texted me that they were a little late and Facilikate, a friend of Mixer, another hiker we’ve passed quite a bit, offered them a loose-fitting backpack. Facilikate is loose in the mixer for a couple of days. Dreamcatcher, PK and Thirsty were happy to accept the offer today.

The waiting game

My dad continued walking, but I still waited at the store location. Until it was 10:15, more than an hour later than agreed. I texted them while walking, feeling a little frustrated. Keeping your word and punctuality were always important values ​​growing up.

But in the AT it doesn’t always work that way. A lot can happen and communicating with an irregular service is very difficult. Logistics aside, I’ve also experienced that spontaneous plans tend to be a lot more fun.

Although I’m learning to go with the flow a little better, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s hard to keep the trolley together. Especially with different starting points, paces and changing plans. I didn’t even realize I was actively trying to do this, but I noticed it when it took too much energy out of me today.

My dad followed his own schedule, I tried to wait the rest and now I am walking without anyone, while today I have lost precious time. I’m not going to do that again. If we can all walk together, great! But otherwise, I should follow my own plan.

Taking over

The positive side of walking alone today is that I am making a great pace. And after another dry stretch of trail, I came to a stream! I’m usually not THAT excited about running water, but I can take a little swim in a stream here! I really needed that. All the dirt on my legs was quite itchy. I can finally feel a little human again!

While I was enjoying life, I heard some voices. “Will it be the rest of the group?” is what I thought. But no, it’s Facilikate, who takes care of the rest. She told me that the rest left at 11:15, a few kilometers before the store site where I left. I’m glad I didn’t wait longer. But what are they doing? A loose-fitting backpack is nice, but if it sets you back several hours, I just don’t think it’s worth it.

3 miles from the lunch location, I received a text asking me where I will have lunch. They’re less than 6 miles away, that’s not too bad. They have been making a great pace and it seems like they are trying to catch up. Alright, maybe we can have lunch together after all. I texted them that I would wait for them there. The text was sent and received. Maybe it’s not so bad after all.

Second round

Almost at the lunch shelter it started to pour down rain. I arrived just in time to make sure my shoes and socks stayed dry. I saw my dad here again! But it’s been sitting here for a while now. So when I arrived, he was ready to go again. I still need some time and I also told the rest that I would wait for them here. I am a man of my word. So I waited. Again. While watching my dad walk.

To flip or not to flip?

Meanwhile, there are a lot of people here talking about flip flops. This is when, instead of walking in a continuous line to the north or south, you walk part of it, jump forward, and walk the rest in the opposite direction. The most popular option is to walk north from Georgia to West Virginia, move on to Katahdin in Maine, and walk south again to West Virginia. The main reason for doing this is because Katahdin closes in mid-October and they are not sure they will arrive on time.

We’re a little behind the hiker bubble, but I’m not too worried about making it on time yet. Anyway, I have a strict deadline set by my visa. Besides, I always imagined myself walking north. So even if Katahdin closed before I’m there, I’d rather finish my hike at Baxter State Park than wander around. But that is a very personal reason. I think flipping is a very sensible thing to do for many hikers.

Meeting with the group

The rest of the group was less than 3 miles behind me. That’s an hour and a half at most. As long as the packaging is loose, it shouldn’t take more than an hour. But, after two hours, they were still not here. Once again, I am a man of my word. So when I say I’ll wait, I wait. But I wasn’t very happy doing it. I will tell you that I will never do this again.

That’s when I finally saw PK again. He wasn’t aware of the whole situation and that I would wait. He thought we would meet at the end of the day. Apparently Dreamcatcher already stopped by the shelter. Well, great. Communication is really not adequate today. Apparently he didn’t wait for anything.

I was tired of waiting, so I even accelerated in front of PK. A while later I saw Dreamcatcher. She seemed surprised and happy to see me, but all I could do was smile and yell «you SUCK!» We laughed about the whole situation and knew that communication could definitely be better today, but that everything is fine. After all, a tram is like a family.

At 8 pm we met again with Facilikate. But one of us wasn’t doing so well. Thirsty limped. An old injury affected him. Facilikate will bring him to Glasgow to recover. I hope it’s okay.

All hail the mighty orb!

On the last stretch of the day we passed a building on top of a mountain with a huge ball on top. I think it’s used for air traffic control, but hikers are hikers. So when we read FarOut’s comments, there are tons of people greeting the mighty orb, as if it were a religious holy place. Well, we are hikers too. Better shoot the mighty orb in a little prayer, just in case it decides to grant us major hiker powers. As always find a spare pop tart when you want it. Hmm… All hail the mighty orb!

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