Saturday, May 30 5:30 pm 6.1 mi Pat and Kelsey visit!
AT 338.0 No Business Shelter → 344.1 Uncle Johnny’s hostel
Weather: Beautiful sunny day
Trail Conditions: Short and sweet. Soft trail and great view atop Erwin
My Condition: So happy! Got to see Pat and Kelsey today and got to meet Walmart and Braids along with Fine Line
Hikers Met: Walmart, Braids, Mountain Sage
Last year, I remember seeing progress updates for a thru hiker named Walmart. He showed up to the Approach Trail with cheap gear from Walmart and still made it every bit as far as anyone – a good example of grit over gear. He finished all but 100 miles – missed a portion in New Hampshire after ending up off trail. He’s hiking the whole thing this year, and intends to do so again next year. I told him he ought to write a book, and relayed my mom’s sentiment of “everyone’s got a book in them.” He chuckled and said he’s “read the dictionary, and everything else is a remix.” Still, he had quite the journey and I recall seeing lots of updates on his progress in the AT groups. Also met Braids, the popular vlogger of the AT 2020. That spotlight sounds too bright for me, even in the best of years. I’ve heard her referenced by the head of the ATC in Backpacker Radio, in lots of AT discussion groups and online forums. The scrutiny she and people like Janet have faced this year in particular breaks my heart. In talking to Walmart, it sounds like she’s very much monetized her Youtube channel, but she’s also put in an inordinate amount of work in her “free” time to put those videos together. I recognize her although I haven’t followed her, and now after meeting her and hearing more about her from Walmart, I have more respect for her. Incredible view of the river coming down from ridge. Definitely heavy animal activity last night at No Business. Didn’t see it, but sounded like and most certainly was a curious bear last night. Good thing I did the responsible thing and threw a bear bag! Lots of crunching branches from the direction of both my and Aaron’s food bags. Went to Taco Bell with Pat and Kelsey and came back to the picnic tables at the hostel for a few beers. They gave me 5 envelopes – one for June 6, July 6, August 6, one for when I’m down, and one for when I’m bored. I couldn’t ask for more incredible friends – they are two amazing people with hearts of gold.
Post Trail Analysis
I remember doing a fair bit of trail running this day, pack light and excited to see my friends from home. Walmart and Braids were sitting on the front porch serving as a makeshift welcome committee – getting to a hostel and seeing two hikers you’ve never met yet still recognize right off the bat was pretty cool. I resupplied there, and the caretaker gave me a half-eaten bag of Sour Patch Kids for free. A few ants had already started to enjoy them, and I got to enjoy a little extra flavor – they weren’t going to stop me! I showered while my stuff was in the washer, and urged the dryer to hurry up as I stood there in my rain gear, eagerly awaiting the call from Pat and Kelsey. It was slightly disorienting being in a car on the way to Taco Bell, seeing the miles fly past when you’re so used to a pace of between 1.5-3.5 miles per hour. Nothing like cheese and bean burritos and PBR! Walmart is indeed back on trail this year. Janet was a large online presence in the AT Facebook groups, serving as a group admin in one and frequently posting. Early on in her thru hike, she and her hiking partner developed flu-like symptoms. They self quarantined in their tent and did exactly what we were told we should be doing in the event of possible COVID cases, and got absolutely blasted online for it. It made me sick reading some of the things that were posted. Although I’m not a follower of Braids, it got under my skin a little bit that the President of the ATC had called out a specific hiker by name to use as a whipping boy to discourage people from hiking the trail in 2020. I’m not a fan of bullies, and I frankly expect better from the head of an organization like the ATC.
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