Firefly texted me, telling me she only had one hour of sleep, forgot her tent poles, and was thinking about switching flights to tomorrow. Nooooo! My mom and I had more or less been killing time for two days in order to pick her up at the airport. I didn't want to wait for her any longer. Nine days was pushing my limits; she needed to get back on the trail asap in order to catch up. Why couldn't she sleep in the shelters? Plenty of people did that. Why couldn't she get her tent poles overnighted? Why couldn't she tie her tent up with string? There were so many options. I frantically texted back, "You can borrow my tent!" I had my hammock and my mom had just brought my tent for trail days so I was finished with it. She just needed to get on the airplane or she may never come back.
I sent a multitude of texts trying to convince her to get on the plane, that she would be fine without her tent poles. To my relief she told me she was going to fly in that day as planned and would see me in the afternoon at the airport. Yes!
Meanwhile, Lil Bit and I went to the Homeplace, an old farm house converted into a restaurant that served endless bowls of southern food. I filled up on mashed potatoes, biscuits, green beans, fried apples, and more. It felt like thanksgiving.
We picked Firefly up from the airport. I felt like I hadn't seen her in forever and talked nonstop, telling her about the trail and asking her questions. There was a lot to catch up on, but it could wait. She needed to get hiking. Unwilling to skip a part of the trail, she had 50 miles to cover to get where I currently was on the trail. All the while I would be continuing slowly north, adding more miles.
We dropped her off under some thunder clouds. I did not envy her.
To get the full thruhiking experience, Lil Bit still needed to check out a hostel. We went to Four Pines Hostel since everyone raved about it. Four Pines Hostel is a three car garage converted into a living area. Cots and beds of all sorts crowded one end, a circle of couches took over the center of the room, and a lone table stood near the door next to a tiny bathroom. Tools, boxes, and dirty hiker items were cluttered against the walls wherever there was space.
I signed the wall painted as a chalkboard then stood awkwardly, trying to act casual, doing what thruhikers do at hostels.... What do they do? For some reason everything felt new to me. Everyone was in a group or writing in their journals or on their phones. There was only one bed left, a pool recliner chair, and I let Lil Bit have it. It looked like I would be sleeping on the floor tonight.
I looked at all the unfamiliar faces; I didn't know a single person. It was like walking into a new school, but made even more awkward because my mom was there. These were supposed to be my people, my fellow thruhikers. I felt like an outsider, like I was trying to break into a group where I didn't belong. Taking this into account, along with the fact that I didn't really have a bed, I let mom know I wanted to hotel, something we had considered previously.
That was possibly the best choice I had made all week. Rather than being surrounded by smelly people, squished onto a dusty sagging couch, and eating expired baked beans out of a tin can we for foraged from the cabinet, we enjoyed a salad, chili, and popcorn while sitting on our stark white hotel beds watching TV and using wifi. Instead of waking up repeatedly from the growls, squeaks, and jet plains of snores, we fell asleep to the hum of the air conditioner.
It was our last night together before I would start out hiking solo. I had really enjoyed hiking with my mom and showing her my world. Not many parents are willing to sleep on the hard ground and huff up big hills. I am thankful for my outdoorsy parents, and often take it for granted.
One last ice cream later, I was left at the trailhead with good wishes and a hug. I headed up the hill and paused to watch my mom pull away. I was eager to start on my solo adventure. "It's strange the first day going solo, but then you get used to it and find you may like it," Cheddar had told me. It was strange, and really cool at the same time. I was going to meet tons of new people, form a trail family, and have the best time ever. I could do what I wanted, go where I wanted, all whenever I wanted.
I made it to the shelter. Where were all the people? The massive three-level shelter was silent. I waited. Surely there would be a group coming in to hang out with. A girl came and went. Two guys came and left. This would be more difficult than I thought. I read. I ate dinner. Still no one came.
The shelter was relatively close to the road, and I was nervous to stay there alone. I would wait until 6:00. That would give me enough time to make it to the next shelter before dark if no one came. 6:00. I waited. 6:15. Waited. 6:30, and I was still alone at the shelter. Ok, it was time to go. I stepped onto the trail, stopping abruptly as a couple of hikers approached. "Oh, are you guys staying here tonight?" I asked, all too ready to turn back and stay. "No, we are moving on to get that hill done with," the guy said. "Yeah, me too," I agreed disappointedly.
The uphill wasn't so bad. I kept pace with the others and made it to the next shelter as it got dark. Everyone was in their bed already. So much for making new friends. Maybe tomorrow?
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