Date: 2017-04-25
From: Hemlock Hollow Inn + Hostel

To: Jones Meadow
Miles today: 5.9

From Fatboy:We slept late and enjoyed breakfast in our cabin. Our clothes were still wet because the weather hasn't dried out and it feels wet and muggy most of the time. The owner of the hostel dried our clothes in her dryer and they smelled very fresh. Maybe the secret is creek water rinse? I got a call from my sister who informed me that our father was in the hospital with some cardiac problems. After speaking to her and my father I decided we would still hike today. I couldn't do anything to help the situation with my dad and he said he didn't need me to return to Ohio to be with him. He's surrounded with family who cares for him and I will be able to keep informed of his progress via phone and my sister. We ate lunch and arranged for a ride to the trail to slackpack for our easy day. Five miles should be easy compared to what we've done before. Right? We configured fanny packs for a few necessities and congratulated ourselves on our planning. We estimated our trip at about 3 1/2 hours and set out at a leisurely pace. Every time you leave a hostel or a town you immediately climb up a hill. Some are bigger climbs than others, but you ALWAYS climb! We met some familiar faces on the trail and were generally having our easy day. We were slower than we estimated so we tried to call the hostel to let them know we would be late for our pickup. The difficulty with that plan is that our cell phone provider is SPRINT. Do not begin the AT with SPRINT if you want to actually use your phone to call or text message anyone. It won't work much of anywhere. Our cell phones are really just poor quality cameras that were very expensive and cost a lot of money per month to not be of any use as communication devices about 99% of the time. (Verizon and AT&T seem to be better.) Our final destination for the day was a place called Jones Meadow. It's listed in the bible (Awol's book) so it couldn't be a problem. I was horribly wrong. Our first scheduled pickup time was not going to be reachable. We found ourselves about 2 1/2 miles from our end destination with only an hour to go. I would have been able to walk that distance on a treadmill at home but now I struggle to make more than 1 1/2 miles per hour. I've discovered that I don't walk faster while slackpacking, I only walk easier and without as much pain. We tried to call to let our ride know we were going to be late but couldn't get a cell signal. Again, I love SPRINT¿ When we finally did get a call through our driver had already left to get us. I started to become concerned that our "easy" slackpacking day was going to become an adventure. Adventure. Definition: what happens as the result of poor planning. We finally arrived at the landmarks identified by Awol only to notice that there was no meadow or road near the trail. We asked some other hikers who passed if they knew where Jones Meadow was. Even hikers with the guthook GPS app had difficulty deciding how to reach our destination. Around this time I began to feel an awareness of how vulnerable we were and how uncomfortable the coming night might become. We didn't have our tent, sleeping bag, food, stove or a lot of extra warm clothing. We were screwed if we had to spend the night outdoors with only our water filter and a space blanket with some paracord. We eventually found Jones Meadow by exploring a rocky mile of trail three times and hiking several unmarked blue blazed trails. By now the sun was beginning to set and we were three hours after our original pickup time. The good news is: Jones Meadow is right next to some communication towers so we should have cell service. Wrong! SPRINT proved about as useful as two tin cans and a string. We sat in a parking lot and listened to the frogs sing until we started to get cold. There was only one road down the mountain from this site so we began to walk. We were gifted with one of the most beautiful panoramas from the top of the mountain and we were making progress toward being indoors tonight so my spirits improved. We were met a long way down the mountain by our ride and returned to our hostel unharmed but wiser. Adventure accomplished.Hiker WisdomThe only easy days on the trail are in the past.Slackpacking is harder in some ways than carrying a heavy pack.SPRINT sucks.