Day 13 - 6/15/24 – Goodbye to the Tramily and Reception Issues

6/15 I-81 (545.9) to Gravel Road (565.5)

The Tramily and me before we start the day's hike

I had a breakfast of real food (pancakes) at the hotel, and then my mom and I picked up the tramily. We gave them a ride to the trail and planned to meet for lunch before saying goodbye. For my morning hike, I started listening to The Boys in the Boat, which I enjoyed and made time fly by. I made it to the road crossing we designated as the lunch meet-up earlier than I expected, so I lounged out and had a relaxing lunch while waiting for everyone else. Fancy Man arrived, and shortly after so did Sarge, a section hiker whom Fancy Man had been talking to and whom he introduced me to. I did a quick interview, but she was in a hurry and promptly got on her way. I waited about an hour and a half for the rest of the tramily to show up, and I also texted my mom, who had planned to meet us but never showed up. I figured she had gone to a different road crossing and didn’t have reception. Once the whole tramily arrived, I thanked them for a wonderful time and said goodbye. 

The afternoon hike, another roughly ten-mile section, passed by equally as fast as the morning as I again listened to my audiobook. Beyond the showers and real beds, the luxury of a full phone charge that lets me listen to audiobooks all day has been one of the biggest perks of slack packing.

The harrowing gravel road, which pictures do not do justice

When I arrived at the road crossing, my mom was planning on picking me up, but she wasn’t there; she had just left some snacks and Gatorade, and it seemed she had left. There was no reception, so I used my satellite messenger to tell her where I was. After a very stressful half-hour wait, my mom finally appeared, equally as stressed as I was. She hadn’t had reception all day either, so she hadn’t received any of my messages, which I can send through satellite but only work when the other person has functional reception - One major flaw we hadn’t anticipated with our communication system. However, all was well, and my mom drove back to town, Wytheville, VA, over rough gravel roads. It was well worth it for another night with a warm meal and a real bed. It’s incredible how much of a luxury a hotel room can feel like after a few days of hiking and camping.