The Social Experience | S5 E8

Hey, y'all.

It's Pipsqueak again.

I'm going to be going over the social experience of the trail and how it's treated me so far.

So have I found myself hiking with others or mostly on my own? I would say for the most part, it's mostly on my own.

Um, I kind of have my own little pace that I go at, and I've noticed that a lot of people are yellow blazing and aqua blazing and, or just skipping sections, uh, completely.

Um, so yeah, trying to get after those miles and, um, you know, I was with a group for a little bit that was yellow blazing and I would do the trail miles and catch back up with them and They'd be all rested up, ready to go for like the next hike or whatever like that, and it was just, um, it was just too much.

So kind of branched off from them, and, uh, you know, I still see them from time to time.

But, um, yeah, mostly just on my own.

Haven't really found anybody that kind of hikes at my same pace.

And also, a lot of people just go into town because they have a lot more money, and, uh, they stay at hotels and all that kind of stuff.

So I'm trying to s- uh, stay a little bit more on the budget-friendly side.

I mean, we're not even halfway done yet, and people are out here blowing money like, um, like they have endless amounts of it.

Um, so I can definitely see how like the average thru-hike costs like some people like 6,000 bucks, or for me it's probably gonna be like 4,000 or, or probably less for the entire hike.

And, uh, some of these people that I've been hiking with, you know, they've got YouTubes and stuff like that.

They got money rolling in, and uh, you know, they, they can afford to spend, you know, 15 or $20,000 on a thru-hike, and that's just not me.

So a lot of camping alone or, uh, staying close to town but not like in town and doing kind of cheaper resupplies, all that kind of stuff.

So have not really formed a tramily, um, mostly for that purpose.

You know, I think a lot of people are, um, maybe not realizing that there's a lot of trail left, and that they're going to run out of money.

So, um, I've, I've got a little experience in that from my other thru-hikes that, uh, you know, I, I try telling them, and they're like, "Oh, well this is, you know, you know, you gotta hike your own hike and experience your own, your own part of the journey." So I'm gonna let them do that, and I'm just gonna be out here focusing on, uh, getting after the trail miles and, uh, doing what works best for me.

So, um, yeah, there's, there may not be a tramily that I'll ever have.

Um, but I guess that is hike your own hike, so in a way.

But, um, yeah, there's, there hasn't really been any negative people on trail.

Um, it's-- most people have been positive.

There has been a couple people that you kind of want to distance yourself from just because they are nonstop talking, and I think they just talk just to fill the void of empty space, and it's like, "Hey, we're out here hiking.

Um, I'm trying to listen to the birds and the, the leaves rustling and, and stuff like that, and you're talking about politics and how Canada and the USA aren't getting along and all that kind of stuff.