Expectation Management

So today was a very productive day. As you may have noticed, I addressed an email notification issue so that subscribers will now receive an email notifying them of new blog posts. (Sorry for the "test' notification earlier today!).

Also, and VERY behind the scenes, I successfully integrated different versions of Jamie's VERY detailed recipe spreadsheet. I've now integrated my own spreadsheet and recipes with his foundation "hiking food" spreadsheet. I know, I know... This sounds like a silly "accomplishment" but if you know Jamie, or you know me, you understand that you have dueling numbers/spreadsheet nerds who (surprise, surprise) think they know the best way for information to be displayed. Well, as you might guess, when half of the spreadsheet nerd pool is "on the trail," the other half RULES!

So, I now have a complete trail food recipe file that is consistent and conveniently organized so that I can share them easily on the blog.

Of course, the evergreen issue for someone who is supporting a hiker is knowing whether they are on course and/or have reached their expected destination. I know, this seems like such an easy, concrete element! But in this weird hiking world, there are so many variables that it can truly be an exercise in expectation management.

Jamie provided A LOT of data before he left on this hike. One piece of that data is a very detailed spreadsheet that shows (among other things) what he expects his progress to be along the trail at any given point. So when I'm trying to figure out where he is, and what his expected stopping points are, I reference this fantastic piece of spreadsheet work.

Matching that up with the Garmin data can give me:

1. peace of mind, when I see that his progress and position is what I expect it to be, or

2. near panic, when I see that he's [apparently] getting swept away in class 5 whitewater.
   

By now you know that I am not a "panic first" kind of gal, so it really does take a lot to push me into the freak-out stage. This is a really good thing. It's just not a sustainable condition to be in a near-constant state of "Where is he and why is he all the f!#$ing way over there?!?"

Today, I knew that Jamie had a 4 to 4.5 hour hike to get to his next resupply. But I didn't have good, current location data on him. What I COULD see is that he was taking his dang time getting on the move in the morning. When I finally talked to him, letting him know I was surprised he didn't get going sooner than he did, he said "But we got going by 9:00am!"

There are a couple points that are worth noting.

First of all, 9:00am is seriously a retired person's "early start" to a day, but ESPECIALLY to a hiker's day!

Secondly, I had been very happy to see all the water around him on the view from the Garmin, particularly given the concerns we'd had earlier about water supplies. But water... truly a blessing and a curse.

So necessary but also, so treacherous.

I'm not going to spoil the ending (which will no doubt be thoroughly illustrated and highly entertaining on Jamie's Instagram), but suffice it to say that water SUPPLY was no longer the issue, but rather water VELOCITY and frequency of crossings. There's a story to be told about being washed downstream for a length, but that is Jamie's to tell...

Thankfully, he arrived at the expected destination. And he was cheerful, determined, and forward-thinking. I honestly couldn't ask for more!