OCD mom: From Frantic Valley to Augmented Reality

As you might have noticed, if you've been anywhere on this blog, I suffer from  obsessive compulsive disorder, not in the way that people think of, such as hand-washing or meticulously cleaning your house all the time (my daughter claims that one) but in the way when I get into something, a new hobby for example or a new subject or interest, I am obsessed.
As evidenced by the fact that I've posted a good many blog entries on CarolinaATMom  since I started this blog about five weeks ago. It's was one of the methods I employed to  deal with my anxiety regarding my son, Jeff's aka Loner's Trek on the Appalachian Trail.
And there's about 5 more posts already written, waiting to be edited or linked with links or peppered with photos and flotsam and jetsam of AT facts or stats.  Even I think it's too gauche to post this many.
But I can't stop myself.

And the blog posts are just the tip of my AT obsession iceberg attempting to rival altitude of Mt. Kathadin. Behind the scenes there's hours of book reading (some books twice!), hours of You Tube videos, blogs and video documentaries including 2,000 Miles to Maine, a funny and sometimes irreverently honest film interviewing a cast of quirky hikers and one angry dog and  I just watched Trek - a vibrant, emotional and telling chronicle of four young men who take to the trail as the Four Horsemen and both the wonderful and the trying experiences they encounter. Beautifully photographed with stunning panoramic views which can't be caught in photos, this will be one I'll watch over and over, just like I do Loner's You Tube Videos.
I also can't resist stalking the Internet sites White Blaze  where AT hikers post journal entries, post questions, comments, help each other, sometimes argue about all topics related to the AT and Trail Journals a website of journals kept by thru-hikers over the years and updated as hikers can with smart phones, etc.
 I also find myself reading the crime reports and unfortunately forwarding them to my son as warnings about what to look out for.  While I believe the AT is as safe as any other part of the USA, the trail is almost a mini moving town and in any town things such as deaths happen. On the AT the dangers range can arise from hypothermia, heat exhaustion, falls, heart attacks. And yes, even violent crimes and murders do happen (such as a recent, May 10, 2012, attempted armed robbery on Beauty Spot Lookout on Unaka Mtn. in Tenn. to be addressed in another post). Loner had been there about a week before. It's just good be aware.
If I could find wild animal reports going over those for every 5 million steps my son will take on the 2,000 whatever it is, the mile count keeps changing miles, especially since my son as already dispatched one rattle snake to the side of the trail with the lure of the snake's supper and three bears, who thankfully ran away from him. .

So, am I the only family member, friend or, I admit sometimes overly involved mom out there?  (Peeking through the Internet telescope) Are there any other AT support teams who sometimes feel close to falling  over the cliff edge to Frantic Valley? Am I the only Mom who drops her life to peek in on her son's?  I read about these Augmented Reality Glasses Google is proposing to release later this year - it's a computer in a strange glasses/around the forehead headbandy thing, all futuristic which offers GPS, displays weather, has the ability to take photos, send emails, make phone calls etc. all in one tidy headset smart phone.  I told my son about them and asked if he'd wear them if he ever undertakes another adventure like the AT in the future so I could follow him every step of the way.  He was smart and refused.  I should have known better since the only technology he has on the trail is his camera. Am I alone? Am I crazy?
It would really be nice to know I'm not the only family member who's gone around the proverbial crook in the trail in this situation. 
My son would think so, hence up until recently I wrote this blog in absolute secrecy from my son. It was easy since he doesn't carry a cell phone or smart phone and has limited access to computers at hostels.
But now I finally feel I can mentally balance the idea of the valuable life transformation he's gifting himself against the worry I feel about the what ifs.

Jeff aka Loner video Amicalola Falls

Jeff, my son who travels the AT, started off on April 6th 2012 at around  3:00 pm as a thru-hiker, AT trail name: Loner, going NOBO for 2012 . He's been on the trail for two weeks and has posted his first video. 

This is shot on the blue blaze approach trail to the Southern Terminus of the AT from Georgia to Maine.  The trail follows along Amicalola Falls up 500 steps (about the equivalent of walking up 20 to 25 floors of a skyscraper) and meets up with Springer Mtn. 
Kendall and I walked  crossed with him river the first wooden bridge, up 1/8 of a mile up the approach trail from the Visitor's Center, around the reservoir and up the first path along the river to the first view of the falls.

Trail Angels and Trail Magic

There are a lot of words and terms that go with the AT hiker culture.  NOBO and SOBO - northbound and southbound; leapfrogging - passing each other on the trail; Yogi-ing ( looking sad and pitiful near a picnic area, road or town to be offered either a ride to town, free drinks or food,) but the best AT Trail terms to an thru-hiker are Trail Angels and Trail Magic
There's a tradition on the trail that  just when a hiker is at their lowest, cold, wet dirty, hungry and worn out, Trail Magic will serendipitously appear.  It could be as simple as an unwrapped gummy bear dropped by a child on the trail - I watched AT thru-hiker 2012 Fatherman eat it on his you tube videos or it could be a long distance ride, with supper thrown in by the Trail Angel, a cookout set up by the side of the road as exhausted AT hikers emerge from the forest (often provided by Trail Angels who were AT Hikers or the families & friends who supported them) or Trail Magic found along the trail itself, or a unexpected box sent to a postal drop the hiker stops at in nearby towns along the trail.Bioptherea talked about this on his You Tube video.

These moments an AT Hiker can't ever forget.  And it makes all the difference in how they feel about their journey.  The AT culture is a very close knit culture as any would be which goes through the same trials and travails.
I haven't figured out whether families who support their AT hiker are called Trail Angels or not yet. And while we may not become Trail Angels along the trail until next year when Jeff can show us the right locations to meet AT Hikers, Kendall, Beth and I are doing what we can from the home front. We've set up a rather messy assembly line for the care packages we'll be sending Jeff along the way. He left a list of items he'll need as well as a box full of many of them in prep, but we'll also send surprise goodies.
It makes us feel involved and especially gives Kendall the chance to feel more connected to her Uncle and like she can do something for him after all the things he's done for her over the years.  He's the best uncle in the world and this gives her a chance to say thanks!  And keep walking and enjoying the travels. 
Recently an independent film, Trail Angels, was released by award winning director, Daniel Peddle, documenting a number of Trail Angels whose ingenuity, giving nature and sacrifice make such a huge difference in the day to day drudgery of AT hikers.
Update: 4/24/12 - here's a video of Jeff opening his mail drop box.