17. Scarcity and Abundance (Mt Collins TN to Peck’s Corner NC)

Young G

They depend on both perspective and material reality. Sometimes, they are separated by just a few minutes. You might have scarcity in one area (say good food) and abundance in another (say, social interaction), and you get to choose which one dominates your mood: the feeling that things are scarce or that they are abundant.

The morning felt abundant. The canopy of spruce and fir split the fog, sharing its earthy scent and refreshing breeze. Most of all, I was again hiking with Hannah and Sam, continuing our conversations on philosophy and wellness. Such a rich and fruitful conversation with wonderful friends. How could I feel anything but wealthy?

In a collaborative act, Hannah (now known as Mossy) and I finally bestowed the perfect trail name upon Sam: Young Gandalf (Young G for short). Very happy with this one.

Abundance from Indiana

We arrived at Newfound Gap, the one place in Smoky Mountain National Park where a road intersects the trail. I inventoried my food there, hungry but wary of eating too much. Three more days in the Smokies, and supplies were getting a bit low. Do I ration more strictly and end up a bit hungry each day? I wondered, or do I eat more today and tomorrow and then power through the empty third day until resupply? It was a question of scarcity, based of course on my material circumstances.

Minutes later, abundance unexpectedly filled me again. I hung back a bit, and a kind family from Southern Indiana invited me to have a beer. “Sure,” I said. They pulled out Costco-sized bags of snacks and started making me a sandwich before I knew it. Gifts, as always, create a relationship. We talked for awhile, while this kind family continued to share. They gave me extra sandwiches, veggie straws, fruit snacks, and a beer to go. Another guy brought a muffin and some cookies. My stomach was full, and now I had plenty to share with Mossy and Young G from this abundance when I caught up to them. I couldn’t thank them enough, that wonderful family from Southern Indiana. In the long Smokies section, they dug me, Mossy, and Young G out of an otherwise impossible-to-avoid calorie deficit.

I would not have asked for all of these foods myself, not wanting to impose. The continued offering and “make him a sandwich”-ing was generosity before being asked. Insisting on a gift makes the receiver feel as though they’re not begging but fulfilling a request. It makes the receiving of a gift easier to stomach.

Minimal margin

Backpacking, you exist in a strange space between scarcity and abundance. You bring just enough water to get you from one spring to the next. You bring just enough food to get you from one resupply to the next. You bring just enough medicine so as not to haul too much. You bring just enough clothing for yourself. There’s a scarcity to this, operating with minimal margin.

There’s also a strange abundance in carrying everything that you need upon your back. Anything other than the essentials become superfluous and left behind. With springs, resuppliers, the community of other hikers, and the items on your back, you have everything you need. You meet your basic needs and feel content with little. Nothing – no item, TV show, phone game, or news app – must fill any additional space or time with the nonessentials.

Despite the lack of margin, Mossy, Young G, and I can share food or foot care items or intellectual conversation and have plenty because the sharing is mutual. Charity, which is giving away and not expecting anything in return, requires margin. It is wonderful how possible giving is in a space of scarcity. But in the real world, is important to build margin in order to be charitable.