Julio Rodriguez has an ambitious goal of hiking the 3/4 length of the Appalachian Trail from Harper Ferry, West Virginia to Maine. A travel that is planned to take 4 months traversing part of the 2,146 miles of trails covering in 11 states. It's a test of endurance as well as the mental challenge in hiking alone in total silence with his dog as his only companion makes his hike the more isolating because of his deafness. Lacking the full communication with hearing people he'll meet along the way will only temporarily break the monotony and solitude of his hike. This is where communication technology comes in handy that breaks the usual surficial but limited chit-chat communication in meeting new people along the way.
His hike began on May 24, 2013 but officially it was May 26 when he finally got going. He is now 2/3 of the way through his hike to Maine with 500 miles to go. You can follow Julio's Appalachian Trail Facebook and see the sights he recorded along the way and the people he met. For the first 40 days of his hike he communicated using pen and paper the people he met along the way. Though handy but not quite the same communication experience as in communicating with people in real time. On Day 39 he received a message from Jason Curry, CEO and co-founder of sComm, that he would be sending Julio a new 2nd generation UbiDuo.
Day 39On Day 40 he finally got his UbiDuo
Arrived Pawling, NY, sleep overnight on the sidewalk by the train- because it was night time when I arrived there. Next day, Jason Curry asked me if we can Skype and he got me a sweet surprise, that he’d send me Ubi Duo 2 that I can use to chat with anyone, oh man, sweet! So, I stayed one more night to pick up my Ubi Duo 2. I washed my clothes and sleep on the bench- by the Laundromat.
Ubi Duo 2 arrived! Yay, I used it to talk to a store- just to show him what Ubi Duo is, wow, it did make him want to chat me more- it really did make everything easier! We chatted very smooth and just wow, I will post video of me using Ubi Duo 2 sometime soon too. You definitely gonna buy one for yourself too, it is not just good for at work or stuff like that, it is our another tool. Something that we must have and carry everyday. You can type your Ubi Duo 2 up to 300 feet in radius. For more info, check it at www.scomm.com. Again, I will video telling you why you need it! Can’t wait to use it to chat with thru hikers by the campfire tonight. Now head back to the trail. HollaAs of today, July 15, he is in his 43rd day of his hike. He's currently near Salisbury, CT with some 500 miles to go. He has gotten so much use out of his new 2nd generation UbiDuo he was able to chat longer in real time communication, just like talking or signing, with new people he met. He even chatted 4 hours straight with one person only to fall asleep with the UbiDuo on his lap. More on that later.
Be sure to follow Julio's latest adventure and stories of generous people along the way on his Appalachian Facebook page or his personal Facebook page. And be sure to check out my blog for more stories about Julio and his communication adventures! And check out his first story on his journey with his UbiDuo chatting with a new person he met along the way recently a few days ago.