I announced on Facebook last week that I would be through-hiking the AT and all of the sudden this guy who my brother was friends with as a kid has invited himself to go with me. He is sending me messages giving me his thoughts on planning issues and making suggestions on what "we" should do.
I finally got his number and gave him a call. I started trying to pick his brain to find out if he was experienced in backpacking and what kind of gear he had etc., and his replies were really vague like, "don't worry, I have gear, I know what i'm doing." He then tells me that his brother will join us in Virginia. He also informed me that his wife had recently left him for another man.
Anyways, I don't know what to do. I haven't seen the guy since I was a kid. I don't really know him, and I can think of about thousand reasons why I don't want to commit to hiking with him. A thousand things can go wrong, like we don't get along or he has a bunch of crazy gear and slows me down, or he doesn't have the money.. I don't know.
I don't own the trail, so I cant just tell him he cant go. I do want him to go and have a great time, but just not be attached to me. Somehow, without hurting his feelings, I have to tell him that I need to hike alone. Any thoughts?