This is a story about the goodness in people and how iNat again and again proves itself as the most rewarding place to connect online.
In December 2024 I botanized for two weeks in the Western Cape, South Africa, and near the end of my journey I hiked up a mountainside in Swartberg to reach a waterfall with a stunning display of Gladiolus aquamontanus found here.
This was not a particularly different scenario from the previous days – steep, partially burnt, partially very dense vegetation brushing against me. I had an amazing time there, and when done drove to the mountain pass and hiked from there. It was when I returned to the car I noticed that my phone was missing from my zipped pocket. The oddest thing was that the zipper was closed. So in my brain thoughts about having forgotten to put my phone in the pocket arose, but I knew I had put it there, and I would never close the zipper without the phone inside. So how the heck did it manage to disappear? Did the thickets force the zipper open so the phone fell out, and then zipped it back up? It was a crazy thought and very unlikely. But now I know that is what happened!
As I did not have a backup phone or tablet with me I was unable to locate its whereabouts, as all my passwords are unique and stored in a password vault not accessible without access to any of my other devices, I had to assume it was lost in the thicket up to the Gladiolus aquamontanus. My search failed to locate it, so I accepted defeat and no phone for the last 4 days of my trip. I was 100% certain that this phone was lost forever as nobody would venture up there, and if they did would not see the phone in the dense vegetation anyway.
Back home a few days later I tracked the phone to its location, which was in the area I expected it to be. Then I receive this message on iNat:
“Hi Morten! Hope you are doing well? Sorry for what might seem like an out of pocket question - have you been up in the Swartberg (Oudtshoorn area) at all recently?”
My response was that an even more out of pocket question is if he had found my phone, which he confirmed he did! For real?!?!
Instead of being lost forever, or at least a very long time, Justin (Justin) comes along a few days later, looking for the same things I did, finds a phone, brings it home and search online to find out how to contact the owner to return it. What are the odds?
He was so surprised to find me on iNat he could not believe it. Furthermore he also knows the other person I was hiking with there (Mayur), so yet another surprise and also on iNat.
To date I have connected with more amazing people through iNat than I have during all the years of social media, and this last connection is a testament to the many amazing people that work hard to support the natural world, but also support each other in the most amazing an heartwarming way. It gives so much joy and hope and I’m eternally grateful for this extraordinary experience.
Thank you iNat.
Thank you Justin
Thank you iNatters