Editing 3147: Hiking

{{comic
| number    = 3147
| date      = September 26, 2025
| title     = Hiking
| image     = hiking_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x456px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Every downhill walk is a waterslide that might have been.
}}

==Explanation==
On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.

In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.

While technically feasible as shown due to the existence of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ heavy-lift quadcopter drones], it would still be impractical both because of the cost involved and also because installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely, and purely through automation in this particular on-demand manner.{{Citation needed}}

The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring and arduous, as well as being relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.

This strip continues a long theme of comics where Randall imagines a process or piece of infrastructure that would be wildly impractical in real life, but would be a lot of fun (for certain values of 'fun') if it could be achieved. Examples include [[260: The Glass Necklace]], [[2935: Ocean Loop]] and [[2973: Ferris Wheels]].

==Transcript==
:[This scene is in a mountain with many bumps. Everything is in one panel. The consecutive actions and speech text proceed roughly from left to right.]
:[Cueball and Megan are both facing right, facing a hill. They are both wearing a backpack.]
:Cueball: Okay, we're nearing the next downhill segment. I'll put in the order.
:Cueball: ...confirming start and end points...
:Cueball: Submitted!
:[A waterslide with drones attached to it, flying down and to the right, with a wavy, dotted line heading down to the slide from the top, showing the direction it has arrived from. Megan and Cueball are standing together. Megan is pointing at the waterslide. Megan and Cueball are moved slightly forward from their last appearance, and on a side of the hill.]
:Megan: Look, here it comes!
:[The slide is on the downhill slope, with drones above it. Megan and Cueball are shown sliding down with dots around them, most likely showing the splash of water around them. Possibly riding on, or in, a long inflatable of some kind, whose front and rear ends are seen angling up out of the waterslide trough that also hides the two character's lower bodies. Some drones are near the waterslide.]
:Cueball and Megan: Wheeeee
:[The slide now is flying up and to the right with drones and another wavy dotted line, this time showing that it has been heading away from the point of use.]
:[Cueball and Megan are depicted walking, ahead of their last appearance.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:On-demand waterslide delivery has really improved the whole hiking experience.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Drones]]