Homesick

[ed bell]

Tipi, I had some friends that included the Brush Mountain Trail in a 5 day Kilmer/Slickrock trip. The group leader was lucky to make it home alive after a near mutiny because of that tough trail. These fellas had 20+ years of skills under each of their belts, but they said that was about as confused and turned around as they had ever been. Maybe I'll give it a shot someday.

[Tipi Walter]

Tipi, I had some friends that included the Brush Mountain Trail in a 5 day Kilmer/Slickrock trip. The group leader was lucky to make it home alive after a near mutiny because of that tough trail. These fellas had 20+ years of skills under each of their belts, but they said that was about as confused and turned around as they had ever been. Maybe I'll give it a shot someday.

Wow, it has a reputation! It's a Dual Level Trail: Either it takes me out or the companions with me take me out. For some reason your quote "lucky to make it home alive after a near mutiny" made me smile in fond rememberance.

[jlb2012]

Tipi, I had some friends that included the Brush Mountain Trail in a 5 day Kilmer/Slickrock trip. The group leader was lucky to make it home alive after a near mutiny because of that tough trail. These fellas had 20+ years of skills under each of their belts, but they said that was about as confused and turned around as they had ever been. Maybe I'll give it a shot someday.

Interesting - looks like Brush Mtn. Tr. is on the list as a trail that "may be abandoned" - http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/cherokee/rec/trails.shtml

[Tipi Walter]

Interesting - looks like Brush Mtn. Tr. is on the list as a trail that "may be abandoned" - http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/cherokee/rec/trails.shtml

Yeah, I heard the scuttlebutt on that thru the forest grapevine but thanks for the link. My first thought was, well, I'll keep it open! And then I thought, heck, all the trails in the Citico(especially the North Fork)look abandoned, at least by the forest service. And then I heard Ken Jones tell me a school group from Asheville will be doing two trips to the North Fork for volunteer trailwork this March so yippee!

I might be wrong, but I think ALL Citico trailwork is now on a volunteer basis(non-contractual).

[maxNcathy]

I wonder if I will be homesick or lonely when I hike north this spring...sure hope I find at least one person who likes hiking with me.The young folks will probably think I am just another old buzzard.

[mike!]

hah theres no way you can be considered old with a name like max! also, you 'old buzzards' always have the best stories around the campfire.
I'll be looking out for ya,
mike!
P.S. the only thing i've missed on a 2+ week hike was my dog, I'd love to bring her along, but i know its best for her health to stay home for day hikes.

[Marta]

I...sure hope I find at least one person who likes hiking with me.The young folks will probably think I am just another old buzzard.

You might be surprised. One type of hiker who might be drawn to you is female hikers quite a bit younger than you are. The age difference will offset the gender difference in terms of hiking speed and endurance, and you'll make her feel safe. Hopefully you can take that as a compliment.

[Wanderingson]

Howdy All,

I'll begin by saying I never experience being homesick. I do call it "hitting the wall". After 26 years in the military with multiple deployments and extended seprations, I have "hit the wall" on multiple occasions. I always discussed this at length with each of my troops because at some point and time, each of us "hit the wall".

So what exactly do you mean by hitting the wall? Well, let me expalin: Whether long distance hiking or on any extended trip which involves seperation, you hit that wall.

Hitting the wall is nothing more than a series of events that triggers that emotional dispair that we just can't pinpoint. It comes a little bit different for each of us and it certainly comes at different times. It's that little voice inside our heads that makes you want to say "F" IT--I quit.

This time normally comes when we are emotionally, physicall, and spritually (however you define that) bankrupt. The intensity and duration are subject to our own unique experiences.

So, how do we get though this thing we call hitting the wall? I'll tell you what works for me. I grab the very first person I know and I unload. I have found that just pouring my heart out and having someone else who knows exactly what the heck I'm talking about give me that ***** eating grin and says, Dude I know what you mean. Well, that typically snaps me out of my funk and gets me going again.

You may call it homesick, but I choose to call it hitting the wall. We may call it home sick because when we face these challenges, we tend to go back to our comfort zone--HOME.

Ok--that's my 2 cents worth, but it looks like it will cost the Govt 10 cents.

[Tipi Walter]

Howdy All,

I'll begin by saying I never experience being homesick. I do call it "hitting the wall". After 26 years in the military with multiple deployments and extended seprations, I have "hit the wall" on multiple occasions. I always discussed this at length with each of my troops because at some point and time, each of us "hit the wall".

So what exactly do you mean by hitting the wall? Well, let me expalin: Whether long distance hiking or on any extended trip which involves seperation, you hit that wall.

Hitting the wall is nothing more than a series of events that triggers that emotional dispair that we just can't pinpoint. It comes a little bit different for each of us and it certainly comes at different times. It's that little voice inside our heads that makes you want to say "F" IT--I quit.

This time normally comes when we are emotionally, physicall, and spritually (however you define that) bankrupt. The intensity and duration are subject to our own unique experiences.

So, how do we get though this thing we call hitting the wall? I'll tell you what works for me. I grab the very first person I know and I unload. I have found that just pouring my heart out and having someone else who knows exactly what the heck I'm talking about give me that ***** eating grin and says, Dude I know what you mean. Well, that typically snaps me out of my funk and gets me going again.

You may call it homesick, but I choose to call it hitting the wall. We may call it home sick because when we face these challenges, we tend to go back to our comfort zone--HOME.

Ok--that's my 2 cents worth, but it looks like it will cost the Govt 10 cents.

Very good post from someone who knows. When I was in the Air Force in '72 I was stationed in the Republic of Panama for 2 years and I was all messed up. I hit the wall or hit bottom or whatever you want to call it, I remember having a long emotional conversation with my first sergeant in his car, I guess I "unloaded." I can't imagine what those guys in Vietnam experienced. Emotional despair about nails it. To me it felt exactly like a bad weight on my shoulders and one I couldn't shake.

But not everyone hits the wall, or do they? Some people's nervous system is more fragile than others and one big reason I love the outdoors and need to sleep outdoors all the time is because the woods offers a high-strung type like me solace and peace. It is predictable, steady, familiar, relatively pristine and beautiful, all the things Panama was not(and the human world is not).

So when I think of the youngsters and kids starting out on the AT and staying out for 5 or 6 months, I have to remember how I felt when I was 19 and know that many of them will have their own periods of despair and hitting the wall.

[Wanderingson]

But not everyone hits the wall, or do they?

Oh, I would imagine most of us hit the wall to some degree. Just think about a few factors: rain, pain, blisters,rain, cold, heat, wet, twisted ankle, rain, drab food, rain, cold, heat, tip and fall, gash on leg, gash on forearm, gash on forehead, rain, heat, cold, roots, rocks, another fall, aches, pains, rain............ Oh yeah, sooner or later we hit that wall.

[maxNcathy]

Hitting the wall reminds me why some people hike looonnnggg looooonggg distances up high high hillls and mountains...

" WHY did the little moron bang his head against a stone wall?

BECAUSE it felt so good when he stopped."

Sandalwood

[rafe]

" WHY did the little moron bang his head against a stone wall? BECAUSE it felt so good when he stopped."

I think you're onto something, there. Going without makes you so much more appreciative of what you've got.

Wanna "experience" a four day hike? Here's how. Avoid all all indoor plumbing. For four days straight. See how it goes.

[ATwalker48]

I had started my Thru-hike March 20, 2006 the last thing I figured was to get homesick. The lack of good food yes but homesick no. Well that is what got to me the most. There were alot of things with work and giving up 20 years with a co. BUT missing my wife was what made me go home. I still try and find a way to start over with my dream. My wife supported me 110%. She even told me to stay out longer to make sure that was what I wanted. married for 28years and never away more then 2 weeks from each other took it's toll. The funny part was when she drove right pass me at the bus station. She did not know it was me. I was the only person there.
Walker
PS I have not found a way to get pass the homesick part of a trip. I am looking for answers if anyone has any.

[rafe]

PS I have not found a way to get pass the homesick part of a trip. I am looking for answers if anyone has any.

Phone? Dunno for sure... my longest sections in recent years have been about 10-12 days at a time. The phone really helps.

[maxNcathy]

I had started my Thru-hike March 20, 2006 the last thing I figured was to get homesick. The lack of good food yes but homesick no. Well that is what got to me the most. There were alot of things with work and giving up 20 years with a co. BUT missing my wife was what made me go home. I still try and find a way to start over with my dream. My wife supported me 110%. She even told me to stay out longer to make sure that was what I wanted. married for 28years and never away more then 2 weeks from each other took it's toll. The funny part was when she drove right pass me at the bus station. She did not know it was me. I was the only person there.
Walker
PS I have not found a way to get pass the homesick part of a trip. I am looking for answers if anyone has any.

How to overcome homesickness for your dear wife: carry a personal list from your wife of all the nasty things your wife wants you to do around the house and property.
Such as:
1) clean the toilet bowls on Mondays and Fridays
2)scrub the bath tubs in both bathrooms each day
3) paint the bathroom and wallpaper the 3 bedrooms
4) go through the filing cabinet and sort each file and decide what needs to be thrown out
5)put new roofing on the house
...

[mambo_tango]

My BF is going to be gone all summer anyway... so even if I went home he wouldn't be there. So I might as well stay on the trail. He would be the only one I would really really miss. I plan on putting my cell phone in my bounce box so that my friends and family can leave me voice-mail. I will probably call home every once and awhile so I can cry and have my mom comfort me.

[maxNcathy]

hah theres no way you can be considered old with a name like max! also, you 'old buzzards' always have the best stories around the campfire.
I'll be looking out for ya,
mike!
P.S. the only thing i've missed on a 2+ week hike was my dog, I'd love to bring her along, but i know its best for her health to stay home for day hikes.

Thanks, Mike. have a great hike. Hope to meet you on the Trail.
Sandalwood/Max

[maxNcathy]

My BF is going to be gone all summer anyway... so even if I went home he wouldn't be there. So I might as well stay on the trail. He would be the only one I would really really miss. I plan on putting my cell phone in my bounce box so that my friends and family can leave me voice-mail. I will probably call home every once and awhile so I can cry and have my mom comfort me.

Too bad your BF couldn't go with you hiking.

[superman]

"I can't imagine what those guys in Vietnam experienced."

I was 18 when I went to Vietnam. I was an RTO and later an FO in the Big Red One. I was there for two tours from 66 to 68. When I was an FNG I didn't know which way was up and I couldn't imagine lasting a year. The guys who had been there awhile stayed away from new guys and would barely talk to me. Even when they did say something it was hard to figure out what they meant. I was worse than a deer caught in the headlights on my first operation. Finally one of the guys said to me "give yourself up to the jungle." It was like he was talking a foreign language....what the heck does that mean? That translated to mean, "if you want to see home again...stop thinking about it, stay alert and don't ---- up."

When the class of 2000 finished the AT many of us stayed in touch. One of the very intelligent, very excellent hikers tried to compare hiking the AT with doing a tour in Vietnam. The differences are huge, it's not even close!

http://groups.msn.com/OldGUYthenandnow/shoebox.msnw

[Webs]

I like the idea someone once suggested of making a letter-journal, where you record what you did and messages to your loved ones at home, then send it to them periodically. Double duty: remember what you did for years to come, while simultaneously keeping in touch with family. Snail-mail is a lost art.