Post Hike Doldrums

[BFI]

A lot of great useful information is given on this site on how to plan, get to Springer, places to stay, places to buy supplies ,type of gear needed, how to hike the hike, but the one thing I haven’t seen is , what do you do after it is over. Several of the people I had the privilege of hiking with have now finished and a common theme has emerged, how do you explain this adventure to those around you.
I wasn’t able to finish due to a heart problem and but did complete about 800 miles, even after that I found it difficult to have conversation with friends
and family on what exactly I did, I can only imagine what it must be like to re-enter life after 170 days or so days on the trail.
I’m interested in hearing how others managed the post hike.

[swjohnsey]

I have a stack of stuff to do that has been accumulatin' for six months. Just changed the plugs in wife's Yukon. The guy who is in charge of trail maintenance in NH musta figured out how to replace the rear sparkplug. Now to get the other motorcycle runnin'. My feet and knees still hurt.

[Lone Wolf]

A lot of great useful information is given on this site on how to plan, get to Springer, places to stay, places to buy supplies ,type of gear needed, how to hike the hike, but the one thing I haven’t seen is , what do you do after it is over. Several of the people I had the privilege of hiking with have now finished and a common theme has emerged, how do you explain this adventure to those around you.
I wasn’t able to finish due to a heart problem and but did complete about 800 miles, even after that I found it difficult to have conversation with friends
and family on what exactly I did, I can only imagine what it must be like to re-enter life after 170 days or so days on the trail.
I’m interested in hearing how others managed the post hike.

i got in a major funk after my first thru-hike. got arrested in a bar, thrown in jail. the next day when i got out i decided to start saving for another thru-hike. then every spring for the next 13 years i hit the trail in georgia and walked til i wasn't havin' fun. then i met my lady on the trail in 2000 and retired to Damascus

[Mountain Mike]

When I finished the AT some friends took me to a nightclub & I had to bail. Just too many people in a confined space. Spent a lot of spare time just walking around trying to adjust to normal life. It's hard to describe to people who haven't been through it. The simplicity of life on the trail. The bonds you for so quickly with strangers. My advice: Start planning next big hike. Keep in touch with people you met on the trail. Read your journal & get back into the woods any chance you get. At least when planning a hike, pouring through maps, guidebooks, menus, I am on the trail in my mind.

[4shot]

you cannot describe a thru hike to normal people. It's futile. Just say you had a great time, saw many beautiful sights and move on. OTOH, I have found that people who backpack/section hike are extremely interested in hearing about a thru hike. Tailor your response to your audience.

after your hike you move on. But you still think about it everyday and can't wait until your next one (whichever trail or hike you wil do next).

[Old Hiker]

BFI, it's hard to explain to other people, even when you don't finish like we did. Oh, you went camping a lot? Oh, you hiked for a while?

I got home, put my broken ankle up, played games, ordered a BUNCH of equipment (later sent a lot back), gained every pound I had lost and decided it was NOT a one -time shot.

I'm planning for 2016, 29 Feb again. I've cut back on tent weight, sleeping bag weight, sleeping pad weight and general gear weight.

I've started a time-line of when things are going to be done: Visa paid off, bills paid forward, savings re-supplied, etc.

I'm highlighting the re-supply points in the 2012 Thru-Hikers companion. I have a date in 2015 to start checking if the places are still open.

I'm slowly getting rid of the Mountain House meals I never ate, but carried for hundreds of miles.

I'm trying to get out of the "didn't make it" blues with the above. Looking at a lot of WB threads. Celebrating the victories of those I came in contact with, however briefly. C'mon - start planning. See you in 2016.

[Lando11]

I hated re-joining the working world! The only thing that keeps me sane is by hiking whenever possible. Or doing other hiker trash stuff, like pooping on trees and such

[chief]

The first thing to do after a long hike is get over yourself. You aren't that special. Sure, tell your friends about your hike, but don't expect them to sit thru endless trail stories along with thousands of photos. Boring...

[Giantsbane]

I'm going to thru in 2013 and I'm kind of worried about this myself. My usual mindset is close to post thru hiker mentality already. This past march I went on a week long hike and it took me a long time to re-adjust. And that was just a week. The best advice I've seen is to plan more hikes and just accept that that adventure is over, but there will be more.

[Datto]

One of the things I did was after the first week from returning from finishing my AT thru-hike was to just let people ask me about the adventure if they had the desire to ask.

To be honest, I was so quiet all the time, not speaking much, it would have been a challenge to explain it to people who hadn't been on a long-distance hike.

More than a few people I did run during those first couple of months back from my AT thru-hike wanted to know how I'd gotten to be so thin so quickly. Some had, Ha, thought I'd had a sickness.

A couple of months after I finished my AT thru-hike and had come back from Maine to Indiana, I had returned (somewhat) to my past life routine. A few of the people I'd known from being involved in a United Way organization, who knew that I'd been on a 6-month leave from their board, started asking me about the adventure during one of the United Way meetings. That just led to me tiptoeing into a few of the usual details. You know, the best people you've met in your life, the most beauty you've ever seen in your life, the unusual daily experiences (the bear questions and other of the 20 thru-hiker questions). I'd just let them ask the questions and then answer and only elaborate if there was a desire from the other people.

Pretty soon I had many people thinking about their own life experiences and what an adventure would mean to their own life. Contagious you could say. I don't know if any of them ever went off to take on an adventure in their lives but wow, they sure had the sparkle in their eyes about it.

Also, I had to finish the journal entries of my AT thru-hike for my on-line journal. I just had the most difficult time finishing the entries for the last days. Just put an end to the experience -- a finality -- that I didn't want to have happen. Writing about the last days took many weeks before I was happy with how I portrayed the experience.

Eventually I went off to get another job and move to the usual modern lifestyle of sorts. I'd started planing my next long-distance hike pretty quickly after returning to Indiana. What is that...Doritos that you can't eat just one? Yeah, same thing.

I still think of the Appalachian Trail every day -- even with so many years from when I was on my thru-hike. As if it was yesterday.

What an outlandishly fantastic experience my AT thru-hike was for me.

Best of adventures to all of the upcoming 2013 thru-hikers.


Datto

[Double Wide]

Take up sailing. It's not nearly as cheap as hiking, but amazingly rewarding.

[Spirit Walker]

Long distance hiking is all consuming, both before when you're planning it, during the hike, and immediately afterwards, when it still fills your thoughts. When you finish your long hike, there is a major hole in your life. Best advice I've heard is to find something to fill that hole. For some, it's another hike. For others, it may be going back to school, starting a different career, moving to a new state, heading overseas, getting married, etc. You need something you can feel as passionate about as you felt about the trail.

Until you figure out what that is, the empty place inside can be very dark and lonely.

[Zipper]

I have to go back to the AT for at least a few nights every year, and that helps.

When I first returned from my hike, I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz - I'd had this incredible technicolor adventure and then returned to regular life, which was progressing just as I had left it, pretty much. Here are some things I did to make re-entry feel better:

1. Sent a ton of thank you notes. I had cards made with my summit photo and then sent notes to every single hostel, some hotels, and anyone else I had an address for who had helped me. It allowed me to reminisce about great things from the hike and also express my gratitude for those who had supported me.
2. Made presentations about my hike. This allowed me to talk about it which felt fabulous. I have a teacher friend who teaches Walden every year and she has me come in and talk about the hike and about simplifying, etc. I bring my gear, set up my tent, and do a nice little PowerPoint presentation.
3. Stayed connected with friends from the trail. I took a lot of photos during my hike, so when I got back I shared them either via print or electronically. I know a couple of folks who made beautiful video montages of their trail experiences and shared them.
4. Organized my own story. I kept detailed journals during the hike and then turned them into a coffee table book for myself with lots of photos to preserve the memory. You think you're going to remember everything but it will grow fuzzier with time, so one way to help with re-entry is to retell your story - write it out or organize it in whatever way you like.
5. Appreciated my "regular life" - because it's also pretty fabulous! I reveled in all of the little luxuries that you don't have on a long distance hike - like multiple outfits, or fresh veggies.
6. Stayed away from the negativity of the media and the news cycle. After my hike I had little patience for news. Avoiding it worked great for me.
7. Went outside a lot. Walking, in all kinds of weather.
8. Decided what I really wanted to do, now that I was so fearless from a thru hike. And I decided not to return to salaried employment. It's been three years and working out well. I'm far less afraid of having no money (and actually we have plenty of $$!) But I know I can be happy sleeping on the ground, with almost no possessions. That's really freeing. Whatever your situation is, think about what you really want, and what lessons from the trail will help you get that.
9. Speaking of few possessions, I did quite a bit of purging. Letting go of stuff that I didn't want or need anymore.

Hope this is helpful. Best wishes with your reentry!

[two isles]

The first thing to do after a long hike is get over yourself. You aren't that special. Sure, tell your friends about your hike, but don't expect them to sit thru endless trail stories along with thousands of photos. Boring...

obviously you are not the compassionate type. We're not looking to keep telling our stories to dolts like you who don't understand.
OP was asking for sincere suggestions of how to re-integrate.

OP- I'm glad you started this thread as I am going through the same thing myself.
My patience is very very thin for news and lots of people.
I loved Zipper's ideas.
I will employ a few myself.

signed,

One of your hiking buddies on that 800 mile stretch
(the best looking one! hahaha!!)

[Monkeywrench]

8. Decided what I really wanted to do, now that I was so fearless from a thru hike. And I decided not to return to salaried employment. It's been three years and working out well. I'm far less afraid of having no money (and actually we have plenty of $$!) But I know I can be happy sleeping on the ground, with almost no possessions. That's really freeing. Whatever your situation is, think about what you really want, and what lessons from the trail will help you get that.

Me too! When I got home from my thru I sat around for a week or so eating Ben & Jerry's for breakfast every day, then I polished up my old resume and started making the rounds of head hunters and going on interviews. Very soon I realized the idea of getting another cubicle job was abhorrent and decided to switch careers completely and work for myself -- well, actually in partnership with my wife, which is even better. It's been a tough row and financially there have been some very thin times over the last 3 years, but knowing just how little I need to be comfortable and ludicrously happy is very empowering.

[max patch]

Other than wanting to fall asleep at 9:00 I had no issues at all with "reentry" after my hike.

I also enjoyed having the daily newspaper delivered to my home every morning. And being able to walk a half mile on Sundays and pick up a copy of the NY Times.

During my years as a marathoner many people who had just completed a marathon expressed the same type of "what do I do now?" reaction as WB members who had just finished a thru. Don't understand that either.

[chief]

obviously you are not the compassionate type. We're not looking to keep telling our stories to dolts like you who don't understand.
OP was asking for sincere suggestions of how to re-integrate.

Yep, the OP asked about re-integration, but first related how he was having a hard time telling friends about his experiences and THAT is what I commented on. I'm certainly no thru-hiker (nor is the OP), but 1400 miles in 2000 gave me something to tell my friends, but once is enough. It's not that they didn't understand, they just didn't see it as a big deal. After all, while I was out enjoying nature (or not), they were taking care of real life. So I repeat, to re-integrate, first you need to get over yourself.

Why did you resort to name calling?

[Malto]

I can relate to many of above posts. The best advice I heard was to have your next adventure plan before you even finish your thru hike. For me that was trail running the grand canyon Rim to rim to rim. That allowed me to get back into training mode and have a mission.

I also found it almost impossible to explain what the trip was really about. It wasn't until I got together with a group that included a couple of recovering thru hikers. I discover that I had more in common with these folks than 99% of people I work with or have as neighbors.

I have hiked almost 1000 miles of the AT since I finished the PCT last year. I have read other say that thru hiking ruined their backpacking. I wouldn't go that far but it certainly is radically different. On my thru the journey was the mission, it was all consuming and nothing was going to stop me from reaching the border. Now a weekend trip is great to be able to get away but it lacks the larger context of the thru hike.

Since my return I have changed jobs and moved 800 miles, all for the better. I had thought that i would rebel against money and material possessions. I still don't NEED stuff but money has actually become critical important. It is the means that will allow me to retire and do my next long hike. Finally, I am planning another epic journey though it will be many years off unless life throws a curve ball at me.

[4shot]

I have read other say that thru hiking ruined their backpacking. I wouldn't go that far but it certainly is radically different. On my thru the journey was the mission, it was all consuming and nothing was going to stop me from reaching the border. Now a weekend trip is great to be able to get away but it lacks the larger context of the thru hike.

My thru hike actually enhanced my enjoyment of backpacking. I absolutely love the idea of going on a 4 day hike now. I may go 400 yards in those 4 days or maybe 70 miles. The fact that it doesn't matter makes it a spectacular outing.Not better than a thru but totally different.

[two isles]

Yep, the OP asked about re-integration, but first related how he was having a hard time telling friends about his experiences and THAT is what I commented on. I'm certainly no thru-hiker (nor is the OP), but 1400 miles in 2000 gave me something to tell my friends, but once is enough. It's not that they didn't understand, they just didn't see it as a big deal. After all, while I was out enjoying nature (or not), they were taking care of real life. So I repeat, to re-integrate, first you need to get over yourself.

Why did you resort to name calling?

we are reading entirely different books, much less being on the same page.

your replies are the ones IRL that I need to avoid entirely. I avoid contact with people like this all day long because I am endeavoring to re-integrate from the trail for the last 6 months. It is extremely maddening to have to deal with this kind of attitude. Maybe down the road I will be able to.
In the mean time, I will surround myself with more compassionate, sensitive people until I have learned to re-adapt.