PDA

View Full Version : I really miss the trail



sbhikes
11-09-2010, 15:55
I completed my hike in 2009. After both sections of my hike, 2008 and 2009, I worked at this seasonal job. It was a really boring job with lots of time to just daydream about my experience. I'm doing that job again this fall. It's so weird how just doing the job I get all these sudden flashbacks from the trail. It affects me so much I actually had to get up and take a little walk around the building or else I would cry.

I miss trail life so much. I miss the place that became my home. Does this happen to other people?

Iceaxe
11-09-2010, 17:41
I know what you mean Piper. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like had I made a Long Distance hike. Naturally the journey is such a rewarding experience that I never regret it. It is when I come back here, to the "other" world that things seem.. different. Out on the trail I make totaly sense to myself. People I meet make sense. Things happen in a natural way at a walking pace metered only by the daily rising and setting of the sun.
Once back here, working a "Mac Job" everything seems so convoluted. I have flashbacks too. Mostly when I am taking my training hikes in the hills above San mateo. Sometimes when I am a working, especially digging or some repedetive physical task, my mind wanders back to the trail again.
It is true that in some sense the freedom of the trail can "ruin" you for the normal world. Everything on the trail is done for direct purposes.. You hike to get some place, you eat and drink from your pack, your whole world is what you carry and what you see at that moment.
Back here we work and live for secondary aims. The work that is done is far removed from that simple existence. The money earned is like congealed energy (Cindy Ross's term).
Anyhow, I don't know how many others have problems adjusting or switching back and forth between the experience of trail life and "normal" life. I know it was a struggle the first time and even more difficult for me this time.
I know the trail has changed me in ways that will stay with me forever. I suppose some of those changes could be contrued as bad. Pre-PCT I was a hard working, lad without a whole lot of direction other than to make as much money as possible to hopefully someday go and find a purpose. Post PCT and CDT I have found a direction I want to travel in.. a purpose that is fulfilling to me, but it has nothing to do with work or making money.
It sounds like a total cliche but it seems like the things in life that really matter most are not the rewards.. not the results.. it's the journey getting there. Those long days and hours hiking the trail are when I really felt alive. Back here all things seem like just a distraction.
Anyhow I am rambling on again. I am not really the melodramatic person I must seem like in my postings.
I just wanted to let you know I miss the trail too and everyday find myself struggling to make sense of the experiences as well.:sun
http://postholer.com/journal/images/1100/full-568-15787-IMG_1768_1_.jpg

Pony
11-09-2010, 18:39
Everyday on my walk to work I pass this place called NOLAS hair salon. Everyday I think it says NOLS (national outdoor leadership school). I saw some white paint on a gaurd rail that was about the size of a blaze, and for a split second looked for the next blaze. The other day at the gas station my girlfriend asked what I was doing. Apparently I was zoned out staring at ramen noodles and peanuts. When I snapped out of my stupor, I realized I was trying to figure out what to get for my resupply. I wasn't home for two weeks before I was trying to figure out how to get back to the trail.

Yes, I miss the trail.

Helios
11-09-2010, 18:51
I occasionally have to just head out side and wander around. Breath in the air so to speak. I even day dream on how I could possilbly give up everything and just live out there. It's definitely an alluring, attractive lifestyle!

warraghiyagey
11-09-2010, 18:58
I completed my hike in 2009. After both sections of my hike, 2008 and 2009, I worked at this seasonal job. It was a really boring job with lots of time to just daydream about my experience. I'm doing that job again this fall. It's so weird how just doing the job I get all these sudden flashbacks from the trail. It affects me so much I actually had to get up and take a little walk around the building or else I would cry.

I miss trail life so much. I miss the place that became my home. Does this happen to other people?
:sun:sun:sun:sun

Torch09
11-09-2010, 19:20
If I have time, I take my kayak out on the river. If I don't have much time, I climb onto the roof of my house. I love the perspective mountains give, but Indiana's too flat.

The other day I had to buy some new jeans and I found myself comparing them by weight. I also shop for foods with the most calories and lowest weight just as a habit. I keep all my gear in my pack and take it out weekly to make sure its ready to go... where, I'm not sure.

4shot
11-09-2010, 20:14
Different perspective but hope that you are open to it...I felt like the trail was a "fantasy land" of sorts...not better than the "other world' y'all refer to or worse but different. I felt like the allure to some was that on the trail they were/are responsible to no one other than themselves. No one "telling them what do". No responsibilties. Imo, some seemed to prefer the life on the trail where everyone is kept at a distance through the use of trail names and people could feel good about themselves by simply walking. The line between "being on the trail" and escapism was a bit blurry to me.

Yes, I did enjoy my hike, most especially the people I met. however, it was no "better" or "worse" (the use of subjective terminology here is a slippery slope) than any other major undertaking of my life.

If there was one element of a thru-hike that I could carry over to this "other" world is the feeling of knowing that we all had each other's back at all times. That bonding with fellow hikers was the ultimate experience of my hike.

Not meaning to be disrepectful, only seeking to share my experience as a a LDH.

mountainman
11-09-2010, 20:22
sounds like your a well adjusted person.

innermountain
11-09-2010, 20:23
Someone once told me that if you're feeling melancholy it has more to do with where you are than with what you're thinking back about. People who are happy with their current situations don't tend to think back nostalgically about the past. It's possible to live a great life and enjoy it even after having been "on the trail." I started a hiking and backpacking tour company, learned to build websites and have build ours, so I'm either working on my business or taking people into the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Utah, or the Canadian Rockies. Maybe you can come out and work for my company? :>

Serial 07
11-09-2010, 20:40
it sure does happen...i followed that feeling back on the trail and to damascus...get in the woods as much as you can...that's the only way...

kayak karl
11-09-2010, 20:50
I miss trail life so much. I miss the place that became my home. Does this happen to other people?
then man up and do it. whats with the melancholy mood.?????

Blissful
11-09-2010, 21:44
I miss it and I've only been home less than a week. The weather has been so nice, too. I could have done PA - sigh. Oh well, job and home and hubby call.

Alpine Jack
11-09-2010, 21:51
Bryson felt the same way. He had to get back out there. The time in-between hikes, gives us something to look forward to. The AT is a great motivator!

lunatic
11-09-2010, 22:32
In the first few months after completing my hike I struggled with not being on the trail, but I found that for me it was about having balance in my life that includes hiking and "the trail". So I will hike short sections for a few years, but I hope to do another thru some day.
Until then, I'll go on a couple 5-10 day section hikes every year - time permitting. I also try to go out once a month, usually a 1-3 nights over a weekend or long weekend, to get my hiking/trail fix. It's doesn't seem like much when I'm planning, but I still get excited and it helps keep those thru-hike memories strong (u know, poor short term memory is rough!), and it always feels great once I'm back on the trail and in the woods. This weekend, however, I can't get out of the city so I've decided to "hike" the foot/bike path that follows most of the rim of Manhattan. About 32 miles on Saturday; quite a "hike" but a little shorter than the longest day on my thru. It will be flat and noisy with some construction, but I think it will be exhilarating and I'll get to see things that I don't see everyday...like Harlem and the Bronx! It will probably feel more like the AT if it rains on me all day.
Keep Hiking.

warraghiyagey
11-09-2010, 22:41
Bryson felt the same way. He had to get back out there. The time in-between hikes, gives us something to look forward to. The AT is a great motivator!
Really? Bryson felt that way? . . . . awesome . . . what about you?. . . do you have your own opinion? :):)

Alpine Jack
11-10-2010, 22:56
Really? Bryson felt that way? . . . . awesome . . . what about you?. . . do you have your own opinion? :):)


Wise guy :b

Graywolf
11-10-2010, 23:06
Geeze, I live in Texas. All the land around me is all taken up. Lands have signs that say, "No Trespassing". yes, there are State Parks here, but a 3 mile trail is not going to do me justice. I need Mountains, I do. i need them.. Oh, I need that Trail..

sbhikes
11-10-2010, 23:10
The funny thing is, I wasn't really missing the trail until I started up that job again. I guess it has strong associations for me with the trail.

strollingalong
11-11-2010, 00:57
get another job if youre that fed up.

buen camino

sbhikes
11-11-2010, 10:23
You don't understand. I like the job. It's a seasonal job. I did it both seasons after my two hikes. I didn't hike this year but I'm doing the job. The job is triggering all these memories from the trail, like flashbacks. It's really weird.

Tilly
11-11-2010, 17:07
I know what you mean about the flashbacks. I think about the trail alot, but in a general sense. But sometimes I become very overwhelmed emotionally, and I feel transported, and I have to take a second, because yes I almost feel like crying at times. Strange. Doesn't really mean that I am so unhappy now, but the recall is intense at times indeed.

Trailbender
11-12-2010, 09:04
I completed my hike in 2009. After both sections of my hike, 2008 and 2009, I worked at this seasonal job. It was a really boring job with lots of time to just daydream about my experience. I'm doing that job again this fall. It's so weird how just doing the job I get all these sudden flashbacks from the trail. It affects me so much I actually had to get up and take a little walk around the building or else I would cry.

I miss trail life so much. I miss the place that became my home. Does this happen to other people?

I feel exactly like this. I summitted AUG 12, exactly 3 months ago today. Everything since my thru has felt boring and washed out. I got back into college when I got home, and I am failing all 3 of my classes. They are easy courses, and my GPA is 3.7, but I can't even make myself care. All I think about is the trail, and every day off I have from class I am out hiking at my local parks. It helps, but it is not the same. I have seriously considered just dropping out of college and living on the trail, doing odd jobs at towns for food money.

Blue Jay
11-12-2010, 09:53
I feel exactly like this. I summitted AUG 12, exactly 3 months ago today. Everything since my thru has felt boring and washed out. I got back into college when I got home, and I am failing all 3 of my classes. They are easy courses, and my GPA is 3.7, but I can't even make myself care. All I think about is the trail, and every day off I have from class I am out hiking at my local parks. It helps, but it is not the same. I have seriously considered just dropping out of college and living on the trail, doing odd jobs at towns for food money.

My friend, you have to force yourself to perform. Do what needs to be done to make the most money for the least time and college is the price the slave masters demand. A college degree makes them think you are stupid enough to work very hard for absolutely no reason. Play their silly game, take their money and leave. Yes you have to stay behind the fence for years but you are young. Unlike the vast majority of slaves you already know how to get outside the fence. Actually the time spent in bondage makes freedom much more amazing. I know you can do this.

Tilly
11-12-2010, 11:35
Hm. I went back to school in January '10, after summiting in Sept '09. I have six months left until I get my degree. Sometimes I think that college is just something you do so you can put your alumi status on your facebook page, but sometimes I feel very lucky to be able to go back and get more experience in my field. When I'm done, I'll have something that no one can take away from me. The trail will be there when I'm finished. I'll have to stick around and make some money before I can head out again for an extended period, but I think my time in school is worth it.

Even if one wants to live on the trail and do odd jobs, it still won't hurt to have a college degree. It doesn't take that long in terms of things.

northernstorm
11-12-2010, 12:15
Everyday on my walk to work I pass this place called NOLAS hair salon. Everyday I think it says NOLS (national outdoor leadership school). I saw some white paint on a gaurd rail that was about the size of a blaze, and for a split second looked for the next blaze. The other day at the gas station my girlfriend asked what I was doing. Apparently I was zoned out staring at ramen noodles and peanuts. When I snapped out of my stupor, I realized I was trying to figure out what to get for my resupply. I wasn't home for two weeks before I was trying to figure out how to get back to the trail.

Yes, I miss the trail.
haha! i know exactly what you mean mate! i wonder what i will be like after my thru next year.

sbhikes
11-12-2010, 14:29
Yeah, stay in school. Get a degree in computer science. Then the odd jobs you do will pay better.

art gypsy
11-12-2010, 18:20
I returned south a few weeks ago from section hiking and I miss the trail immensely. I will be editing pictures for the rest of the year and preparing for next year's thru so the trail is always on my mind. I cried when I left the mountains behind and got back to flat land. I am a native Floridian, yet I felt very out of place coming back. At least I know I'll be back to the trail soon.