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  1. #1
    Registered User
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    Default Recovery/12 Steppers on the Trail

    Hello all!

    To get to the point I’m thinking about SOBOing next year in June(2016). I am in 12 step recovery(3 years clean) and concerned about that for such a long distance on the trail. I put a lot of time and effort into it back home.

    I have gotten many suggestions on how to do this successfully, but I guess I just need a little reassurance from people like me. It really doesn’t bother me to be around light recreational use(I am in college and have a social life!), but I think being cut off from my support group will be hard. I would like to do this alone, but I know I will need support and will take it in any form!!!

    If there is anyone out there SOBOing in recovery or anyone along the trail that would help me out it would be a lifesaver! I will continue to search meetings in trail towns and other ways I can stay on top of my recovery. Are there any towns with meeting that are an easy hitch to get to? I just want to know how I can stay clean and do this! Much love

  2. #2
    wanna be hiker trash
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    Here is a thread that should be helpful.

    Take it easy friend.




    http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...ht=AA+meetings
    “Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.” Thoreau.

  3. #3
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    Give yourself some credit. You've been clean for 3 years, 4 when you get to the trail. You have developed some real skills against cravings for your drug of choice. When Katx said there's a hole in his life where alcohol used to be, and he doesn't really know what to do about it. Sounds like you have figured what to fill that hole with. Don't be afraid, you can do this, you have done it. You are not powerless!! You have developed a lot of strength in your fight with your demon. Use that power and strength to run your life the right way, We'll have your back.

  4. #4
    lemon b's Avatar
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    You'll be surprised how many of us are out there.

  5. #5

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    Friend of Bill here in Millinocket, look me up when you start!

    PS: The serenity of the trail is legendary, and real!!
    Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. -Kahlil Gibran

  6. #6
    NOBO toBennington, VT plus 187 mi in MH & ME
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    If you stay clear of the shelters, you will be okay. Pot is common at the shelters. Beer also if you are near a crossroad. Hikers are pretty generous, so you'll have to be pretty strong at "just say no."
    It's kind of like hanging out in a bar and not drinking at all.
    Grinder
    AT hiker : It's the journey, not the destination

  7. #7
    Registered User q-tip's Avatar
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    I am sober 30 years, and in my 1,000 mi. hike attended 4 meetings. There are nine components to the AA Program, one of which is meetings. Developing a sound program of study, prayer and meditation will provide most of the safety in a long term recovery program. . Phone calls to trusted friends and sponsor during town stops should suffice for support. If soldiers in WW 2 could stay sober in a test of the program effectiveness, you should be ok.

  8. #8
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    I'll be sectioning quite a bit next summer. Will look for you. As you know, "just say no" isn't really the solution. Just say "yes" to all of the other spiritual tools available to you. I also suggest you be somewhat open about your sobriety--- a trail name that alludes to recovery, a sticker on your water bottle.... That kind of thing can communicate a lot and you may find more fellowship than you expect.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grinder View Post
    If you stay clear of the shelters, you will be okay. Pot is common at the shelters. Beer also if you are near a crossroad. Hikers are pretty generous, so you'll have to be pretty strong at "just say no."
    It's kind of like hanging out in a bar and not drinking at all.
    I would hope that the pot smoking and drugs would stay out of the shelter, but is that just wishful thinking?
    If you are a drinker or smoker please be respectful of someone else's sobriety.
    I would not wear an AA patch on my pack, but I would like some sort of sobriety patch.

  10. #10
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    I have been clean for 22 years (11-16-92). I have to admit that what I've read about the party atmosphere at the shelters might not be the most conducive for staying clean. I am really a very live and let live guy, so this is not at all a judgment about other people.

    For me, my plan is to try to make contacts with other thru hikers in recovery, attend meetings when I am in town, maintain contact with my sponsor and friends in recovery, and avoid situations that "don't feel right" to me. What that actually means really has to be defined by each person. I think most of us know where we should not be. My guess is that I will try to find a balance between shelters and my tent. I am a very social person, feel that the shelters are part of the AT thru hike experience for most people, but need to strike that balance.

    Part of the reason I am doing a flip flop is to avoid a lot of the party situation at shelters. Again, this is about me and not a judgment.

    I think one of the best suggestions I've seen is to get contacts for meetings along the trail before you leave. That could be a vital resource.

    Hope I cross paths with a lot of new friends in recovery along the way.

    Wazo - Flip flopping from Mt. Rogers NRA HQ (Marion, VA) NOBO to Katahdin, then SOBO from Marion to Springer. Starting early to mid-March 2016.

  11. #11

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    Indeed, you are NOT powerless. Three yrs of sobriety PROVES THAT. Do NOT discount that! You are NOT starting again from point zero after those three yrs NO MATTER WHO TELLS YOU ANYTHING CONTRARY TO THAT!

    FWIW, I'm recovered NOT recovering eternally as some programs promote that notion.

    It might be best to avoid lean tos, at least to some degree, as that's where a good portion of drug use occurs on the AT.

    Nice to see you're considering a sober plan of action as it pertains to your "recovery" pre-hike.

    I always knew the solo LD hiking with unknown company around me provided a possible opp to drink/drug it up unknown to anyone else but it was NEVER something I let my mind dwell on as that would have opened that door back up when I made the absolute firm decision to close that door/walk entirely away from drinking alcohol. NEVER white knuckled it in 18 yrs of alcohol sobriety. I used Rational Recovery techniques though. If you really think about it you can always find situations that you believe are acceptable for relapse BUT THESE SAME SITUATIONS ALSO PROVIDE ACTIVITIES/TECHNIQUES TO AMPLY DEMONSTRATE THAT "DONUT HOLE" HAS BEEN FILLED WITH SOMETHING MUCH MUCH MORE EMPOWERING!

    Hike on. Happy hiking does NOT have to include drugs, alcohol being a drug.

  12. #12
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    Cognitive Behavior Modification is another trail to sobriety.
    Think about your behavior, modify it as necessary.
    Our intelligence lives in our frontal lobe. Our addictions live in our brain stem with our other basic needs; sex, food, shelter, survival, grunt snort, etc..
    Even though we have been addicts in the past we can listen to the correct part of our brain and make intelligent decisions.
    The addict in the back of our heads will get tired of begging and will leave.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post
    Cognitive Behavior Modification is another trail to sobriety.
    Think about your behavior, modify it as necessary.
    Our intelligence lives in our frontal lobe. Our addictions live in our brain stem with our other basic needs; sex, food, shelter, survival, grunt snort, etc..
    Even though we have been addicts in the past we can listen to the correct part of our brain and make intelligent decisions.
    The addict in the back of our heads will get tired of begging and will leave.
    +1 YUP! One road to recovery/being recovered is not appropriate for all all of the time as is strongly promoted by a often frustrated system through assumed default by the Courts/legal system, Addiction Industry, medical establishment, etc. I'll offer, if the current approach to sobriety is working efficiently for you GREAT but if not IT MAY NOT BE YOU FAILING TO PROPELY WORK THAT APPROACH AS IS SUGGESTED BY THE MAINSTREAM MOST POPULAR COURT ENFORCED APPROACH TO SOBRIETY. *It may not be you failing at the notion that the approach works if you work it. *It COULD be that approach isn't the one for you! Sometimes, it's not you that is failing to apply something but it is the approach failing you!

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