Where am I? - Appalachian Trail

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#1

this sucks. After all those wonderful months of thru hiking the AT this year I find myself back to the ho hum real world. why can’t anyone understand why i want to live in the woods, sleep under the stars, climb mountains, sit by a stream, drink the fresh mountain water, swim in a random lake, grow a beard, lay in the sun, scare tourists, cook out of a tin can and while all this is going on having totally no idea what’s around the next corner? Life is only worth living if you truly live it. I’m sick of the 9-5.

lost in the real world

#2

Resistance if futile. And then it was over in a flash. In the blink of an eye you and Dorothy, without Towdo, have returned to Kansas and gone back to that hell hole we call “the cubicle”. Blows Alpo, aye? One cure, go hiking 'smore.

if feel your pain

#3

…to filter that fresh mountain water. And watch out for the leeches in the random lake.

pigpen

#4

not back here. I don’t have any good answers either, but keep asking them. Only long distance hikers understand this, it’s what keeps us connected through email, phone and letters. I heard from a trail buddy 2 nights ago for the first time by phone since we finished in 02. We’ll always be friends.

Bluebearee

#5

thru hiked in 2000, did 1200 miles in 2001 lived in Damascus in 2002 miss the trail in 2003 hiking again in 2004… i have a dream job but i would rather be hiking… i am finding my path… work six months, hike six months… seeya… remember… you do not have to live conventionally. live your life your way…

peace and happy holidaze

ASWAH the Ignorant

aswah

#6

Wow, I was just starting to hate this winter sobo shit. I
thought I had it bad trudging thru snow and cold. After reading that, I guess I’ll just suck it up and trudge on. Some company would be nice though.

Heald

#7

Where’s DogWonder??

Bushwhack/Bramble '01

#8

I came off the trail this year in my first of what looks like to be a long series of long distance hikes.

It’s been about 3 months now, and I still find myself reminiscing with friends at home, although they are getting tired of it. Just last week, I started putting “rationality” into thought about going back out on the trail next year, and instead thinking about just starting back up at school, and a friend of mine told me that she was so glad I was finally coming back down to earth and finally moving on. Moving on?? I am still trying to plan a hike, the school thought was a distant flutter.

Even the non-hikers who really seem to get it don’t really have the slightest understanding. Thank GOD for the contact I have with my fellow hikers this year.

nobody

#9

I know that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish I was still on or near the trail. Then reality hits and I know that that experience will never be duplicated again. Ever day in life is a new opportunity to grow and experienc what life has to offer, and you have to think of the AT as one part of a big opportunity to experience life. Don’t get down… just make each day reflect what you learned about life and yourself from the AT.:slight_smile:

windex

#10

Every day is a good day. The trail made me realize that I needed to live in the moment, enjoy the people around me, be kind because it makes evrybody feel good and cherish the time I have to spend with people. I dream everyday that I am hiking. When I was feeling down way back in N.C., about the fact that the hike wouldn’t last forever, my friend Noid said " Yo-YO you will always have this trip". She was right, every day I think of the trail and it makes me want to repay all the great and small acts of kindness I recieved on the trail.

yo-yo

#11

The trail is like a Gilligan’s Island… A reality that is not real in a world of numbers where people do not care about each other… I think whenever you are sharing a common experience with a large group of people you are going to find magic. I agree with Yo YO… The trail is a truly special place and the denizens that people that world are awesome… How can you not enjoy something so healthy and pure? One of the worst parts about coming back to the world of numbers is sharing your two million and one photos of the trail. For us, every single picture brings back a flood of emotions and feelings… oh remeber that day that Gasket lost the bet in Maine and had to wear diapers all day. I remember laughing so hard later in the day when his diaper was soaked in water and he had to duct tape it to get it to stay on. I show that picture to anyone who hasn’t hiked the trail and they think I am crazy. Or a picture of a sunset or some distant mountain, or a state line sign… or a picture of eating burgers at Mountain Mommas, or Charlie’s BUnion or a group of long haired unkempt hiker trash or the twentu or so people I hiked with at Abol Bridge drinking Katahdin Red beer… so many memories that other people cannot associate with. Their minds are locked in a prison without walls. We have seen that you can live life and enjoy life with less. We have learned that what is truly important is invisible. Peace and love to all who hike the trail and have had their lives improveved for the better… me, I am quitting the world of numbers and living in the now… act on your thoughts.

Peace and LOve ASWAH the IGNORANT

Aswah

#12

ASWAH

#13

I, too, learned volumes about myself, the world, and the people around me. And I continue to learn. It’s all about MAKING IT HAPPEN! Whatever “it” is in life to you, you’ve seen it expressed thru the beauty of what the Trail really is to us thrus. And I believe you can pass along that energy to others to affect the world. Change is the only constant in the universe.

“Life is only worth living if you truly live it.” So true, but it doesn’t just have to be on the Trail. Apply what you learned on the Trail to life now and make it happen!

First step: KILL YOUR TELEVISION!!!

Just my 2 cents worth.

Cap’n

#14

AMAZING… I haven’t watched but maybe about 20 hours TOTAL of TV since leaving the trail in August of 2001… and I now no longer listen to the crappy radio either. Am I just denying reality, no… I am in reality, everyone else is in the world of propaganda and myth. :girl

windex

#15

If it werent for the 9-5. Then hiking wouldnt be the big freedom that it is. Be glad for each day,because once its gone,you cant get it back. Hey Cap,n,even kill the TV shows about outdoors stuff? Come this March,it will be two years since a lot of us started our hike. Man!!Time flys!!

Virginian

#16

You’re right about that, Virginian. A year after Katahdin was a pretty strange feeling. It passes by so quick these days. And hopefully, I’ll have some shorter long distance hikes to do in the near future. By the way, have you seen the post about SORUCK? It’s being held at Sunrise and Sunset’s place down in northwest SC. Should be a helluva time. I’m gonna try and muster as many '02ers as I can. Can ya drag yourself down that far south?

Cap’n

#17

A few thoughts on this subject:

The functioning of civilized society depends on people going to work, which most of them don’t like, but for the good of all, it is necessary.

Even hikers could not buy a hamburger along the trail in trail towns if somebody didn’t have to go to work and make that burger. So be thankful people (including you) have to work.

We all need to escape work, problems and dealing with family, spouses, etc. So hit the trail and hike if you can as often as you can. If not, go for long walks (which are really slackpacking hikes), or do something else physical, which will allow you to get away from it all if only for a little bit-----and give you the physical and mental strength to come back and do what you know you must.

See you out there. :cheers

Maintain

#18

You’re too logical and sensible to be a thru-hiker…what will you do when you get back?

Skeemer

#19

How about those of us whom haven’t had the chance yet. It should cheer you up some knowing that today I spent in the woods tonight I’m at work (is this work dreaming on the internet about my soon to be thru hike?) Just can’t give up the big job yet so I’m stuck section hiking but still that beats not hiking at all.

use to be YANG

#20

Anyone who can recognize the importance of being outside can relate to what I was talking about, not just thru-hikers. I didn’t mean to sound exclusive. But for me, it was my 6 1/2 months on the AT that made me aware of what is truly important in life.

Cap’n