Back to the real world!

Well, so you’ve walked a bit, exhausted your feet, burned off ludicrous amounts of body fat and eaten everything in sight for 5 months. Now what?

Hiking a solo hike is a pretty selfish adventure. For 5 months I’ve only really had “me” to deal with. My concerns were immediate and tactical. I call it getting “dog brain”. Sure I had some planning but it was mostly related to only a few days of needs. What should I eat right now, where is water, where am I sleeping tonight, how am I going to get dry? …

Also, can I get back into the world without just gaining back all the weight I lost? What about the mental chill space I’ve found? Can I keep that for a while too?

What about the well documented (on the internet) off trail depression, transition, societal pressure things? These I’m less worried about for me personally. A lot of the folks hiking the AT were in some kind of transition…relationship, job, school, covid, etc. Really I didn’t face those. If those were there before, they are still around. I also had a coach warning me to lookout for it.

I did come home to a slew of chores but nothing earth shattering. Dog brain step aside; adulting may be required.

First some grooming!

Then some human food!

I’ve taken a few days to indulge all the things that the trail couldn’t easily provide. GOOD beers, real home-made dinners, soft cotton things, regular coffee, streamed music, …

I took a week or so off between hiking and getting back to work. These first few days have definitely been a bit of an adjustment. Getting my sleep schedule back in a regular “work” routine, cleaning all the gear, reacquainting myself with living with someone else (my wonderful wife!), getting past the “dog brain”, don’t just eat everything in the fridge because it’s there…

I chose not to have a big web presence while hiking. My wife was here alone and I didn’t really want the internet to be aware. Now that I’m back, I’m ok with folks learning what I’ve been up to. All the sudden the internet is boiling in questions and congratulations!

I also need to get my other hobbies up and going again to keep my sanity for as long as possible. I do blog my garage / off-roading exploits here: https://wrenchingseason.wordpress.com/

I’ve ordered the obligatory post cards, and am preparing all the things to mail. I’ve set up a doctor visit and dentist visit. One I expect to go ok, the other not as good because oral hygiene on the trail is… challenging.

I did get a glimpse into retirement. I hiked with several retirees. I can see better what the light at the end of the tunnel looks like. Seems pretty good! I do need to plan for it but stave off the retirement vortex a bit longer.

Hmm time to blow out the sprinkler system. Winter waits for no one.