Outside Reading, Post #15

Journal Blog

I was reading blogs for the journal assignment due for class, and came across this blog:

Abear (In the Woods)'s 2014
Appalachian Trail Journal

 

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Monday, September 08, 2014

Epilogue

 I am not going to post the entire blog because it is quite lengthy, but there is a big part of it that is relevant to this class:

"It has been over a week since I have been back and I still wake in the morning with dreams of the trail still fresh in my mind. It takes a few minutes, but I soon realize that I am no longer out in the woods, but back in the comforts of my home. My feet are still swollen in the morning, just like they were out on the trail, but at least on the trail, the swelling would usually go away once I started hiking. Now that I am home, I will need to get back into shape, which is a curious thing to say after having walked over 2,200 miles with a pack on my back. The truth of the matter is that my body is only good for one thing right now; walking and climbing steep hills. I have developed what is referred to as a “T-Rex” body, where my arms and upper body have diminished in strength. I also need to rework my diet to something more realistic since I will no longer be burning upwards of 4,000 calories per day.   
I’m also back at work and am trying to get back into the swing of things. Fortunately for me, I love what I do and am very fortunate to have the job that I have and the people I work with are of the same quality and caliber of the exceptional people I hiked with.
I will not miss the black-flies, mosquitos, and deer flies and I won’t miss the rain, heat, cold, and humidity. I will certainly not miss climbing all of the hills and mountains, and I won’t miss trying to hike on blocks of uneven rocks and tree roots. There are certainly many things that I will miss about no longer being on the trail; I will miss the freedom of being out on your own with no real schedule to keep; I will miss breathing clean air and drinking the purest of spring water. Most of all, I will miss the people that make up the Hiker Community. The quality of the people that I was fortunate enough to associate with for 139 days was exceptional and many of those people, I hope will become lifelong friends. It was amazing to me that I did not meet some of those people until the last few weeks, or even days of my journey, which makes me wonder how many exceptional people that make up the Appalachian Trail Class of 2014 that I did not get to meet.
The great thing about the trail was that it would take only a couple of days of spending time with someone before a friendship could be kindled. On the trail, it didn’t matter what you looked like, what your social status was, how old you were, whether you were a thru-hiker, section hiker, weekender, or even what nationality you were. If you were generally a good person, you would be accepted by the Hiker Community."

He begins by writing about his struggles readjusting from the trail back into society. His ankles swell, his diet is awful, and he is having difficulty getting back into the swing of things at work. He then goes on to talk about certain aspects of the trail such as mosquitoes, the rain and humidity, and climbing all of the hills and mountains; none of these he will be missing much. However, he then discusses the aspects of the trail that he will miss greatly: the freedom of having no real schedule, clean air and pure water, and the Hiker Community. Theses things will always outweigh the aspects that will be missed. The community didn't care what a hiker looked like, or what his or her social class was off of the trail. All they needed, he said, was a couple of days to get to know one another and become a part of the community that would help develop lifelong friendships. Relationships are the most memorable part of the trail for many of the thru-hikers and they extend past just the thru-hike.