one month later

I have been done with the trail for a month now. Here are some things that I have noticed:

I still have a tendancy to to look at the toilet paper roll in the bathroom and wonder if it would be small enough to take in the wilderness.

My feet are still sore. I walk like I ran a marathon the day before right away in the morning. I can’t walk barefoot at all.

I ran on the treadmill and had to remind myself that it is not appropriate to do a snot rocket inside. Oops.

People still would like me to write a book, who knows…

I have over 1300 pictures and I need to weed them down so I can put them in an album.

I haven’t had the urge to sleep outside yet, but I do miss the fresh air.

I am going stir crazy at home, I miss my ‘job’ of hiking.

I still take longer showers than needed. It just feels so good!

Eating like I am still on the trail is a dangerous thing! We are still eating some trail food because we had leftovers when Alison got off the trail.

At first the thought of hiking again was the last thing I wanted to do, but as I get farther away I miss it more. It was such an amazing experience! But it is hard to sumaraize that experience.

I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere at first. It was a very strange feeling. I know life moved on without me, but it was still weird to be back. I wasn’t expecting to be almost depressed with nothing to do. For nearly 6 months I had this goal in front of me and I was working toward it constantly. Then all of the sudden it was gone. I had accomplished this amazing feat and I didn’t have something else to jump into. People kept telling me to just relax and enjoy being home. If you know me well you understand that I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time. I started looking for jobs (which for someone who can lack patience this is very difficult) and I hope to get something soon.

I miss the people that I met on the trail and I have been looking up information about the trail almost every day. This includes looking at other people’s journals, seeing how many people summited, or trying to find people on facebook. This is difficult as I don’t know any of their real names!

I am still finding ways that I have changed, and things I have learned about myself. That process will continue for a long time yet. I hope I never stop learning.

Thanks again for your support, even as I try to re-enter society!

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