[at-l] Hiker in planning slump... What would or have you done in this situation?

[Sly]

What a whinner...  they don't have to do any of those things.  They 
should be psyched they have the opportunity to hike.   Have them read 
Then the Hail came.

Sly



Tenacious Tanasi wrote:
> Hey everyone,
>
> A thruhiker for the 09 season posted the following message.  Please 
> read it and share what you would or have done in this situation.
>
> ~~~~~
> I seem to be going through a few days of feeling unmotivated to do 
> anything about my AT hike, now coming up in 9.5 weeks. I don't want to 
> dry food, I don't want to plan my town stops, I don't want to go out 
> and train (last week I put in four 7+ mile hikes up and down the New 
> Orleans levees with a 15-pound pack.)
>
> I just feel tired. Maybe I've been doing so much towards it and 
> thinking about it so much and talking about it so much, I feel like 
> I've already done it or something and just want to rest.
>
> Maybe it's because I've run out of foods to dehydrate until I go 
> shopping again. Maybe it's because I only have 2 months to get my food 
> all done and finalize everything and I feel overwhelmed. .... 
> withdrawing is my common response to overwhelmed- ness.
>
> I do have brown rice cooking on the stove. Cooked and dehydrated, it 
> rehydrates nice and fluffy in 5 minutes in hot water.
>
> Yesterday I spent all day reading a novel. I think I'll just chill one 
> more day today, making a grocery list for tomorrow, and then start 
> with the food again.
> ~~~~~~~
>
>
> This was my response to them....
>
>
> Yeah, it sounds like you are over-stressing. Go ahead and take that 
> extra day. Relax as you plan. If you don't enjoy your prep, then it 
> may bleed over to your hike. Don't do that to yourself. Just take it a 
> day at a time.
>
> Make a list of everything left to do just so that you have a mental 
> and hard copy. Prioritize things....then, set it aside today. Tomorrow 
> go back to the list and break it down in bite size chunks. Tackle 
> those things that can be accomplished quickly as I do think this will 
> help you have a feeling of accomplishment and help make you feel like 
> you are getting somewhere. Boost yourself this way. It may be a silly 
> thing to some, but you are in a place where you feel like you are not 
> getting somewhere and need this psychological jumpstart to refresh 
> yourself.
>
> I will not be starting out until spring 2010. When I began looking at 
> everything I have to get accomplished by that time, I really just 
> wanted to crawl under a rock and hide for a while. But, hey, that 
> isn't going to get me anywhere fast. So, I followed the same advice 
> that I just passed on to you.
>
> It's like I have always told my daughter Jerrica when she was doing 
> homework and would get stuck. She was battling her own mind in getting 
> it done or understanding it. This was time to step away for a moment 
> and go to something else to regain her perspective.
>
> Regain that perspective. Lay your plan for finalizing items to be 
> accomplished and then follow it in bite-size chunks so that you are 
> not overwhelmed.
>
> I wish you the best of thruhikes, and plan on following your journey. :)
>
> Tenacious Tanasi 
>
>
>
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>
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