[pct-l] After the hike

Tue Feb 26 07:12:53 CST 2008

Diane,
    I'm not a thruly, as I call them, only a sectional  . I look forward to 
the hikes; try to do some conditioning to get ready; always  during the first 
week, and at other times, wonder what the hell I'm doing this  for; but keep 
stumbling along on my self-appointed rounds. 
    I've quit early only twice, both times for  self-inflicted injuries, in 
79 on the AT (knees-naive & way too heavy) and  in 05 on the PCT (R arch-stupid 
boot decision); base pack weight has come down  from 50 lb (incl compact, 35 
mm film camera) to 20 lb (incl a full-size,  non-SLR digital camera).
    I've always been glad when my appointed rounds for  the year are over; 
I've never been depressed later; it's never been life  changing; I've never had 
any great revelations from it; and I've never had any  problems readjusting to 
regular life. Somehow, the hiking genes always start  stirring inside me 
about this time of year, and by sometime in the summer I'm  stumbling off on 
another long walk. 
    Actually, it's hiking time in Big Bend now;  Big Bend Ranch State Park 
just added 200-300 miles of new  trails (mostly old ranch roads) - springs, 
waterfalls, and mountains I've  never seen up close. Somehow, I think I'll survive 
another  year  
    Somehow, the AT-2000, Colorado Trail-2006, 46% of  the PCT (05 & 07), and 
200 mi of the CDT (coincident with the C T) are  behind me. Around 1 Jul this 
summer I'll stumble off into the wasteland between  Donner Pass (US-40) and 
I-80; a few hours later it'll be too late to do anything  but wonder what the 
hell I'm doing this for, and will probably complete my  appointed rounds (to 
75%) at McKenzie Pass (OR-242) by 1 Sep. In 09 I'll  probably complete the PCT, 
at age 66. 
    Then I'll really have to knuckle down to get the  CDT done by age 70. 
Hopefully Yogi will still be publishing to assist; hopefully  some of the 
confusing, conflicting routes will have been worked out; and  God willing I'll get it 
done. In the summer of 14, if sectionals get triple  crowns, I may go out to 
get mine. It won't mean a damn thing to anyone but me,  but I'm not doing it 
for anyone but me. 
    Actually I'm trying to figure out how to get the  Hayduke, the AZ, and 
Blisterfree's GET done, along with the above plans, by age  70. I figure an 
extra 4 months of hiking will get the GET & AZ Trails. I'll  have to find some 
other idiot to do the Hayduke with me.

    Diane, you're saying your biggest fear is what  happens after the hike. 
Get off the sofa and go hike. If you don't like  reentry, do what Yogi and I'm 
sure many others do, work long enough to take  another half year off. A good 
waitress, in a Yuppie restaurant can make a better  than average income; I know 
three women, plus Yogi, who do it. One, in a family  I'm close to, paid for a 
50% house expansion, helped raise 3 kids and  college two of them, etc on 
that supposed lowly income.
    It's perhaps overused, and possibly trite in a  sense, but life is the 
journey. You either live in fear of everything, or  put one foot in front of the 
other, all day, every day, not having the  slightest idea what's around the 
next bend, or all the thousands after it.  Watch the Ameriprise tv ads, about a 
hundred times or until you get it: you only  need a dream, then a plan.  

Off the  soapbox,
Bob  "Trekker"
Big Bend Desert Denizen
Naturalized Citizen - Republic of  Texas

Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if  it 
wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' 
-- Harry Browne

"If you think  health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs 
when its free."  
-- P. J. ORourke

In a message dated 2/25/2008 8:07:12 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
diane at santabarbarahikes.com writes:

I have a  question for you veterans, especially those older than 20- 
something. My  biggest fear is what happens AFTER the hike.
How do you readjust to your  regular life again? Do you ever?
Did it change your life?
Did it  reaffirm you were on the right path to begin with or were you   
prompted to make a big life change?
Did you come home and find yourself  depressed within a few weeks or  
were you glad it was  over?

Anything is  helpful.

Thanks,
Diane
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