[pct-l] TSA recovery

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

I've done two summers now of this long distance hiking business and  
can at least compare the results of both.

The first time, I had some vitamin deficiencies and was hungry all  
the time but tried not to overdo it. When I got home I was really  
hungry and the hunger lasted a long time. I gained the weight back  
quickly even though I tried to limit myself to eating only natural  
food. I had foot problems and could not really exercise much. I tried  
to bicycle but that hurt, too.

The second time I hiked, I made sure to take vitamins while I hiked.  
I also made sure I ate way more than I ever thought I should. I did  
not lose as much weight but I also was not quite as hungry as last  
year when I got home. I was able to eat normally right away. This has  
been great. I also had less foot pain and have been able to do  
moderate exercise.

I think it's good to do light exercise rather than strenuous because  
the strenuous exercise triggers that hiker hunger.

So my non-professional advice is on the trail, eat lots and take  
vitamins. Off the trail, eat like a normal person and eat natural  
food, not processed food. Continue to get exercise, but let it be  
moderate so that your weary bones can rest and you don't trigger food  
binges.

As for the anxiety, I don't have a cure. For me the cure was going  
back out the second time and completing the trail but that doesn't  
help people who completed it all at once. I did have a bad experience  
going on a job interview. I didn't realize how much my brain wasn't  
quite working yet, how many words I couldn't remember. It's not a bad  
idea to spend some time getting your brain back in civilized mode again.

I still don't have a job, and this is causing new anxiety.

By the way, I searched for professional advice but nobody in the  
world posts information on the web that is remotely useful to an  
experience like long-distance hiking. Nobody except ultra runners and  
you know what? They don't quit.

Diane

On Oct 8, 2009, at 8:55 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Now that most of the 2009 thru hikers are off the trail what about  
> "Trail Separation Anxiety", (TSA) and Nutrition?