[pct-l] re: Re-entry into real life

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

In October of 2001, wrote this little blurb. I had
just came back from the ALDHA-East Gathering, and was
preparing for my PCT thru-hike of 2002.  As I get
ready to again commit to another long hike this little
blurb seems appropriate. And the discussion we are
having seems to make it timely, too.  The AT
references should be changed to Sierras, Cascades,
glaciers..etc..but the sentiments have not changed in
two years. Maybe someone on this list may like reading
it.. :-)

******
The return home. It is part of the journey that is not
talked about when the hike is planned. In our minds,
we see ourselves on the ridgeline, basking in the sun.
The triumphant last step after seeing the last white
blaze on Springer or Katahdin. Reaching a forest road
in a remote stretch of woods, finishing the trail
after using vacation time to achieve a dream.

Seldom do we think about the return home. Adjusting to
the "real world" after a few days in the woods can be
jarring. Instead of sipping tea at a quiet campsite,
the reality becomes drinking coffee in a noisy
breakroom. We exchange the two-mile an hour pace of
walking for the ten-mile an hour pace of a traffic jam
on a busy interstate.

The return to what is considered civilization is even
more jarring after a hike of several weeks or months.
>From walking on the ridgetop of the Appalachians to
walking in a crowded shopping plaza is a harsh
transition. The daily rhythm of life is no longer set
by where the next water supply is located or by the
rising and setting of the sun. Dentist appointments,
the lunch hour, and the evening news now set the daily
rhytm of life.

After the return home, the mind begins to wander.
During the commute to work, a campsite in a shady
grove of trees is remembered. While waiting in line at
a grocery store, a memory of ponies in Grayson
Highlands is recalled.

Weeks or months go by. For some, a realization is
made. Home does not seem to be this world of fax
machines, blips and bleeps. Home has become where the
smell of fallen leaves is still fresh. Home has become
where the wind gusts by at 30 MPH on the Franconia
Ridge. 

We get to return home for a little while at times. A
weekend here of there. Vacation time used for the rare
hike of a week. But it is a short visit back home. Not
quite enough to reacquaint oursevles with how much
this home means. Sometimes we meet others who are
trying to get back home. It may be raucous May weekend
in Damascus, or a reflective time in October to gather
together with friends who have not been seen for a
while. We all recall what home was like, when we can
return for a long visit.

Then one year, we can return home for a long visit.
The time become right, debts are settled, and money is
saved. The boots are again laced; the pack is strapped
on the back. We have returned home. Home be the
Appalachians or a new home in the Sierras or on the
crest of the continent. But we are home. And we are
glad to return.
************

June '04 ain't that far away...is it? :-)



=====
************************************************************
The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com