[pct-l] Re:

[pmunson at iglou.com (Peggy Munson)]

Permission to forward to list. Message from Brad. I would really be disappointed if someone would not tell the truth about their hike and accomplishments.

Petals,

I was 17 when I finished the Appalachian Trail. After hiking solo and being totally free for three months, I was crammed back into the public education system as a senior in high school. The transition was not an easy one. I suffered from depression and my grades took a nose dive. 

Later I talked to a doctor and he said because I went from hiking 26 miles a day on the AT, to no real physical activity my body missed out on all the endorphins I was producing during the summer. He said due to this lack of endorphins and the "runner's high" I experienced all summer, I body was going through withdrawal. While it was a natural drug produced by my body, the effects were worse then I let my family and friends know. 

This year, after my hike I was sure to take some time before I headed back to the east coast. I traveled to Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary before meeting up with my sister for the train ride home. This time allowed me to reenter the real world while avoiding some of the culture shock and overwhelming response I got from family, friends and well-wishers after the AT.

Also, after I got home I was sure to push myself physically by running and working out every day. This allowed me to slowly come down off the endorphins of the summer. So far, it seems like it's working because I'm mentally, doing a million times better than I was after the first trail. 

The last element that's my transition to the real world so much more enjoyable, is the fact that I'm 19-years-old and a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island. While they're different types of freedom, I don't feel tied down the way I did in high school. I'm also living in a fraternity house (Lambda Chi Alpha) with twenty-nine of my best friends. In the updates posted by my mom, you should have read about the Death Pool. That was started by the same guys and they've supported my efforts, in one form or another through the whole adventure. 

Every time I'm on the news, get interviewed or mentioned in the print media, they get way more excited than I do. I joke with my parents about how easily amused some of them are. I don't think they realize it, but they've helped so much. Transitioning from alone in the woods, to living with thirty guys in a frat house has been as much of an adventure as the trail itself, but one that's been so crazy, busy and fun that I haven't had a chance to fall through the cracks and sink into the depression I experienced in the past.  

In short, life since the trail has been great. I haven't been in communication with too many other hikers, but if you feel the above may be something others on the PCT-L or another place may be interested in, feel free to post it. I'm planning on getting back on the PCT-L in the near future.

Thanks for your congratulations and interest in my family's and my story. I'll be in touch.

-Brad