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[pct-l] Plans, Realities, Consequences



If this is too esoteric, scroll on or delete as you see fit. The threads
from Goforth et al. on post-trail adjustments and Strider et al. on life
choices are great fodder for musing on a quiet Saturday morning. 

A psychologist friend of mine once told me about a state of mind she
called anhedonism (literally, the opposite of hedonism). She described
the symptoms as similar to depression, but different...not a clinical
"disease", but more of a chronic dis-ease. My clumsy interpretation is
that once your senses have been stretched out by a really exceptional
experience, like maybe a thru-hike, for example, it's kinda tough to get
a thrill out of the ordinary stuff, like getting up and going to the
office, for example. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but give me
a break, I'm a geologist. 

I have never hiked more than a hundred miles at any one time, so I'm not
an expert, but I HAVE experienced a sort of distorted,
out-of-proportion, something's- weird sense after coming off the trail,
like once you go Plan B, you're not really in Kansas (or Washington or
So Cal) any more. I rode my bicycle from Canada to Mexico along the
coast several years ago (compared to walking the PCT, that's a
relatively tame experience) and I feel changed by it still. 

I think you thru-hikers  have caused yourselves to evolve beyond the
safe, structured patterns of Plan A. A trail like the PCT  provided the
wildness you needed to get your jolt and you're drawn back to it. 

Wouldn't it be interesting if you walked it again and discovered that IT
has structure and IT is safe and that, on or off the trail, you have the
confidence to see you're right where you're supposed to be? I like that
one. If I was a plan-maker, I'd make that Plan Numero Uno.

Peace,
Jim

P.S. Goforth, sometimes when I'm running I visualize I'm pulling myself
along hand over hand on an imaginary rope that stretches out in front of
me. I don't know if I thought that up or if I read it in a magazine, but
if I'm in the right mood, I get into a really smooth glide. Usually, it
only lasts until something external jars my senses, like a car horn!  

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