Date: 2010-10-06
To: The Speed of Life
Miles today: 0.0

After going through what I went through yesterday, I have decided to enlighten the future thru hikers of America and abroad about after trail life. First, I must tell you a story. So there I was in the Shenandoah National Park with my big bad thru hiker self in the middle of June. I was at a camp store and I ran into Peanut and Love Boat. They were AT thru hikers class of '08 and were doing trail magic that weekend for us NOBOs. As I sat there slurping up my Yahoo and eating my Combos, something Peanut said stuck with me the rest of my hike. I specifically asked her about her feelings when she finished and she said something that kind of caught me off guard. She said she was happy to be done but that she needed a month to slowly get back into society. She had even postponed a party that was being held in her honor because she could not handle being around lots of people. Why thats crazy talk, I thought to myself. When I finish the trail I'm going to tell the world!!!!! I had pictured it to be like in the movie Elf with Will Ferrell. Remember when he's dancing around in public saying "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it." I had pictured that same thing (minus the green tights) saying "I'm done, I'm done, and I don't care who knows it."Yeah, not quite. I decided to accompany my dad to his beloved Costco yesterday...wow...what a shock for me. The place was mobbed. Costco is located in Gaithersburg, MD which is a large suburb of Washington, DC. Its one of those towns where every square inch of free land is taken up by condos and shopping malls. It is also the token city where there always seems to be traffic even if its 2am on Christmas morning. Nonetheless, Costco was packed. So let me advise the future thru hikers or anyone else coming out of the woods after an extended length of time. Stay away from the Costco type places. Going from the woods and your woods "family" everyday to being sardined in a public place is not a good feeling. I felt very uncomfortable. First of all, I felt like everyone was staring at me. I was Mr Paranoia. I was in a nice pair of jeans, with a nice shirt, and my good shoes but people still gave me the look-away-but-stare-out-of-the-corner-their-eye look...like I was going to steal their purse or something. It's a beard, people. Second, it was sooooo noisey. I couldn't hear my dad talking to me three feet away. I felt very on edge. I almost wanted to just sit down in a quiet back room and take a break. Thirdly, I was constantly bumping into people. There was no taking your time and taking in your surroundings....if you did that you would literally get run over by a little old lady and her shopping cart. My point is simple. Stay away from the city and permanently move to the woods....no, kidding. Just be prepared to know that it takes time to readjust to society when you're back in civilization. But One Life, you were only gone 6 months it couldn't be that bad??? It is. I'm still adjusting after a week and a half. I miss the trail very much. I'm learning that the people of today seem to be in a permanent rush and don't take time to slow down and enjoy things. I may have been like that before...I'm not sure. However, for the most part, us thru hikers get that we are different. We get that we need to enjoy nature and whatever else God has bestowed upon us (not all thru hikers...some act like they are driving in Boston and want to cut you off etc). Society just wants to get from point A to point B in lightning speed. My advice, avoid the Costcos for awhile.Thats all. Remember, everything we are is because of Him.