Date: 2015-09-11
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Miles today: 0.0

Two weeks. It has already been two weeks since I stood atop Katahdin. Two weeks since I struggled over those ridiculous rebar sections. Two weeks since I strolled back down that last, easy section of trail to see my mom and pizza fairy.Two weeks since my last celebration with my trail family, with cake, chocolate milk, and goodbye hugs.Time for two week reflection time!I am happy, but also so sad. Two simple emotions, right? WRONG. GAH. NOTHING IS SIMPLE.I've been struggling a lot to come to terms with the end of the trail. The end was so abrupt! Climb Katahdin, then POW, back to real life. Back to cars and computers and artificial light and... I could go on for a long time. Back to a lot of things that weren't a part of my daily life for a long time.Of course, some of those benefits of real life are so nice... like the comfort of a loving home, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and being able to see my family.. Not going to lie, I've also eaten way more than my fair share of junk food since I got home. Hiker hunger still persists! I've also been really lazy, sleeping a lot and sitting a lot. At least, it SEEMS like a lot, after walking all day almost every day for so long. I can just sit on the couch and read my book . The comfort of home is wonderful.But I miss the trail. Of course, I miss the trail. It was my life for five months, and an obsession for months before that.When I first got home, I told everyone, "I'm not going to hike the PCT. I think one trail was enough."As time has gone by, however, and my body has started to heal (kind of... my toes still go numb in my shoes, my knees ache, and I'm stiff as a geriatric), that little seed in the back of my brain is starting to germinate and poke its head out. Being home without a job, without a real plan past Thanksgiving, has made me restless.Time to start planning my next adventure!Today, I repacked Gertrude (who doesn't even smell that bad now, since I hosed her down and scrubbed her with Borax the other day). I rolled up my Therm-a-Rest (also sprayed and scrubbed). I deposited my odds and ends into my stuff sack. I broke out a bottle of fuel for my stove.And I do kind of wish that I was heading back out onto the trail. I'm going to Maine for my internship, though, not the PCT. Gertrude will come with me, so that I can (hopefully) take a few weekend trips before the snow sets in. And it will be an excellent adventure, as always. BUT THEN... WHO KNOWS?The reality is, I have to grow up eventually.Okay, I'm not really going to grow up. I at least have to get a job, though, so I can save up a little. Also so that I can buy food. If you haven't noticed, I need a lot of food. Unfortunately, food costs money. So this fall will be job-hunting time!One of the things the trail was supposed to help me with was deciding what I want to do with my life. There's no way I'm ever going to know, so I'm giving up worrying about that one. Of course I worry about finding work (mostly because I have no idea where to start), but I'm not an idiot (although I'm sure I seem like a total space case sometimes), so I figure it'll work out eventually.I feel like this is pretty normal for most people. Right?!Life is just a grand adventure.I am thankful for home, for time, and for the messy, confusing future.