Date: 2016-11-02
To: Three Weeks Since Completion
Miles today: 0.0

It's been three weeks since I completed my thru-hike and arrived back home. In that time, I've found myself surprised, content, nostalgic, tired, pleased and confounded. In hindsight, I was extremely well prepared for my trek. However, I was not as well informed about the challenges of post-hike re-entry. First of all, my legs are just plain exhausted....still. Each morning, I hobble out of bed. Any time I sit or lie down for any extended period, I hobble again. While my feet are no longer swollen, I find that my soles are painful, especially when walking barefoot. To compound matters, my knees are sore, and my quads tight. I have been seeing a massage therapist, who expects several more weeks of recovery. Interestingly, during my trek, I developed muscles in my legs where I didn't expect them, but think that my quads actually withered somewhat over the five plus months. Whether they actually weakened or are just exhausted, it's hard to know. What's clear, though, is that I am not ready to start any kind of work-out yet. I have been walking each day, up to four miles, which is generally good, but not without soreness the next day. I am just now starting a stretching regimen, but am amazed at how less flexible I am compared to when I left for the trail in April. I am taking it very slowly, focusing for the time being on loosening my quads. In summary, the physical challenge of hiking the AT is now fully sinking in. As I reported earlier, I didn't get sick or hurt during the trek. I guess I was lulled into believing that I would get home and just pick up where I left off. I simply didn't expect an extended recovery period. But I am now reminding myself daily that it's only been three weeks and that another month of recovery is wholly appropriate for what I put my 57-year old body through. I've also found that I've grown nostalgic about my time on the trail sooner than I expected. Towards the end of my trek, I was truly fired up about finishing and returning home. And being home with Alison has indeed been fabulous. But I find myself missing the simplicity of the trail, the pleasure of being in nature, the joy of listening to the orchestra of night sounds, the pride of self-sufficiency, and the thrill of accomplishing a long-held dream. Like many others, I cannot wait for this presidential campaign to be over. I am so glad that I missed most of it. The past few weeks have been very hard to sit through, and it's like a cloud has been hanging over me during my time at home. So much negativity that stands in stark contrast to the joys of being trail-bound. Perhaps I should have slowed down and stretched my trek to last into November!I now see my AT adventure to be a real demarcation point in my life. Pre-trek, I found my days to be full, but my life missing a sense of fulfillment. Now, post-hike, I see clearly that I am moving towards a more fulfilling life that does not insist upon full days. This is exactly where I want to be. I recognize that my completion of the AT is enabling this new-found outlook, as a sense of peace and maturity seems to be taking hold. I have great hope for this next stage in my life. My time on the AT was a gift, a gift from myself to myself. I worked hard to embrace the opportunity and am so proud of its positive outcome. Amidst the physical challenges of recovery, I sense a growing completeness in myself that was not present before. I will post another update on December 1. For those interested, I posted photos and descriptions of everything I brought along with me on my hike under the Gear tab to the left.