Date: 2008-01-21
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Miles today: 0.0

Post hike Report Written 2-13-08Well this is probably my second to last entry for my AT hike. I am eyeing some trails for next summer/fall. When they happen I am planning on doing a journal for them too. I would rather not say which ones yet until I commit to then, so I¢ll have to keep everyone guessing.Anyways. I still think almost a month after finishing that hiking the AT has been one of the best things that I have ever done. I think it also proved to be the hardest and the most fun. Everyone says that it is mainly mental and just a little physical. I think for the most part that this is true. You can hike the whole trail doing anything from 5 miles to 20 a day depending on your physical ability and the amount of time you have. I think overcoming the mental parts of hiking were a bigger accomplishment than the physical. I think that now I will be able to go other long distance solo trips without going through these as bad. It feels good to know that now I can go for days without talking with people and be ok. I have to admit though, I really enjoyed hiking with the people that I hiked with. I now have a handful of people that I have a lot in common with and hope to stay in touch with. Even better I know people that won¢t think I am crazy when I tell them my next plans or I may be able to convince one of them to go with me.I had the chance to go on a couple overnight trips since getting done. It doesn¢t feel the same. Don¢t get me wrong, I still enjoy them. They just don¢t have the same feel. Dayhikes are even worse. I still love being in the woods. It just doesn¢t have the same feeling as before.I have been thinking about the things that I miss the most about the trail. I came up with 3 things. I miss being out in the woods. Being completely in the weather and the wilderness. I miss the traveling. There is such a feeling of freedom on a long trip or any kind. No deadlines, no places you have to be, no job, or no one telling what to do. There is such a feeling of freedom being able to do anything that you want to. For me hiking with every everything with me in my pack gives me that freedom. I also miss the conversations. On the trail, be it in the woods or in town, it seemed that everyone wanted to talk. I had some of the best conversations with people that I just met and would not see after that day. It seems like everyone back home is immersed in so many distractions that no one takes the time to listen or talk.I have been thinking too about what advice I would give to someone about to hike a long distance trail. I received some really good advice and wanted to pass some along.-Reading different journals was a huge help. It gave me an idea of the different things to expect.-If you are going southbound. Bring 100% DEET, some 30% for places around your face and on your clothes, and a head net to start. In July it isn¢t as bad as in June. It is still horrible. Only a few days in the middle of the wilderness are really bad. I only wore DEET a couple days after Monson. Other than a random place in NH I had no bug problems after Maine.-If you are going southbound, start with your fall gear. Thanks to Marta and Johnny for this advice. There were nights in Maine in the 40¢s in July. There will be warm snaps, but hold onto it. I sent too much home in NH and paid for it in VT. From PA on there were days in the 80¢s, then snaps below freezing. Come October or early November it is time for most your cold weather gear. In early December in Damascus all the southbounders I was with loaded up on cold weather gear.-It will rain a lot early on in Maine. Not to mention the cold rains towards the end. Make sure you have a shelter that will keep you dry, good raingear, and a way to keep everything in your pack dry when you are hiking.-Starting in Maine is not a good place to find you forgot something or your gear isn¢t enough. There is no Outfitter on the trail until NH. Shaw¢s can take you to one a ways away.-Find a food that you love and when you eat it everything is all good. What a surprise mine as coffee.-Be prepared for a lot of day hikers who have no idea what they are talking about to tell you that you can¢t make it. I didn¢t have as much fun and screw with them enough. Someone back home told me the best thing to do. Tell them in an upset crying voice ¢You¢re right I am quitting right here and now. Thanks for convincing me that my dream is a waste of time¢ and walk away. Or fry them on the fact that they know nothing.-It seems for one reason or another there was always an excuse to feel uncomfortable. Either it was too hot, cold, wet, dry, exhausting, or something. It worked best for me to embrace it and laugh.-I thought I had enough money, but came up short. I did it with around $4-5K. I replaced out a ton of gear though. I could have done it for $4k without the gear issues. If I do the AT again I am budgeting $6k and planning on spending $4k. The lack of funds was the source of some anxiety for myself and some of the other people I was hiking with. It is also nice not to have to worry about the money if you want to take an extra town stop for the weather or just because.-Have money in the budget so you do not have to work for at least a month when you get back. Adjusting is a lot harder than I expected. Everything is the same as before, but at the same time seems completely different. On my next long distance hike I am going to budget for 2 months.-Definitly zero in the woods at least once. It is the best rest I got on the whole trail. No where that you need to walk to and no place to spend money. Pack out extra food and live it up. Instead of spending over $100 in a ton of food and a place to stay in town, I spent $20-25 in food and felt more rested.-Going along with that I plan on my next long distance hike to force a zero in the woods every few weeks to a month to eat up and let my body recover.-Bring extra food. Towards the end I tried to bring 1 full day. Great for when I wanted to pull up early. Better for the low energy days I needed that extra meal. It seemed like no matter how much food I pack I usually found a way to eat it.-I got caught up early on in all my preconceived notions on the trail and what I should do. It¢s hard, but once you start just go with it. You¢ll figure out what works and what doesn¢t. Don¢t be afraid to try something or do something just because you said or thought before you wouldn¢t like it.-Going along with that the best and my last advice is you¢ll figure it out. Nothing works for everyone and everyone needs to learn what works for them. Figuring that out is half the fun.Like I said in my last entry, life has seemed to throw a spitball slider at me instead of a curveball. I¢ll give everyone a bit, since everyone knows everything else that has been following along. I was going to stay in Hotlanta, GA for awhile. But things fell through for that. So I¢m back in wonderful Cincinnati. Hopefully not for more than a year or so, but I¢ll handle that when it happens.Thanks to all for reading and putting up with my rants following me on my hike. I am trying to get better at journaling and planning on doing it on future trips. If you can take a monument to chime in if you have any suggestions on making the next one better. The only thing I won¢t start doing is writing bad stuff about people by name. My advice to people writing their own online journal is to tell it like it is. Everyone has bad days, some I read seem to sugar coat everything. If you are having one of those days, say so.Someone soon I am going to put together a review of the gear that I used and how well it worked. Until then, enjoy.