Date: 2016-08-02
To: Nine Days Back
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It has been nine days since I summited Katahdin. This evening, I¢m sitting by the fire in my back yard. It is a beautiful night, warm, dry, and other than a few mosquitoes, very pleasant. I went for my first post AT hike today. It was a six mile round trip up Mt Abraham, a 4000 foot peak that is in my town here in Vermont. My wife Ann is out on an overnight to finish the Long Trail tonight. When she finishes tomorrow, she will have sectioned out the whole thing. She is proud of that. Today I hiked with my friend Jamie who was a good supporter while I was on the AT. She paced me and we had a leisurely hike up to the summit and back. Very different from thru hiking. Guess I¢m back in the ¢real world¢. And, in the real world, you have small world experiences! Today, while on the summit of a mountain 60 miles and more than a week away from the AT, I ran into Audubon and Quixote, two thru hikers whom I first met just north of Pearisburg, VA back in April. They were visiting Quixote¢s Aunt who is someone I know from many years ago. Her name is Louise and she is married to a guy I went to grad school with. They live about an hour from here. I never expected to find thru hiker friends on Mt. Abraham! While we never really hiked together, we have many friends from the trail in common.Speaking of friends, Large called me yesterday to check in. I was very pleased as I had been thinking I should call him. We talked about our hikes, how we were feeling about being back home, how our bodies felt post hike, and many other things. He said he was missing the trail life and that being back home was a bit of a challenge. He missed the trail, the outdoors, and people that knew first hand exactly what he has accomplished. I can empathize with all of that. While I have friends who are truly interested in my hike, and some who clearly aren¢t, there are only a very few people around here who truly know how I might feel, about what I have accomplished. For myself, I feel very lucky that I have returned to a home where there are mountains and National Forest within a ten minute walk of my backdoor. After talking with Large, it occurred to me that I might feel very differently right now if I had returned home to a suburban or even urban landscape. I am very fortunate. I can take to the outdoors whenever I want to. It is right here in my backyard. I have seen moose in my driveway, bears have tipped over my compost bin, and deer are brave enough to eat the basil right out of my garden. I remember hiking with Quick one day. He had a theory about the important circles in your life and how if they intersected you had a good life. It was something like if you can recreate, work, and live within 15 minutes of each other, you pretty much had an ideal situation. I realize that I have this. I am lucky and I think this will help me transition back to life off of the trail. Large, or any of my other trail friends, you are always welcome if you need a fix of the great outdoors. Don¢t hesitate to call, or come up.As I take time to think about what I have done, who I am now, to some degree, I think I may be a bit more relaxed than when I left. I seem to be able to let things roll more and not be too focused on the tiny details. It will be OK I continue to tell myself. I feel like many things are possible. When I left, I felt pretty locked into work, town, friends. I seem to now have this notion that I can do anything if I so choose. Like getting a ride into town off the trail. Someone will always pick you up. Sometimes you wait longer than others but¢¦ it will be OK! Perhaps I am more confident. As mentioned previously, I am incredibly proud of myself for thru hiking the AT. I tell people this, I believe it. It makes me feel good to feel this way and say it. It is a genuine feeling. I am nervous about going back to work. I hope I will be patient when everyone wants something from me at the same time. With teenagers, it is all about them. With thru hikers like me, it became a lot about me. Can I return to placing others needs before my own? Can I tolerate organizational BS like I used to or will I be the blunt, too honest Northstar that many of my trail buddies know I can be? It may be a challenge¢¦ it will be OK.Nine days back. I am figuring things out. It¢s like starting a new thru hike in a place I¢ve been a thousand times before. Time will tell, and¢¦ it will be OK. I will keep you posted as things develop. As I hopefully learn a few more things as a result of being a successful thru hiker. For now, I¢ve applied for my 2000 miler status, I¢m going to order some AT stickers for my truck, and, I might even get a tattoo. I¢m that proud!