Date: 2015-08-19
To: Homecoming 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Ah, the transition back to off-trail life after being on trail for several months...the least glorified, least romantic (at least in theory trail life is romantic), most inevitable part. While this entry is listed under "conclusion" and yes it is the conclusion of my Big Hike this year, I am happy to be joining the ranks of the section hikers....those souls who spend 10, 20, 30, 40... years to become part of the "2000 mile club". My time on trail this year taught me that I don't actually like thru-hiking with the pressure to do "big miles", the constant moving forward at a quick pace, and the necessity of planning for the next section during rest days. The extended time away though (sort of like being "on sabbatical" much more than "on vacation") is one benefit that many section hikers don't get to experience with limitations of jobs, families, etc. I am grateful for the time I had in between jobs to hike North in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and South in some of Maine. I am also grateful to have some true transition time now to eat great August produce and re-nourish my body, hang out with my cat, and re-acclimate to off-trail life without having to rush into the next thing right away (looking for work and a new apartment). While I haven't been slicing potatoes like the author of this post's poem, I have found that chopping (and later eating!) eggplants, peppers, summer squash, peaches, and cantaloupe has had a restorative effect. "Slicing Potatoes"--Rabia (Sufi saint, c. 717-801), translation by Daniel LadinskyIt helps,putting my hands on a pot, on a broom,in a wash pail.I tried painting, but it was easier to flyslicing potatoes.Now for some reflections, both practical and soulful:Practical reflections:--In the future, I'll do more mail drops for resupply than I did this time. That way, I get the food I really want that often isn't available in small town grocery stores/gas stations/some hostels, I get food and personal items in the correct quantities and packaging for carrying on my back, I can spend my time in town genuinely resting and doing nothing instead of scurrying around trying to get ready for the next go. -- The preparation for the next trip on trail won't be so extensive because I have fantastic gear all ready to go and I've already hiked almost 1200 miles so I don't have to practice packing my pack to make sure everything is going to fit and the weight distribution is as "comfortable" as possible.   -- I had read before I started in Georgia that long-distance hiking would most likely change the length and shape of my feet. Oddly enough, my feet definitely got longer with the training that I did before departure but I don't think they changed that much once I started The Big Hike. There doesn't seem to be an online consensus though as to whether my feet will shrink back to their original size once I am not hiking so much. So for now I'll keep old my size 7.5 hiking boots as well as the size 9.5/10 that I ended up with. I'll have to revamp my shoe collection for now anyway, good thing I never had that many pairs of shoes to start with!Soulful reflections:   -- Starting is more important than "finishing". Taking the first step in a direction that feels right is more important than aiming for a static endpoint that may or may not be where you're going anyway. Getting to Springer Mountain in Georgia was in some ways the toughest part. I had to first make the decision to go (I tried several times to announce to my mom and sister that I was thinking about hiking the AT this year, was unable to spit it out, but then eventually brought the conversation around to my AT intentions in a conversation with my godmother around mid-January when I asked her if she thought I'd gone completely nuts), then sublet my lease that was due to expire July 31, and get physically, mentally, and practically as ready to go as possible. I agonized over whether it was better to do the traditional 8 mile Approach Trail to Springer Mountain from Amicalola State Park (try to say that three times fast) or to access the Southern Terminus from Forrest Service Road 42 that crosses the AT one mile North of Springer and hike South for a mile before officially starting (what were the road conditions like? would my car make it up there?). When I called the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club to inquire, the man who returned my call didn't know about the road conditions but thought if I was attempting to hike over 2000 miles why did another eight matter so much-- he was right by the way. I also hotly debated whether it was better to stay at a bed in breakfast in the town of Dahlonega or at the Hiker Hostel and even slept on my apartment balcony next to some snow when the temperature got down to about 15 degrees to test out my 20 degree sleeping bag (the first one I bought and later rejected). Contrast that to deciding to change directions completely, booking a flight to Bangor, Maine not knowing how I'd get from the airport to Katahdin or where I'd be sleeping that night and then planning to climb Katahdin the next day with all of the campsites in Baxter State Park already reserved. Chief at the AT Lodge in Millinocket told me not to be concerned, that there are "always many happy endings", and I could just ask someone with a pack on my way to Millinocket if they had a campsite I could share-- he was right too. As Moshe Feldenkrais, developer of the Feldenkrais body-work healing method, wrote in Higher Judo, "it is bad in Judo to try for anything with such determination as not to be able to change your mind if necessary. In judo as in life, we must never be locked in-- to a habit, a way of thinking, or an attitude-- and even when we think we are locked in, we often are not."So now I want to teach zumba classes, and I'm going to sign up for the one-day basic teacher training without having to know what else I need to do to be hireable but trusting that I'll do what I need to all in good time. Taking the first step and going for it is what counts! Dream big! As become my motto on trail, "I'll make another decision when I get closer."