Adjusting

It has been just over 2 weeks since I completed my through-hike, and moving on has been an interesting experiment. After walking 20 miles a day for four and a half months, everything else seems simple and dull by comparison. Roxy and I have both been very restless. Our bodies have been working in high gear for so long that now we have endless energy. I've been putting that energy into helping my mom clean out her house (her basement deserves a week-long special on Hoarders). Sifting through boxes of old letters, school projects, and photos has been an emotional experience, but sorting out my past is cathartic and definitely helping me decide where I want to go with my future.

Off-trail me wears real clothes and goes to interviews.

Speaking of the future, when I am not helping clean out old junk, I've been very actively searching and applying for employment. Now that all my AT funds have run out, it is time to make some money again. My first goal was to find some quick and easy seasonal retail employment, just to get back on my feet and start saving money for my next steps. This was surprisingly easy to do. I received invites for interviews everywhere I applied, and after opening with "I just finished hiking the Appalachian Trail," I got job offers at all 3 stores. Compared to the typical retail employee, I'm a rock-star.

Despite finding a job easily, I am not satisfied with spending any significant amount of time working in retail. Hiking the Appalachian Trail has taught me to never do anything that doesn't make me happy. As I search for career positions, I am only applying for jobs that will make me feel like I am doing something meaningful with my life. For me this includes mostly educational outreach positions at zoos, humane societies, museums, and nonprofits. I've applied for 10 different positions so far, and am genuinely excited about each of the jobs. Although I would love to live and work near the mountains, I am trying to stay open-minded about geographic locations. Click here to see my resume in case you want to see how talented I am :)

In addition to job searching, I'm trying my best to keep Roxy happy. Living in a house is driving her a little bit crazy. Despite having all the love, food, and companionship she can imagine, nothing compares to the constant adventure she was used to along the trail. All day long she follows me expectantly, usually with her favorite toy, just waiting for us to do something exciting. She sits and stares at me as I type away on the computer, or sort through all junk from my mom's crazy collection of junk. I've been trying to get back into running, but my body is still sore from hiking, and Roxy does not find jogging on a leash through a neighborhood of cookie-cutter houses all that interesting or physically satisfying. Luckily we found a dog park nearby, so once a day I take her for at least an hour of off-leash playtime. Roxy is an unbelievable dog, and I don't want any of her potential to go to waste. She is unsatisfied with being a suburban house pet, and I'm doing my best to keep her spirits high.

Since being off the trail, I think both Roxy and I just need to focus on new hobbies to keep our minds and bodies occupied. Staying busy helps keep my mind off all that I am missing from the trail. The lifestyle shift between trail and suburbia has been jarring, but it is important to focus on the positives. I keep reminding myself that new adventures will come, and my current conditions are only temporary. The adventures of house-life can be fun too. For example, now that I have a full kitchen instead of just a pocket-rocket, I've renewed my passion for cooking. Since I have all the time in the world, I have been making gourmet meals for my entire family. For me, cooking is an outstanding form of stress relief, and the delicious results are also fun :)

So despite no longer being on the Appalachian Trail, I hope to maintain this blog as an inspiration for adventure. For the time being, my posts may not include many mountains, but I hope to soon be out and exploring once again.

Living in the woods was the best, we'll get back there soon!

Mission Accomplished

This past Saturday I completed my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Getting to the final summit proved to be more challenging than expected. Ever since Caratunk (about 150 miles from the end), the trail has thrown one obstacle after another in my way, but I'm proud to say I was able to push through all the challenges.

Success!

When I arrived in Caratunk, it began to rain, and that rain continued for more than 24 hours. I ended up taking a zero day (no hiking) in order to avoid the rain and allow my feet to rest. My feet were issue #2, because at this point they were in constant pain. My visibly swollen feet resembled those of a pregnant woman for the last few days of the trail, and walking on them for 20 miles a day was taking a toll on me physically and mentally. As much as I love trail life, I was just exhausted. Unlike most people who take 5-6 months to hike the Appalachian Trail, I was about to complete my journey in just over 4 months, and my body was definitely feeling it.

In addition to being in physical pain and being mentally drained, the torrential downpour of rain caused all of the river levels to rise dramatically. As I hiked through the 100 mile wilderness (a difficult stretch of trail just before the end of the Appalachian Trail), I was faced with many roaring rivers with strong currents. Fall temperatures made jumping into cold water  more than a little unpleasant, and sometimes downright dangerous.

Transporting packs across one of the deeper rivers. This one was waist deep in the middle.

Luckily, just as my morale was reaching a low point, I was lucky enough to be surprised by my older brother, Adam, doing trail magic for me near the end of the 100 mile wilderness. He set up a campsite with a blazing fire, propane gas stove for cooking warm food, and tons of delicious snacks. It was exactly what I needed to reinvigorate me for the final stretch of my epic adventure.

Adam making breakfast in the 100 mile wilderness.

After my half-day vacation at Adam's luxurious campsite, I only had one day's worth of hiking left before meeting my parents at Abol Bridge campground, the final campsite before climbing Mt. Katahdin. The original plan was to camp with them on Thursday and then hike up Katahdin with Adam and my dad on Friday, but unfortunately the weather was not agreeable so me had to delay our summit. This caused a slew of issues with our parking reservations at Baxter State Park, which has the most ridiculous rules of any part of the Appalachian Trail. Luckily we were eventually able to sort out all the reservations and as the rain poured on Friday, we lounged around a hotel room and hoped for better weather.

Beautiful view of Mt. Katahdin from our Abol Bridge campsite.

Saturday morning was luckily dry, but our hike did not start out too well. We arrived at Baxter State Park around 6:30am, but than had to wait in a long line of cars trying to get into the park. After being interrogated by 2 separate park officials we were finally on our way to the trailhead parking lot. The previous day's rain had brought in a cold front, so once parked, we bundled up in several layers and began our trek up the mountain. It was odd hiking without Roxy, who stayed at the hotel with my mom due to the fact that this section of trail is renowned as one of the most difficult parts of the Appalachian Trail. Despite not having my best friend with me, I was very happy to have Adam and my dad along for the journey.

Ready to hike up the final mountain!

As we hiked up the mountain, our spirits were high despite temperatures being low. However, after about 2 miles we started seeing people coming back down the mountain. Everyone who passed us let us know that weather conditions were too treacherous above treeline so reaching the summit was not possible. Despite their warnings, we pushed on determined to see for ourselves. Upon reaching treeline, we were hit with forceful winds above 45mph. It truly was impossible to stand upright due to the strength of the wind. Dejected, we hiked a few feet back down and tried to come up with plan B. Some hikers were sitting around determined to wait out the wind, but at the high elevations it was too cold for me to just sit around. So we decided to hike back down the mountain and try to find a warmer spot to take a break.

Everything was coated in ice.

 Unfortunately with the unpleasant weather, we were not able to find warmth until we were nearly back at the beginning of the trail. We found a massive boulder which was bathed in sunlight. After climbing on top of it, we finally were able to warm up a bit and think about our next move. Dad thought it would be best to just go home and come back in the Spring to climb the mountains, but Adam was eager to just wait an hour or two and then try to climb up again. After eating lunch and basking in the sun for awhile, we decided to give it another go.

Frozen wonderland above treeline.

This pile of rocks is the trail. If you look closely you can see a white blaze, and Adam and Dad further up.

 While attempting ascent #2, we did not see anyone coming back down the mountain, so we knew that the must have continued on above treeline. Sure enough when we reached treeline, we were shocked that the winds had died down significantly. Despite the morning's terrifying conditions, it was now possible to safely walk the remainder of the trail. Even though the winds had died down, the trail was far from easy. Nearly a mile of the hike was just a steep pile of boulders that needed to be climbed. After many hours and quite a bit of struggling, we all made it to the summit.

The final stretch

Just over 100 miles left to go. I've picked up my last re-supply box. All extra supplies have been mailed home. Nothing is standing in my way. Oh, except rivers with crazy high water levels, mountains made up of piles of boulders, and freezing temperatures. 

Despite still having a lot of obstacles in my way, I am feeling great about this final stretch of the Appalachian Trail. I've already overcome so many unexpected trials. For example a few days ago I accidentally sacrificed my trekking poles to the mountain gods, and had to hike up and down steep inclines without anything to take the pressure off my knees. I've also fallen more times than I care to admit, resulting in many colorful bruises, cuts, and new scars. I've gotten lost, ran out of food, and occasionally been creeped out by strangers on the trail. But despite everything, I've just kept walking. 

From the start I've looked at the Appalachian Trail as just one long walk in the woods. There has never been any doubt in my mind that I could finish the entire trail, because no matter what happened, I just kept telling myself to walk. As long as one foot continued to move in front of the other, I knew I could do this. 

So here I am, at the edge of the 100 mile wilderness, about to complete a task that is achieved by only 25% of people who set out to do it. I guess I should feel special, but I really don't. I've just spent 4.5 months walking, no big deal. 

So I have 7 more days to walk in the woods. The enjoy the simple life and avoid adult responsibilities. To take time to admire the natural beauty of the world we live in. And most importantly to cherish my time with Roxy and focus on just being happy.