Epilogue: Life After the Trail

After we reached the top of Mt. Katahdin we spent some time up there. Soon, other thruhikers climbed to the top and we snapped triumphant photos of each other with the northern terminus sign. We were the first to disembark and make the long journey back down the way we came up. We passed by a handful of other thruhikers and hundreds of dayhikers struggling up the mountain. When we finally reached the bottom we had to wait some time in the parking lot until a young, athletic man came bouncing down the Trail. We had passed him on our way back down. Nepsis backed him in a corner by asking if he was going to the town everyone had to pass through to get out of the wilderness, Millinocket. He said “yes” so she asked him if he could take us there. He hesitated and probably didn’t really want to, but felt he couldn’t just say no. He wasn’t much of a talker, which was fine as he drove us further and further from the wilderness and into civilization. In the small town we found dinner and a hotel to stay in as we waited for my parents to arrive that evening. The next morning they whisked us off into a whirlwind of activities as we took a two-day journey to a wedding in Maryland and back to Michigan.

We didn’t feel the effects of not being on the Trail at first. It felt real nice to eat food, drink beer, watch TV, and not spend all day walking with a backpack full of supplies. However, the sedentary and languorous life is only appealing so long. We spent a few weeks doing nothing while we lived with Nepsis’ parents before beginning an online course to get a Teaching English as a Second Language certification and I went to work with Nepsis’ brother sometimes, painting and landscaping. Less than a month after finishing the Trail we made a hiking trip to the uninhabited wilderness island of North Manitou. It was great to be in the fresh air again and not have to deal with the annoying inconveniences caused by a life dependent on things like a vehicle and the Internet. I’m afraid we have become out of shape again. It is a lot more difficult to go out to walk or run when there isn’t an actual destination we are trying to reach. Sometimes I get a strong longing for the simple life the Trail offered. However, I do know there are many adventures ahead of us in life and it is exciting to think of the new life that is soon ahead of us, whether it is teaching English in Asia or beginning grad school. I think the transition back home would be a lot more difficult for us if we were thrust back into a life we had before, in the same city at the same job, as I suspect most thruhikers have to face.

I will write a few more blog posts relating to the Appalachian Trail, such as one about whether or not the reasons I wanted to hike were fulfilled, one analyzing some of the data about how fast we hiked the Trail, and a final gear review.