Wanderlust and how to cure it

“3…2…1… Happy New Year! Happy 2025!”

The new year started for me as most years did since I can remember. We were spending time together with my dad, brother and sister-in-law in a ski resort in Austria. Slurping hot chocolates in rustic log cabins. Riding the familiar slopes in the warm blissful sunshine that is warming up the crispy cold winter air.

Never a bad time to spend the 12 days of Christmas in the snow!

It is always nice to start the new year with a well-known ritual but the rest of this year is surely going to be a completely new experience for me.

The Contagion

First of all: I have been fantasizing about hiking the Camino de Santiago a lot back when I was in college. I never did it..

In early 2024 I was reading Thoreau’s well-known classic “Walden” recommended by my old childhood friend and now forestry scientist Josef. Later that year I read Bill Bryson’s popular book “A Walk in the Woods” recommended by Paul, my job supervisor at Irish Rail at the time. For my 29th birthday my beloved brother sent me a copy of “Appalachian Trials” by Zach Davis.

After consuming all of this literature it was just a matter of time until the rather silly idea of going on a long distance hiking trail would start to pop up in my mind again.

I’d catch myself eyeballing the extent of the Appalachian mountain range represented on a world map in our living room on a daily basis.

No matter what I did. It wouldn’t get out of my mind this time.

Once again in my life. Wanderlust struck me hard..

The Cure

I ain’t no doctor but if you ask me what is the best way to cure wanderlust?

Take a leap of faith and give things a go! Life is short. If you feel you get a calling in your life and it will not fade away over weeks, months or even years, absolutely go for it!

I have dealt with my wanderlust this way when I finished high school back in 2014. In my final year the idea of a year of work & travel in New Zealand popped into my head and off I went. I did the same when I got the chance to complete a 6-month internship in the USA back in 2017. In some ways I am blaming my wanderlust for being a major reason why I moved to Ireland after graduating college in Germany back in 2021.

I never regretted any of these moves.

All of these adventurous endeavours were absolutely phenomenal experiences. They taught me more about life than numerous years of sitting in different sorts of class rooms ever could. Completely detached from all the beauties that this earth has to offer I have always longed for more.

More adventure. More nature. More experiences that feel “real”.

The “Experiment”

Since my childhood I have always fantasized about taking my backpack and just heading out into nature. Survive with only the bare necessities at hand. See if and what I could learn from it. I think every generation has its poison. Our poison is clearly not in the lack of things. I deeply believe that the abundance of unnecessary material possessions combined with easy access to digital content (a.k.a. doom scrolling) these days are distracting us from this world’s biggest gifts.

The joy of simply being present and to feel truly connected to the world around us. To enlighten the beauty within us (the soul) and all around us (the world). A connection as old as human life on this planet.

Our daily hectic lives where most of the time our focus is just a notification on our smartphones away. It seems to have drastically impacted our attention span. I would like to try in a self-experiment if less is more after all.

So in what ways could a long-ass hiking trip possibly help me to restore and amplify my truest soul as well as the beauties of this world?

Minimal distractions due to the lack of possessions and media. Maximum state of presence due to abundance of nature and free time to think and reflect.

I want to be a part of this self-experiment. I am going to give it a try.

The question: “If I were to retire today, what would I be doing right now?” further approved my thoughts that perhaps not every life goal should be delayed into retirement.

I am fit, motivated and healthy now. Appalachian Trail here I come!

Preparing for a “Thru-Hike”

2025 marks  the 100th birthday of the Appalachian Trail. A continuous long distance hiking trail stretching over 2200 miles (3500 km!) preserving the last remaining wilderness of the East Coast of the continental United States. The Appalachian Mountains.

A “thru-hike” means completing the 2200 miles of the trail from Georgia to Maine within a calendar year.

Most thru-hikers need around five to seven months to complete the trail.

Over the last couple of months I prepared my thru-hiking kit, organised flights, accommodation, lift to the trailhead from Atlanta as well as a 6-months US holiday visa.

Just the preparations for the trail have already created some memorable experiences without even setting a foot on the trail yet!

Those who happen to know my current job will understand the hassle it was for me to be physically present for a visa interview in the Dublin US embassy on a workday between 9.00 to 11.30 a.m. … No easy time for a nightshifter like me..

On a cold Friday morning, the 22nd of November 2024, I completed my first unofficial mile of the Appalachian Trail. I walked from my office in Dublin city center to the US embassy 15 minutes down the road.

My nightshift ended at 4 a.m. on this day so I decided to nap in my work van instead of commuting home after work. It simply seemed more practical napping in the car waking up close to the embassy and avoiding the Dublin city traffic in the morning.

I guess preparing for a special venture takes special actions such as these..

The Blog

Keeping a hand-written journal and starting a blog sharing experiences I will make along the trail will help me to reflect a lot. It makes me happy. Somehow it makes me feel alive more. Watching my friend Lee mindfully keeping a journal inspired me to hold a pen again too.

If you have read my blog this far it seems you might like to hear this. I will try to keep you updated here about this upcoming lifetime adventure. A monthly blogpost is my minimal goal but surely time will tell how frequently I will come to blog.

My first official miles on the AT are (hopefully) going to be walked in less than a month from now.

So long. Happy hiking and warm greetings from a not so warm Dublin.