Did I Really Do That?

It’s been a week since I ended my SOBO PCT thru-hike.

I made it to Mexico! I touched the terminus. I walked from Canada!


It’s surreal.  I remember my last night on trail, in my tent crying. Last time I would have to deal with binder clips holding my tent doors together. Last time I would have to inflate one of my sleeping pads. Last time I would eat a tuna packet pretending it was a filet.

Yet, I was crying. It was sad to me that the next day I would be done, and now here I am, a week out, and I still can’t believe I am done.

Did I really just do that?

For all the complaining and hating on some of the circumstances of trail life, I find I miss its simplicity. I miss walking, though my back and muscles are still telling me that I still need a break! I miss the feeling of self-sufficiency that comes from a backpacking trip.

Yup; I MUST go back.

I will, too.  I plan to do the 600 miles of Northern California this coming summer; I already have the reminder on my phone to apply for the permit 1/11.

I’ve been home a week, and it has been a whirlwind.  Parties, dinners, friends, jeans.

I’m still not in my apartment.  It is being subletted until the 23rd.  I’m staying with friends, living out of a suitcase, but I’m used to wearing only one outfit.

Yet, real life is not that simple…  I did start to go through the boxes of my stuff and it all reminds me of a life that no longer exists, of a person that no longer exists.

Quite literally, I started chucking items, clothes especially (they don’t fit anymore anyway).  I’m gonna start fresh.  Me and Poshmark/FB Marketplace are going to be best friends in the coming weeks.

A whole new look; a whole new Janine; a reimagined life.

That’s the thing about a thru-hike, and especially completing it, it WILL change you. If you’re ready to receive them, a long distance trail will teach you vital messages about life, your needs, the people in your life, and who will get to stick around.

I still can’t believe I did it!

 

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