Stress Level Rises, and It’s Only the Beginning

I’m listening to the Talking Heads, and their synthesizing beat makes it sound like everything will be OK. Then my thoughts begin to spiral about everything that’s on my to-do list.  Why am I stressed, knowing I just quit my job and won’t be working for six months?

Oh, that’s right! I committed to hiking 2,650 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.

I live on the East Coast, in Brooklyn, NY. Where swarms of people surround me every day and the highest elevation I’ve ever reached is 99 feet at ground level. I just quit my job, but am having a hard time getting my CEO to understand the concept of thru-hiking. I will be moving out of my apartment in three days so I don’t have to pay rent in April through the end of my lease. I’m saying farewell to people who I know won’t be around for the next three weeks. Half of my gear is in my backpack and half is at my parent’s house two and a half hours outside the city. Some of my gear is still in transit on its way to a third location: my brother’s, where I’ll be living for the next two weeks. My mind is a logistical nightmare.

Soon enough all of the stress of figuring out this thru-hike will be over when I’m dropped off at the Southern Terminus in Campo, CA. With my friend Morgan by my side we’ll start walking to see what the journey brings us. Good or bad.

Does anyone else experience the stresses of picking up and leaving? Is it just me because it’s making me feel left out and it’s only the beginning?