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Thru-Hikeritis is REAL
Ahh, the final week before my thru-hike. I’ve felt “senioritis” before, during the end of my senior year of high school back in 2019. This is my first experience with what I’ve dubbed (or as it has probably already been dubbed) “thru-hikeritis”.
T-1 Month
One month out I started to feel a certain giddiness about leaving. I was excited and showed it like a normal adult would, by jumping up and down and doing little happy dances! I started getting more nervous as well. I’m awful about forgetting things, so I was quadruple checking that I had everything I needed. The only things I didn’t have were a massage ball for my feet and biodegradable soap, which is a necessity to ward off the norovirus. I posted YouTube videos about my preparations and stopped taking any time with friends and family for granted.
T-2 weeks
THIS was when the thru-hikeritis really set in for me. I stressed at work because I overthought everything, which put me basically on autopilot my last 1.5 weeks there. My job is something I am passionate about but working with kids is physically, emotionally, and mentally draining at times, and it’s easy to go into autopilot when you aren’t in the right headspace. I actually ended up asking my boss if I could leave two days earlier than originally planned because I wasn’t able to focus and I knew I wouldn’t be able to give 100% at work, which is what the kids deserve. Luckily, I have wonderful coworkers and bosses, so I was able to take off those last two days.
T-1 week
It’s starting to feel real, but still not quite as much as I expected. I assume it’ll feel real when I get there, or maybe during my drive to Amicalola Falls, or maybe during my going away party. Who knows! I’m super excited. I’m super nervous. I’m sad, knowing that I’ll miss my boyfriend, my dogs, my family, and my friends. I’m happy, knowing that I’m pursuing my dreams. I’m scared, not knowing what’s to come day after day, other than putting one foot in front of the other.
Alas, one foot in front of the other (over and over and over again) is how I’ll get to Maine, so I suppose it isn’t too bad of a plan.
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