"The real world"
It's now been four months since I stood on the summit of Mount Katahdin. Four long months.
It has not been easy adjusting to life back in the "real world." Everything is about moving as fast as you can. Why walk to work when you can drive? Why walk to the car when you can run? Why take the stairs when you can use the elevator?
It has not been easy adjusting life back in the "real world." Life is a lot more hectic here. Between school, applying for college, two college courses at my local university, a private swim club and my high school team, I don't have time for, well, nothing. If I'm doing nothing, chances are there's homework to be done, applications to be completed, college papers to write, or time to think about how I'm going to shave another second off my 50 yard freestyle.
It has not been easy adjusting life back in the "real world." My sense of distance has forever changed. It used to be that walking to/from school was a waste of time, now it's something I look forward to doing from time to time. It seems it's the only time when I can let my thoughts run free and rationalize everything going through my head. It used to be that 20 miles was nothing in the grand scheme of the world, but now it's a daunting distance. 20 miles was a full day on the trail. In a car it takes all of 15 minutes.
I am constantly reminded of the trail. I was recently on an orienteering trip my my outdoor leadership class. For the trip, we went to a LL Bean course in Freeport. All of the orienteering was done on established trails, marked with different colored blazes for different trails. One of the trail was marked with white blazes. Suddenly, everything came rushing through me, many memories unfolded within my head.
If you ever see me sitting in a room staring at a distant point for no apparent reason, chances are good that I'm thinking about the trail. I don't do it purposefully, it's second nature at this point.
Just as the trail was starting to fade away from me, I received my 2,000 miler patch and certificate in the mail. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was. There's something about that patch that, on some level, confirmed what I had known to be true: I actually did walk the Appalachian Trail.
I don't for-see myself being able to move on anytime soon, either, not that I'm trying to. Everyday when I walk into school, I see a poster of the entire trail hanging in my school, forever reminding me of the trail.
The most frequent question I receive is, "How was it, Kirby?"
How was it? I try with all my might to find a one word answer, what they most likely are looking for, but it's not easy. I most frequently reply "good", but that does not even begin to scratch the surface. It was amazing, it was torture. It was easy, and the hardest thing I've ever done. It was steep and flat, rocky and smooth. I had some absolutely amazing moments out there, and I had ones I hope to never remember. I met some amazing people, and I also met people whom I never wish to see again. I laughed, I cried. I walked, and I ran, I jumped and I stumbled. I lost things, and I found most of them as well. I remain the same, and I've changed.
I though-hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Ga>ME 2008.
