What I Learned on the Appalachian Trail
The most common question I've received since returning from hiking 1,400 miles on the AT is "do you feel different...did the trail change you?" And the answer is... YES!!
I learned a lot about myself, about my boyfriend (uh, hello... four months living in a tent with someone will do that) and even about my dog. We had epic highs and serious lows. We had triumphs and crushing defeats. You get the idea. We were at the mercy of so many elements that were out of our control and it basically came down to us to determine our own level of happiness. And it's much harder than I ever realized it would be.
In my non-trail life, I am generally a very happy person. I'm nice to most people and I'm pretty grateful for every day that I get a chance to be in this crazy world. But on the trail, I was pushed to my limits constantly. Physically I was able to handle the challenges, but mentally...woo boy. It was hard sometimes to stay positive and happy on the trail.
Then we got off the trail and moved back to my hometown, Chicago. I love this town and the people who live here, but it took me awhile to snap back to my happy self again. I did a lot of self-reflection and finally could see my hiking experience with a clarity that I just didn't have when I was immersed in it on a daily basis.
So, I wrote down the lessons I learned in hopes that I would carry them forward into my post-trail life. They're just guidelines for myself to help me take the best of the trail life into my non-trail life and continue being the happy, grateful person that I strive to be.
So that's it! The lessons I learned from the AT. How it changed me and how I hope to continue this Trail Life into my daily life. The last three are the heart and soul of this blog going forward. I will be sharing my recipes, workouts, reviews and DIY projects. I hope you follow along and share your experiences too!
~Jill
I learned a lot about myself, about my boyfriend (uh, hello... four months living in a tent with someone will do that) and even about my dog. We had epic highs and serious lows. We had triumphs and crushing defeats. You get the idea. We were at the mercy of so many elements that were out of our control and it basically came down to us to determine our own level of happiness. And it's much harder than I ever realized it would be.
In my non-trail life, I am generally a very happy person. I'm nice to most people and I'm pretty grateful for every day that I get a chance to be in this crazy world. But on the trail, I was pushed to my limits constantly. Physically I was able to handle the challenges, but mentally...woo boy. It was hard sometimes to stay positive and happy on the trail.
Then we got off the trail and moved back to my hometown, Chicago. I love this town and the people who live here, but it took me awhile to snap back to my happy self again. I did a lot of self-reflection and finally could see my hiking experience with a clarity that I just didn't have when I was immersed in it on a daily basis.
So, I wrote down the lessons I learned in hopes that I would carry them forward into my post-trail life. They're just guidelines for myself to help me take the best of the trail life into my non-trail life and continue being the happy, grateful person that I strive to be.
- I have amazing friends and family. I always knew it. The hike only confirmed it. Read this post if you want to feel inspired, but know that it will make you want to run to your loved ones and give them a hug of gratitude. :-)
- My mood affects other people. It's okay to take time for yourself or to have a bad day, but you need to be conscious of how it impacts others around you. If you are tanking someone's day with your sour mood either go somewhere else or seek out their advice/comfort. Engage or leave. Don't just linger in their space being mopey or mad while they try to live out their day.
- A healthy diet is crucial. I am a pretty healthy chick. I've been a vegetarian since the beginning and I follow all of the basic rules for good health and then some. But on the trail we ate junk all of the time. We were burning 4000-6000 calories a day and housing anything we could get our hands on. But we had no jobs and had to carry our food so we bought the cheapest, lightest food possible. Which meant it was the processed junk I had never even considered eating before. It pretty much made me feel like crap even though I was exercising like a fiend and breathing fresh, mountain air daily. The trail confirmed what I already knew - what you eat is pretty damn important.
- My fitness needs to be more holistic. No one can argue that I wasn't fit this summer. I was in fantastic shape and my endurance was ridiculous. I was climbing mountains 8 hours a day. But when I got home I realized just how narrow my fitness really was. My arms were weak, my flexibility was shot and my core lacked strength. It's not enough for me to just churn out one type of exercise. I need to change it up and focus on keeping my whole body fit to truly feel good.
- I love building something from (next to) nothing. On the trail you are trying to carry as little as possible so you are often trying to build things from what you have in nature or find items that might have a dual purpose, to eliminate one thing from your pack weight. Now that I'm home again, I've found that I still love this. I like to have least amount of "stuff" to still make a situation work and I've become somewhat of a DIY junkie. I blame Pinterest and the fact that we watched a lot of HGTV in motels on the trail.
So that's it! The lessons I learned from the AT. How it changed me and how I hope to continue this Trail Life into my daily life. The last three are the heart and soul of this blog going forward. I will be sharing my recipes, workouts, reviews and DIY projects. I hope you follow along and share your experiences too!
~Jill
