National Slam A Dew Day, And The Peculiar Nature Of The Desert.

National Slam A Dew Day, And The Peculiar Nature Of The Desert. It’s been 4 days since I have returned to Chicago, and the reality of being done with a 2,668 mile hike from Mexico to Canada is starting to sink in a bit. The adjustment phase that comes with returning back to society is all in its own a huge part of the overall journey itself. I understand that now. This came as a surprise to me, as I thought that the people warning me of a difficult return were surely just being sensitive.

I think I now understand what they meant by those warnings as I try and began my life all over again. It seems this trip changed my perspective a bit, and everywhere I look I see excessive amounts of waste, and trivial pursuits to obtain said waste. Not that I have much room to talk as I stand in line to purchases two Mountain Dews. The overwhelming joy of being able to simply “Slam A Dew” was a momentous experience. Now I can stand in line whenever I want to obtain a Dew, and it has somewhat diminished the excitement that used to come with it.

At one point we actually developed a “National Slam a Dew Day” to show our appreciation for Mountain Dew and its sugary goodness. Something as simple as a sugary soda meant the world to us, and it was that appreciation for the simple things in life that became clear, as well as the understanding of the amount of work that had to be given in order to obtain those things. I will miss those endless pursuits of happiness, and I will miss the people that I was so lucky enough to build those memories and experiences with.

I day dream pretty regularly, and often catch myself back on the trail, and as I play back some of the memories in my head, I have a hard time distinguishing dream from reality. One afternoon while crossing the desert, we got snowed on a couple of times, and every time our state of confusion would grow, and not be sure if it was sweat accumulating on our arms or water from the melting snow. All you could do is accept it for what it was and hike on. Acceptance would later become one of the larger lessons that the trail would teach to us by the end.