“Alone in the Wilderness” Around mile 500 of my hike I started to really feel the inner personal changes and struggles that the trail would present to me along the way.

“Alone in the Wilderness” Around mile 500 of my hike I started to really feel the inner personal changes and struggles that the trail would present to me along the way. Like most hikers I started to debate if this was a goal I intended to see to the end. One of those pinnacle moments in any thru-hikers journey. Made for an important moment in my year overall, as I continued north toward the Sierra Mountains. Below is what I wrote and how I felt in this moment.

“I never saw myself in this type of predicament when I was young and dreaming of all the places I would go and see in my life. Now that I am here, I often ask myself are you happy that this is where you ended up? Are you happy to be dirty every second of every day? Are you happy to be constantly hungry and dreaming of foods you can’t possibly have at the moment? Are you happy to be sweating every day, and smelling even worse?

Are you happy to be hiking 20+ miles every day of your life, and will you be happy with the man you became at the end of your 2,600 mile journey? Most importantly, are you happy being out here all alone in the wilderness? The answer to all these questions is a simple, Yes. Now that I am here in this moment and living it, I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else in the world. This is my home now. Out here, all alone in the wilderness.” (6/?)