I started to fear my post-PCT adjustment about one month before completion. Ironically, I was also facing some resistance to hiking, particularly in the morning. I have been off the trail one week and decided to open the next chapter of my journey – returning home.
I coined the term Post Trail Adjustment Disorder (PTAD) to describe my transition experiences. The Mayo Clinic describes adjustment disorders as “conditions resulting in more stress than would normally be expected in response to a stressful or unexpected event, and the stress causes significant problems in your relationships, at work or school.” There is little written on this topic for thru-hikers, and what I found is labeled post-trail depression, which presumes that the only response to this transition is depression. One thing is for sure; the experience changes all thru-hikers. Understanding how to harness those changes for the better is not at all apparent.
I talked to 10+ hikers that had previously completed one or more multi-month thru-hikes. They shared stories of being disoriented for up to three months and not seamlessly returning to the flow of “normal” life. The disruption seemed to be more pronounced if they had quit their job before the hike or left their previous residence and needed to start afresh upon their return. Some were using the trail as a means for reflection or navigating a significant life change. For others, hiking the trail at this time was opportunistic such as after completing a degree. Universally, hikers did not want to lose their physical capacity or gain unwanted weight, which is common after our caloric needs plummet.
Curiosity
Of all the virtues
I find one opens all doors,
curiosity.
Ribs
The most powerful tool I have to navigate uncertainty is curiosity. Simply shifting an experience from a reaction to a question changes my ability to learn and adjust rapidly. Below is my approach to navigating this transition, and I plan to journal daily and then post what I learned and what worked in a month.
Finding Meaning
Even after one week, the richness and depth of my experience are starting to fade. It would be easy to dismiss my journey as a passing phase, a vacation, or perhaps a selfish attempt to be young again. I will explore several questions to find meaning in my hiking and transition experience.
- How did the hiking experience change how I perceive and engage the world around me?
- What aspects of those changes do I intend to bring into my daily life, and what practices are most effective?
- Connect with people that want to discuss my experience to internalize my insights and learn from their perspectives.
- Bring these experiences back into the present through walking and seated meditation.
- Observe what situations in my daily life are most disruptive to these desired states.
- Experiment with on-the-go practices to bring me back to my desired state when disrupted.
Exerting my Body
One thing I learned is that my body likes to be used to its fullest capacity. Exerting my body brings me joy and creates an ongoing connection at a cellular level.
- What physical activities bring me joy and build on my new capacity?
- What practices bring exerting my body into my daily life?
- Experiment with new ways to exert my body to build new capabilities such as strength and flexibility.
- Develop a weekly plan to integrate these practices into my daily life.
- Experiment with on-the-go body scan practices to keep my body engaged during the day.
Changing Habits
I am a creature of habit; we all are. Habits are not bad. They are essential to efficiently move through a complex world, like putting my keys and wallet in the same place when I come into the house. That said, habits often outlive their original purpose and become unexamined behavioral traps. Returning from four months on the trail is the perfect time to examine and change habits that no longer serve. For example, I drank one cup of coffee per day during my hike, and I immediately reverted to my 5+ cups upon my return.
- Which of my newly developed habits from the trail would serve me in my daily life?
- What old habits are returning, and which do I wish to end or change during the transition?
- Recreate my trail routine for one week to remember and examine the habits I created to hike for 12 hours a day safely.
- Identify trail habits that I can integrate into my daily life.
- Observe and journal my old habits as I return to daily life.
- Identify those I wish to end or change and a specific approach to do so for each one.
3 replies on “Post Trail Adjustment Disorder”
So systematic and thorough. Let’s connect to discuss your experience 👍🏻
Yes, I would really appreciate spending time together and hearing your insights.
“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” — Dorthy Parker