[at-l] Lurker emerges from the shadows

[mjenks at christiancentury.org (Melissa Jenks)]

        Hi all,

I'm a prospective 04 thru-hiker who's been lurking for several months now,
gleaning information from this wonderful list, and learning a great deal
(maybe more than I needed to know) about global warming, libertarianism, and
Native American tribal rights, as well as hypothermia, gear, and the art of
insect repelling.  But I finally decided it was time to emerge from the
shadows, so hi!

I've been reading a ton of trail narratives, backpacking books, ultra-light
websites, and, of course, mailing lists, and I'm feeling fairly
well-prepared, but there's one topic I've never quite seen covered
adequately and that I'm stressing about more than any other.  Does anyone
have any advice for *after* a thru-hike?  I'm well-aware of my odds of
finishing, but I'm also committed to draping my body over that
much-photographed marker at the top of Katahdin, and I want to be as
prepared for what comes after as I am for my hike.  And I was disheartened
to read that so many people here feel worse off, at least physically, a year
after they started their thru-hike.

So.  Has anyone dealt with the post thru-hike blues in a way that they felt
was constructive?  What about the havoc something like a thru-hike wreaks on
your metabolic system?  And appetite, for that matter?  I ran my first
marathon in October and had a similar letdown and physical breakdown of
sorts after that, and I want to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Maybe this is an unnecessarily complex first post, but I've been mulling
this over for months now, and March is looming ever closer.  And on a
happier note, I can't wait to meet some of you, on the trail or whenever!

Melissa