[at-l] Normal Recovery Time, Generally Speaking

[janl2 at mindspring.com (Jan Leitschuh)]

> To all you long distance hikers out there, I'm wondering how long it 
> took for your body to recover from the pounding you gave it on your 
> hike.  A month has passed since I finished my thruhike, and though my 
> knees continue to recover and strengthen, I find I still can't negotiate 
> stairs at a normal walking pace.  Jogging is still prohibitive, too.  
> Remarks, anyone? 
> Hop

Hi Hoplite,

Once again, congratulations on your full thru. What you did is 
immense, and the full import may not really sink in fully for several 
months, maybe longer.

For me now, though, when an obstacle is encountered, there is a new 
thing, an inner resilience, a new unwilling to take naysayers at face 
value: "Well, I hiked the entire AT, how bad can THIS be?"

I have several comments on the after effects, and not all of them 
pertain to the physical.

Re: the body, that process varies with everybody, and is somewhat 
dependent on starting health, age, nutrition, different conditions and 
injuries.
You're younger than me by a year or two (...cough), but I can tell you 
it took me until well past January for my feet and hips to stop 
hurting constantly. My knees healed a bit more quickly, say three 
months. I was jogging again come January, albeit lightly. My heels 
took the longest to return to normalcy.

I found light exercise and continuing to stretch were very important 
in the healing process.

Also eating right. There was a fantastic article in the last (?) ATN 
News about post-hike nutrition and diet, which is the same program of 
healthy eating I adhered to.

Also, for my mental health, I found I was VERY restless over the 
winter, and yet I had work to kick-start. I found short trips for 
river-kayak overnights or weekend backpacks or even the morning jog 
did much to restore equilibrium. So do stints of simple 
breath-watching meditation to calm a mind that is winding up again in 
the face of so much stimulus - after all, you just went on a six-month 
mental fast, and now here you are again - back in the 
phone-ringing/road rage/alarm clock/advertising/ TV/radio/media circus.

Don't be surprised if you feel a little lost at first upon returning 
home. As my friend Notes likes to say, "There are no maps and white 
blazes back in the working world."

It is worthwhile to chronicle these changes and perceptions for those 
who come after you.

Best of luck now in reentry - where the really interesting choices are 
made.

Jan LiteShoe
LT '02
AT '03


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