Re: Re[2]: [at-l] seven years ago today...

["Paul Miller" <jeanpaul@iname.com>]

7 years ago i was just entering high school and a series of bad things would
happen to me and family that year which cause me to fall into a deep
depression which i came out of a a bit over year later. At which time i
started thinking about life more. eventaully, 4 years later through some
hard thoughts on my life and what i was to do with it i came upon my current
plan. the plan was simpily "i needed to do something".  i attempted many
things during the next 2 years but foudn i did not like them.  i was in 1996
i found out about the Trail.  i avoided thought of the Trail until my 20th
birthday. which through an interesting conversation with some family and
friends i decided to pick up backpacking and section hike the trail.  i went
out the next week and bought some gear that i coudl not jerry-rig and take
the rest from my car camping equip.  i set out the next weekend with a 60-70
pound pack.  i did 14+ miles due to uninformed map reading on myside and
lack of a place to sleep i keep on walking.  it was aroudn 105 degrees F
that day.  and i found i truely hated hiking.<if anyone want me to further
explain i will try to remember more>  then i healed from the punishment i
put my unfit unheathly body  through and found i love hiking i hate carring
to much wieght in to much heat with to little water.  so the plan took a
turn for the worse in my parents eyes as i decide to hike the Trail in one
conntinous trip in 2001.  which got moved to 2000 due to extra funds i was
able to earn working and a need to finally complete something driving me
insane.

the depression  was on retrospect one of the key defineing years in my life
so far.  I if the depression  had not happened i would have never become the
person i am today. i changed a lot the years following the depression i
think i put many things in perspective.  if i enjoy the Trail enough(err..
at all) i will partake on the other two trails which as i hike more and more
i think will happen(but i have only done one week long continuous hike so
far and i am not sure if i will like 6 months.  so seven years ago i finally
stopped spinining and started walking in a direction in my life.  if it is
the "right" direction i am not sure yet but time will tell.

so i hope you can all suffer from depression and grow from the experience :)
<j/k>

next step one month solid hiking this summer and maybe a trip to colorado to
do some summiting


BotleNeck

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