r/JMT • u/hurricanescout thru-hiker • Sep 09 '26

trip report Missing the trail

I’ve been back for 3 weeks now. And all I can say is I miss it so much. Is it just me? I just miss it so. Damn. Much. I would go back tomorrow if I could.

25 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

19

u/Pat-Solo Sep 09 '26

It’s been 6 years and I still miss it. That hike convinced me to change careers. I went from having a desk job editing video content to working as a postman. Now I’m outside everyday, walking and chatting with strangers. It’s not trail life, but it does fill that void of being in my feet and moving everyday.

4

u/RonnieWojo Sep 11 '26

I am a mailman as well. Just finished NOBO. My co workers always joked thst I walk for a living but choose to walk even harder on my vacations. 

4

u/Healthy-Lifeguard-91 Sep 13 '26

Met you at VVR. Pat And Matt just summited Whitney yesterday🤓

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Pat-Solo Sep 16 '26

I love backpacking! The folks at my station think I’m crazy. We just did the Mineral King Loop a month ago. Last year we hiked the West Highland Way in Scotland. I want to take a stab at the PCT or CDT. May have to wait when I retire for those two.

3

u/upagainstgravity Sep 09 '26

I've only been back for four days and I want to go back 😓

3

u/filosofiser1002 Sep 10 '26

I'm feeling the same way after being back for 1 month. I miss the simplicity. Here's what I miss. Lack of decisions needing to be made. Walking for multiple hours every day. Meeting random people for 30-second or 20-minute chats. The views. The solitude. Jumping in the water. Not needing to be on my phone or even having a desire to be on it. It was a spiritual experience that I miss every day. It totally has me re-evaluating life. Not gonna make a career change like the person above, though I love what you did, but evaluating how I live to find ways to integrate elements that made the trek so magical.

3

u/mehatch Sep 12 '26

We finished in late July this year and i still kinda feel like that was the real life. So glad i did it.

2

u/Specific_Gas4322 Sep 10 '26

I missed it the first time I did it. After hiking it several times I’m completely over it.

2

u/ljustina Sep 10 '26

It's been a little over a year for me, and I still miss it, but the sharpness of it has dulled some. I plan to do it again, at least sections, so that helps a little, but I actually still have a hard time looking at my pictures. It is a loss as well as a gain imo.

1

u/Longdistancehaul Sep 10 '26

What are the things you miss the most? The simplicity of trail life, the views, the activity? I know what I love about it but curious as to what others would say.

1

u/Cucarachaah Sep 14 '26

After I got back from a three month walk I dreamed I was on the trail almost every night for weeks.