Tuesday 21 December 2010

Back home.

Nearly 4 weeks since I've been back in England. I still sleep with my head torch by the bed, I'm way too hot in the house and have to open the windows, even in this weather. I still wake up and for a brief moment think I have to walk 25 miles and feel strange when I'm not wearing my trail gear.

On the plus side, it's great not to be cold for 7 days at a time. I love sleeping and not being restricted in a sleeping bag, I can have a coffee pretty much whenever I want and I don't have to filter my water.

The transition back to 'normal' life has gone relatively smoothly. I don't appear to be suffering from the normal post travel depression which dogs me when I usually return from a travel adventure. However, I do miss the trail. Just being out there in the wild, miles from anywhere, even from a road has left a mark on me. You rise on the trail when it feels right, crawl out of the tent, put some water on the boil and then sit down with a bowl of porridge. No intrusive sounds apart from those that nature intended. No car horns, no radios, no mobile phones. Only bird song, wind and maybe a gentle tinkle of nearby water. I was detached on the trail. Detached from the life that I had grown up with. Detachment is a good thing, it imparts a wisdom, an addictive yearning to learn more about the great outdoors. Leaving my hum drum life behind was easy. OK, sometimes I yearned to be back in civilisation but in the main, I relished being lucky enough to have witnessed the wilderness at it's best.

I am more patient now. Few things are worth becoming stressed over and after a trip of this kind you realise that most situations in life are not as bad as they appear. Spending time outside nurtures you, it grabs you and lures you in to this peaceful, serene environment that just feels completely natural. People talk about the mechanics and logistics of the PCT and there are many but once you are out there, they are all worth it.

So, what now? I'm back doing my decorating work which I enjoy, but I day dream whilst I hold my brush. I think about the next walk, and there will be one. All the national trails in Great Britain in one attempt? A walk around the coast of Great Britain - maybe. Or how about the 3200 miles that make up a classic European E1 hike from Italy to Norway (or the other way if you're so inclined). There are also numerous other LDP's in Europe I am eyeing up, with a possible start date of 2012. America has been great but people think all the best LDP's are over there. The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, The Continental Divide are all amazing adventures but there is a train of thought that if anyone wants to be a 'great' long distance hiker then they must first walk the AT, then the PCT, then the CDT. Become a triple crowner we are told and you will have made it.

This is not the case. As great as those walks are, and they are great, don't fall into the trap. Come to Europe and we can show you adventures rivalling and surpassing the USA treks. This isn't a competition, it's not about whose got the greatest trails, it's an education. Think about the Himalayas, the Far East, Scotland. Each has it's own unique perspective and ideas about long distance walking, and each should be experienced.

I have started writing my book on my adventure on the PCT. Hopefully it will ready by the Spring. It's a lot of work, much more than the Journey in Between. However, I love my writing, putting down on paper what I have been through during the last 7 months is a creative experience and my fulfillment comes from sharing it with the people that will read it. Photos? Great. Video? Amazing. But there is something about reading a persons adventure in text and imagining, picturing those events that make text truly unique.

If anyone would like to be included on the mailing list for when The Last Englishmen is ready, please send me an email: fozzieman@yahoo.com

I will also be starting a new blog on my adventures next year, whether it be a week in Scotland, a day up on the South Downs, or a long weekend in France. I'll post the address on here when it is up and running.

Once again, thanks to everyone who took the time to post messages to me. I can't reply to some of them because there is no reply email.

I hope my journey has inspired some of you to go and chase a dream. There is far more to life than work, getting a mortgage and having kids. Go on, buck the trend.

Good luck.

Fozzie

3 comments:

  1. looking forward to the book!

    have a great holiday Fozzie

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  2. It is a great thing you have done. I am in the process of packing now for the trip on the AT in March 2011. You can of course visit my blog if you so choose. What would be awesome is if you could somehow respond in a brief message about bears. I am doing the AT, and next probably the PCT. I am not afraid of bears and recently had my first face to face in Big Bend National Park, hiking the Chisos Mountain range over Thanksgiving holiday. But how would you sum up your encounters with bears specifically, on the PCT? AT bears I am not worried about. They are just curious. Again I am not scared, but I would love to know that if that was my only fear... that I should shutter it, follow the bear rules, and hike right on. If not for me, for my wife's sake. She is faithfully by my side as my best friend. And setting her at peace with it is my intent.

    Thanks,
    Wallace
    http://hikebikedale.blogspot.com

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  3. We hiked in the Scottish Highlands last summer, with a brief walk along Hadrian's Wall and a visit to Wales as well. There is great trekking nearby no matter where you live. But something new and far away is a great adventure. (The PCT is near to us, but we do most of our hiking at Mt. Rainier. I need to come back to read of your whole adventure to see what portions of the PCT you followed.)

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