the summit photo

I'm in the process of developing quite a few disposable cameras from my thru-hike. Matt, though, has posted one hundred AT photos.

Seeing those pictures and Grant's from Yosemite and other recent hikes, I felt tonight a sudden, strong pang of longing for the mountains again. I guess I'm feeling a bit trapped in suburbia, by the roads full of cars, by four walls, by communication and staying up at night. Things are happening at a fast pace around me, and I'm being pulled along. I'm feeling a little helpless, a little less certain that I'll be able to hold my own and not get lost. The task of finding a job is more real now, and thus, much more daunting.

It's so much easier to think back longingly to the trail, but Grant would say that's only escapism. He's probably right, too. I wish I would recapture some of the confidence (or is security a better word?) I had back then, though. Every day was an adventure on the trail, but I also woke up knowing what I'd do every day (I'd hike), and I knew it was leading me somewhere (Springer Mountain). Do I know those things now?