Today’s post is a continuation of the “Lessons From the Trail” series.  Reflections from my time on the Appalachian Trail…

All these years later, I vividly remember the section of the Appalachian Trail in southern Maine.  I had just finished slack-packing for several days through the White Mountains of New Hampshire and strapped on my full pack in southern Maine.  After days of hiking through the mountains without a pack I was barely able to heft my bag the 3.7 miles to the shelter.  In just a few days my body had gotten used to hiking without an extra 40lbs.  If you’ve never hiked with a heavy backpack, they are restricting, cut into your shoulders, and mess with your balance.

The next day was better and we were back to 20 mile days of hiking.  All of the trail in Maine was gorgeous.  There were lots of mountains to be climbed.  Many of the mountains had marshy areas on top.  In these areas, the trail was made of bog boards.  Bog boards were typically two planks wide and would bounce and give a little as we made our way across them.  If you happened to step off the boards you could easily find yourself hip deep in the muddy goop.  I would occassionally stop and poke my hiking poles into the marsh.  There were several places where I never found the bottom.

After 2,000 miles of hiking, I was growing weary of climbing mountains.  The trail in Maine cuts across several mountain ranges, many days were spent going up and down mountains.  There were days where I would yell at the mountains.  Saddleback and Saddleback Jr. were two mountains that received some yelling.  Saddleback was the mountain that would not end.  Just when I thought I was at the top I would hike a little further and see a higher point in the distance.  At one point I thought, “I must be at the summit” but came across a sign that said it was 1/3 mile away.

I’m not sure what yelling at a mountain accomplished.  There no words involved, just a scream typically followed by laughter.  There was something cathartic about it.  The last range of mountains In Maine was the Bigelows.  After that range my days of yelling at mountains were over.  There was nothing but miles of beautiful trail between me and the end of the hike.

If you’ve never been to Maine, you should go one day.  The landscape is so amazingly beautiful.  The trail meandered through ‘ponds’ that looked like lakes to me.  These large bodies of water were classified as ponds because they were not deep enough to be called lakes.  Wild blueberries grew at various spots along the trail.  We would stop and graze when we came across a patch of these amazing berries.  We were finally in a section of trail where I could take a full stride without worrying about falling on the rocks.

Whether you are out hiking the trail, at work, or at home, life can be frustrating.  Here are some of the things I do when I’m stressed out or at an impasse:

• Get away for a bit.  Many times at the office I will head out for a bit and find a quick geocache or go walk around a store.  A quick change of scenery can help.
• With the kids, when I find myself getting frustrated by behavior I take a step back and find the humor in what is happening.  (I’m not talking about overlooking bad behavior.)  Sometimes kids don’t go along with the plans we have, or the day we envisioned.  Step back, have a good laugh, and enjoy the ride.
• Go visit someone. We all know someone that would enjoy a visit.  Maybe its an elderly relative or friend.  Perhaps it is someone who is having a tough time.  I really enjoy visiting people and get as much benefit out of it as I think they do.
• Write it down.  Many times when I have over committed myself things can get overwhelming.  I find that writing a list and methodically working through it can help.  If certain thoughts are distracting me I will write them down on a piece of paper and set it to the side.  This tends to help my mind know that it is there and I will get back to it.

Thanks for reading along today.  Just two more weeks left in my “Lessons From the Trail” series of posts.  I finished the trail on August 21 and will wrap up this series of posts on August 21…freaky 🙂  I’d say I planned it that way, but we all know I didn’t.  I really appreciate those of you who have been reading along.  I’ve honestly been writing these posts just for me, but I am glad a good number of you have enjoyed them.

How about you?  What do you do when you’re stressed out?  Share your ideas in the comments section below.