There is no “done”: Reflections on a completed Appalachian Trail thru-hike (2022)

reindeer2

This mirrors the 'post-launch blues' in software engineering, where the mental shift from active problem-solving to maintenance feels like a loss of purpose. The author's point about the trail being a series of immediate physical constraints is why these hikes are so addictive for people in high-abstraction fields like security or math. Once the external structure of the trail is gone, you're forced to re-internalize the discipline that was previously enforced by the terrain.

m463

Subject didn't make sense. 'at' should be 'AT' or 'A.T.' = Appalachian Trail

kyletraff

Thank you for the article. I appreciate its authenticity, and I really hope you continue to find peace and healing with your dad‘s passing. Experiences like this amplify what I think is our longing for permanence and I think CS Lewis sums it up well when he says “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Even the longest trails on this side of eternity must end at some point. But I think they point us to something more eternal and lasting, something our hearts all long for.