A Weary Feeling

Rockskipper said:
He's stuck there and has had a stroke - it's literally killing him, as he's not getting out and is literally pining away for the wilds.
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I have for a long time felt that there are millions in America with the same issue. I came to this conclusion after meeting a lot of people, who after hearing what I did for a living as a seasonal USFS worker, said they envied me. Of course a lot of people say this but would never ever seriously consider such a change, but some of them had that look in their eyes. They were stuck and it's killing them.
 
My mom's family is mostly in Kansas. They all have beautiful farms and nice houses and seem happy enough, but when they come visit my family in W. Colorado on our ranch in the sagebrush and sticks, they leave with this kind of forlorn look in their eyes and always say they can't wait to come back.
 
@swmalone I’m pretty much a toddler the first couple miles the first day, and a sullen teen the rest of the first day. I get mad at myself, question whether I really even like doing it, cursing under my breath, etc. Then it goes away and I’m in my zone. Oddly, I haven’t really experienced craving anything or wanting to be back in comfort at the end of trips yet. Mostly I just try to figure out a way to stay another night (which is pretty much never an option).
 
Nice to hear it's not just me. This happen to me at last once on every trip I go on. It's frustrating, I will spend months planning a trip, then when I finally get out there I start questioning why I am doing it and just want to be home with my family. I have learned through the years that 3 or 4 days is the most I can stay away before I feel the need to get back home, and I have learned to accept that at this point in my life.
 
That's why I love my solo canoe trips so much. Other than food and beer and arranging the jet boat pick-up, there is very little planning. Other than a jet boat every other day I am usually alone, at least in Meander Canyon on the Colorado. Stopping where and when I want. No schedule other than to enjoy myself. Sometimes I go for days without talking. Very therapeutic.
The only time I am the least bit concerned is when I float in the spring, when the water is in the 50's and I have a stout head wind. I am aware I am on my own with help sometimes a day or so away.
 
grew up in Midwest . But was out in fields all the time, had a timber job with usfs for years, then a mail carrier, spent lots of family time in Yellowstone, many times a yeat. Live right at the foot of the Wasatch mtns, being out alot... Things tend to get the same alot over the 50 years. May sit in yard or on deck a lot..... But never much time in a city setting
 
Definitely happens to me at some point during each trip. As other's have said, it's typically once I am tired or exhausted after a long day and I'd rather just lay on my couch at home.

A podcast I listen to often discusses a subject similar to this. When you are going through a really crappy situation and everything seems to suck, this is what they call "high quality fun." If you think about it, these are the moments you reminisce on with a friend at a bar 20 years later. "Oh man, remember that time we went through that downpour of rain through the mud..."

You don't talk about roller coasters 20 years later, so those are "low quality fun." (Don't get me wrong, I love a good roller coaster)

So now when I'm going through a tough spot on a trip, I think to myself that I need to make the most of it, because this will be what I look back on when the trip is over.

Kyle
 
I just remembered another time I wanted to cut short what should've been an epic trip. It was my second time MTBing the White Rim, and my first time had been so much fun a friend from Tahoe had decided she wanted to do it. She wrangled up her boyfriend and some of his friends as a support vehicle for the two of us. I got a permit and off we went.

Seems someone brought some hooch and was happy to share it, so she and I ended up pretty much doing the trail w/o a support vehicle, as they were all stuck somewhere way back schnockered (or whatever that word is). It was in May and pretty warm and we ended up having to beg water off people on the trail. We actually had to bike back to my house in Moab and they caught up with us a day later. She was Irish, and man, the wrath...

But out there on the trail, I felt very on edge and weary. Wanted nothing more than to be at home drinking tea in my warm comfy bed.
 
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There seems a point in every trip for me where the pull to go home gets pretty strong. Still haven't found a good solution for dealing with it. Always regret heading home too soon once I get back (assuming I do try to head homeward early).
 
b.stark said:
Always regret heading home too soon once I get back (assuming I do try to head homeward early).
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That's my deal too. I've headed home early plenty of times, and then I regret it every time. The reasons for heading home seem so insignificant once you actually bail.
 
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I get a bit tired after 5 days of backpacking activity and usually feel I have enough material accomplished too but carry on anyway.

But right now I have a very weary feeling as we just sold our old house, bought a new much more modern house that has an Italian provincial feel to it as well as its gardens and patios. The move was epic but we survived and the best part is we timed it by foot from a cold start from our front door to the trailheads that branch out into 400 square miles of designated wilderness. We walked there in 9 minutes flat. The saguaros, canyons, mountain streams and two major mountain ranges and their many life zones are right here, no driving necessary. This weariness will fade in a couple days and then we go…into the wild…whenever we want. At least several times a week for hiking and extreme picnicking. :)
 
Wyatt Carson said:
I get a bit tired after 5 days of backpacking activity and usually feel I have enough material accomplished too but carry on anyway.

But right now I have a very weary feeling as we just sold our old house, bought a new much more modern house that has an Italian provincial feel to it as well as its gardens and patios. The move was epic but we survived and the best part is we timed it by foot from a cold start from our front door to the trailheads that branch out into 400 square miles of designated wilderness. We walked there in 9 minutes flat. The saguaros, canyons, mountain streams and two major mountain ranges and their many life zones are right here, no driving necessary. This weariness will fade in a couple days and then we go…into the wild…whenever we want. At least several times a week for hiking and extreme picnicking. :)
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Sounds sublime! Except for maybe in the dead of summer :p

Wyatt Carson said:
extreme picnicking
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And I got a good kick out of this phrase. You'll have to write up a report from one of your picnics in the future.
 
Yvonne said:
it happens to me pretty often, especially on trip with a lot of scenery to take in. At one point my brain just can't take it in anymore.
When I do road trips, it usually happens on the last few days because I'm already oversaturated with impressions
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I did a float trip on the Dirty Devil last month and ended up with a similar feeling. It's like hour after hour of the big views, my brain can't hold it all and my sense of time totally disappeared, one day I thought it was time to stop for lunch and it was like 4pm.
 
Jackson said:
Sounds sublime! Except for maybe in the dead of summer :p
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In the midst of summer, the time of heat and light we change our hours and rise very early, on he trail before sunrise. We have always hiked year round by doing that. The mornings are still amazing that way but one does have to be back in by 11 am approximately when moderately acclimated to the heat. We actually like the heat. I once lived in he north where it is winter 8 months a year and swore to never do that again. Even here some don’t like the heat but I know this huge sycamore near a mountain stream with a great little swimming hole. The lions caterwaul near there, bighorns occasionally come through and javalina abound.
 
@Wyatt Carson I know what you mean. When I lived in Moab, I would do the same - get up really early to hike, then be home by late morning. I almost never saw anyone else. Evenings were still too hot, so you do have to get up early. But the sunrises are so beautiful and it's so neat to be up early.
 
Wyatt Carson said:
I get a bit tired after 5 days of backpacking activity and usually feel I have enough material accomplished too but carry on anyway.

But right now I have a very weary feeling as we just sold our old house, bought a new much more modern house that has an Italian provincial feel to it as well as its gardens and patios. The move was epic but we survived and the best part is we timed it by foot from a cold start from our front door to the trailheads that branch out into 400 square miles of designated wilderness. We walked there in 9 minutes flat. The saguaros, canyons, mountain streams and two major mountain ranges and their many life zones are right here, no driving necessary. This weariness will fade in a couple days and then we go…into the wild…whenever we want. At least several times a week for hiking and extreme picnicking. :)
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I'll take north anytime.... Lived in north Phoenix for 10 years.... Got tired of the hot. Now I'm in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem area... Millions of acres around and very few people.. but yes we have winter 6 to 7 months a year. One thing I missed in the desert
 
For me, that feeling of going back only comes when I'm not wearing the proper shoes/clothing or my pack is too heavy. Its physical conditions that prompt mental conditions.
Its hard for my wife to care for my daughter when im gone, and that plays into some decisions to head back a bit early. But even dad needs his time away.

If you are not used to it, being alone out in the wilderness can feel weird.
 
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