Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Post trip blues?
|
Author | Message Text | ||
jeremylynn21 |
|
||
BaragaMan |
I raised my my kids with multiple short trips to the BWCA every year. Now that they are grown and all moved away, we still try to get some of us together once a year to up there to fish and/or camp. I love those times. I can remember hesitating at the edge of a favorite lake to say goodbye and then realizing everyone else had pushed on up the portage trail ahead of me. I felt a sudden rush of loneliness, even panic, as I realized the separation. I always wonder if it will be the last time...and then we are together the next year. I have coined the phrase "Portage trails lead both ways" because it is comforting to consider the good times still to come. I love to fish and camp alone with my wife, but I always am aware that I will miss those kids fiercely. She does too. In fact she loves to check out new campsites that might have potential for bringing a larger group someday. I realize that I love the Boundary Waters for its wild beauty, but its real treasure has been in the people that have shared it with me. |
||
HD |
|
||
scat |
|
||
BuckFlicks |
That was the only time I've ever felt "I don't want to do this again." The feelings I get are more "Man... I'd really like a shower and some real food and a comfortable bed" but not an urge to get out of the wilderness per se. The fresh veggies mentioned above are a big one... the salad bar at the steak house is usually the highlight of the post-trip feast, especially after a trip with all freeze dried meals. After a particularly arduous hike (from river to North Rim of the Grand Canyon, for example) I do know that I'm not ready to think about hiking again for a long time (while knowing that I will be ready in due time... I just want to be completely lazy for now.) The feeling is purely physical - because we still like to hang around and enjoy the mountains for a few days and I think I'd still enjoy a long mountain vacation after my backpacking trip to fish, enjoy scenery,etc - I just don't want to haul a 50 pound pack up a mountain. I do always feel a pang of regret leaving the wilderness, regardless of what kind of trip I've had. When I was younger and we used to drive to Colorado from Texas for our backpacking trips, I do remember feeling very sad whenever we'd hit the southern bit of Colorado, out of the mountains and back to the dull landscape of west and north Texas. I've always loved the Colorado Rockies and if it weren't for my wife, I'd be living there now. That's the real post-trip blues for me: knowing it will be a long time before I see my beloved mountains again. |
||
bposteve |
You also mentioned your family. The way I get around missing them is to bring them with! I know that's not always an option, but some of our fondest family memories are from canoe trips. Perhaps shorter trips would be an option, or bring your family to the North Shore, your wife and kids can enjoy a hotel, spas, art galleries, etc while you spend time in the woods. You may even be able to convince them to paddle in on a day permit to meet you for lunch mid-trip, have them bring a pizza! |
||
Pinetree |
Also turn TV on and all politics again. That is depressing. Which one is the real world? |
||
QueticoMike |
quote johndku: "quote QueticoMike: "quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip." You can reach me at - queticomike@yahoo.com....I know it's a hard address to remember :) I live right on I-75 about 25 miles north of Dayton if you are coming down 75 let me know. |
||
lundojam |
Interesting. In myself I suspect it is low grade depression. |
||
bapazian1 |
|
||
WonderMonkey |
quote Cc26: "Am I more into the planning of the trip than the trip? Two falls ago I took my first solo backpacking trip in many many years. Prior to going, I thought about how it was going to feel being disconnected. I could not recall any significant time "alone". It was a four day, three-night trip and by the last day, I was ready to be done. I'd relaxed all I could relax, the woods was the woods, and critters were still critters. I'm so "connected" with people, devices, etc. all the time that re-learning how to be alone was a small challenge. My next solo trip was better, and then better from there. For me, it's like a muscle that needs to be exercised. How to be "alone", even if you have another with you. How to be "away" maybe? In my reading about this, there is also an amount of time that people generally can stand being away and doing one thing, even if that one thing is a BWCA trip. For people who want to through-hike the AT, it's not uncommon to make those massive plans then quit within a week. They haven't figured out how to be alone, or "away". I'm also a planner. I enjoy the process of planning a trip. I get real detailed way in advance and then when the trip starts I let go of all that and let whatever happens, happen. I, like you, have wondered if I enjoy the thought of going on trip, and planning for it, more than the trip itself. |
||
bwcasolo |
quote boonie: "I can't say I've ever experienced that Cc26; usually just the opposite - I find myself wishing it could be a little longer or more than once a year. Maybe it's different being an "empty nester" though and an older guy." I too think that as I have aged, I really want to smell the roses. life gets so busy, and you arrive to a place where the pace is slowed down by natural rhythms. seems odd not to be busy, but we must slow down and let nature lead us. missing family and loved ones is a natural occurrence whatever we do. heading to fall lake may 19th, can't wait. solo. meeting butthead mid week. |
||
shock |
|
||
BnD |
|
||
DeanL |
|
||
Cc26 |
quote DeanL: "Cc, what you explained in the original post is the exact feeling I get during and after my trips. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the BW and will continue to take trips every year as long as I am able. I think for me it's the waiting all year for that 1 week and I just want it to be perfect. Then mother nature intervenes and gives you wind, rain, bugs and fish that don't want to bite and the doubt starts creeping in that I could be spending my vacation somewhere else more enjoyable. However, I've been on enough trips to know that mother nature isn't always the cranky old lady we sometimes think. It's the times when the sun shines for a week, the fish bite, the wind is just strong enough to keep the bugs at bay and everything goes perfect. That's the reason I keep going back, take the good with the bad and everything will be fine. After the adrenaline rush of a BW trip fades I'm right back here with the rest of you planning and anticipating the next trip. Mpan I can't wait for June!" Thank you. This is as close as I have seen to being what I think I am thinking or feeling. This website is awesome |
||
Basspro69 |
quote mapsguy1955: "My blues are that I want to go back, immediately after leaving!!! But it's a long drive from Florida. "I only have a few hours drive up but I have the same feeling, I want to go back soon as I get home. If it weren't for the fact that I have loved ones back home, I would never leave (UP NORTH ) p.s. Except in winter of course :-) |
||
pastorjsackett |
I think I will be really, really sad on the day my kids are too old or busy to go. BWCA trips have been solid times of family togetherness for us. I'm sure we all feel blue about this and other things once and a while. Good thread here with thoughtful responses. PJS |
||
nctry |
|
||
timatkn |
I've had moments like that, more so with other types of trips like my annual NFL draft party weekend with high school friends. Don't tell your wife you aren't going again until you know for sure you are not going though :) T |
||
SaganagaJoe |
I still have him and he's healthy yet, just getting older. If that really was the last trip, it was a good one to go out on. |
||
VoyageurNorth |
|
||
QueticoMike |
quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip." I have the same problem, you must live close to me, because that is about the same distant I drive. Are you from anywhere in SW Ohio? |
||
mjmkjun |
|
||
housty9 |
|
||
TrekScouter |
As a soloist, I spend the entire time with my own thoughts. I think about my wife, of course, which makes me appreciate how lucky I am. I don’t miss her while I’m out, but once I reach the exit, I can’t wait to see her again. I don’t have kids at home anymore, so I’m not concerned about them while I’m away. I think you may be experiencing a bit of all the things you mentioned. The fact that you question the value of your trips (even as you enjoy them) tells me that you need to make some changes, so that you can figure out what’s bothering you. Here are some suggestions: - Who do you trip with? Try a different tripping partner. - Make your next trip a family trip (no more missing the family!) - Try doing a shorter trip - If you base camp, try moving every day - Include places of interest in your travels, such as pictographs or waterfalls - Add an interesting activity like photography, reading, keeping a journal, etc. There are some good replies in this thread. Let us know what you think! |
||
johndku |
quote QueticoMike: "quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip." QueticoMike - I'm about 20 miles south of Cleveland, (997 miles from my door to Seagull Outfitters), but get to Southern Ohio on occasion for work. If you ever want a beer and swap stories, you can e-mail me at jdkulka@aol.com |
||
johndku |
quote QueticoMike: "quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip." QueticoMike - I'm about 20 miles south of Cleveland, (997 miles from my door to Seagull Outfitters), but get to Southern Ohio on occasion for work. If you ever want a beer and swap stories, you can e-mail me at jdkulka@aol.com |
||
hobbydog |
|
||
Cc26 |
Am I more into the planning of the trip than the trip? Have I not found the right kind of trip? (Basecamp/travel every day) Maybe it is the 8 hour drive? Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like this the whole trip....it is just a moment here or there. I love being up there and enjoying the silence and fishing. Just wondering if anybody else feels like this once in a while? |
||
jeepgirl |
|
||
mapsguy1955 |
|
||
johndku |
|
||
mastertangler |
Now my happy place is thinking/planning my annual trip and 20+ days on the water or trail is the minimum. For me it takes about a week to get into the swing of things and start to unwind. My wife seems to be a bit unhappy about the length of my trips (probably right after I leave there is an annual party LOL) but she knows I'm going so why start a big fight? |
||
Spartan2 |
By the time all of that was done, and the camping gear cleaned up and put away, the book done, and the house back to some semblance of order, mail dealt with, correspondence up to date, a quick look-through at the newspapers, etc. it would be back to "normal" life for a while. When I was teaching, that usually meant getting lesson plans started and preparing for a new school year. After I was retired from the public school, it just meant getting back to the new church choir year (planning again, as I was the director) and resuming normal activities. We went on our trips together. Most of our trips were 8-12 days, and we took a few days before and after to see friends, and to enjoy sightseeing. So our "vacation" would be 2-3 weeks. But because we were all gone from home, once we returned home, all home activities had to be resumed. There was no one at home waiting, or keeping things done up for us. I was always very sad at the end of a trip. Leaving the BWCA or the Q was always a bittersweet time, and I don't remember more than one or two times that I was actually relieved to be back in "civilization" after a trip. They always seemed too short, no matter how long they were. But that feeling only lasted until we drove away from Ely or the North Shore area. |
||
thinblueline |
Now I recognize that I need these trips for my own well being, to decompress, to get away from emails, phone calls, continuous problems, etc... I've learned to just soak up and enjoy these relatively short periods of peace, surrounded by beauty, able to commune with God with no distractions, when sitting on the shore during periods of down time. Yes, I miss my wife and sons, although the sons are preoccupied with their own lives, jobs, and girlfriends, but these trips have a way of making me appreciate them more and I like to think I always come back with renewed effort at being a better husband and father. So just keep plugging away, planning new adventures. I've often wondered how I would feel if I had my wife and sons up there together for a trip and if that would completely cure those trip blues...chances are, I'd never want to come home if I had my whole family up there. |
||
boonie |
|
||
overthehill |
A little blue hits unloading at take-out. Then the next morning at the laundry mat in Ely. Then all the way home until I see family. |
||
maxxbhp |
|