Im really lucky in the fact that within 15 minutes of where i live in Idaho, i have access to over 10 million acres of National Forest and wilderness areas, including the largest wilderness area in the lower 48
Your videos are getting more and more personal and inspiring. I’m very grateful that you’re sharing this information and your tips with us. Thank you :)
Congratulations Chase! This was my favourite video from you. I think the topic is super important and relevant to today's life and you've managed to provide sound advice on how to deal with these things. In addition to this, I loved the video. The several short clips you showed, with the music in the background and your voice speaking calmly. Really enjoyed it 👏👏👏
Thank you, that was a lovely video and really needed by myself right now. I've only recently discovered your channel. I'm an overweight, over 50 with arthritis. But I LOVE to walk and camp out. I've been doing your mobility training and it's made an incredible difference, and in only a few days. So I'm just starting your Elements program. You are a very inspiring teacher. Thank you! x
Just back after 6 weeks on the GR11. Its taken 2 weeks to recover physically, as well as coming off the natural high, this was dragging on me mentally. Ironically, watching Chase's videos is helping me beat the blues. I had a similar experience after doing the GR10 last year. I've learned that the post hike period is just as much a part of the overall hike as is the pre-planning and walking itself. It is hard readjusting after a major adventure and you have to be prepared to give yourself time, space, and remind yourself these feeling will pass. You have pushed yourself, deprieved yourself, survived and overcome and acheived on such an essential level. You have cooperated with strangers out of necessity and as a result deeply connected with new friends, gained perspective and not had to deal with 1st world problems for a while. You may feel a bit alienated. People in the "real" world won't be able to relate to your unreal experience, accept that your hiking is like an acid trip or Nivarna, beyond words or concepts. Smile inwardly to yourself, knowingly instead. Chase rightly points out that eating healthily is key, but you are likely to experience sugar withdrawl, with moddiness and irritability. You may have picked up bad habits (out of necessity) such as pigging on candy, chocolate and using alcohol as a refreshing mild anesethic at the end of the day. You need to leave these at the airport, your not burning 4000 Cals per day anymore. You've left friends behind, but whilst the core thing that was holding you together is over, staying in touch with your trail buddies for the recovery period and sharing your aches, pains and post hike blues may make it easier to manage your comedown too. You may find that you can turn trail buddies into longer term friends too. I'd also recommend that you use this period to reflect on what really worked for you and what didn't, make a note, then start planning your next trip. Moving away you from what was your last adventure, towards what will be your next even greater one. Chase has a great video on this too.... Stroll on
Yes, got this more when younger but people feeling slightly insulted by what to them felt like me being down about being being back in the life they’ve had the whole time.
Excellent advice all around. The longer the hike/trip, the deeper the post-travel blues, and the longer it takes to recover. One of the ways I get over it is to start planning the next trip! 😁
yeah i can only imagine what its like after the AT or something even longer.... but be rough. This video is really for the thru hiker but certainly, its useful for the weekend warrior as well I hope!
Haha the best thing is that when you realise you're getting cranky, you have the awareness, and so you're on the path, and not at the very start of it either 👊
Talk about diversifying!! We've got Slava Grigoryan...David Guetta...Conrad Anker...Swami Sivananda...and David Goggins all rolled into one here! The man is killing it
I so had these depressions...after finishing Adirondack 46ers especially And 111er northeast. Adventure is all mine, that I couldn't share with anyone else, no one could understand mentally, physically challenged. Thank you for acknowledging it is exist, and how to deal with. You bring positive things. I sincerely appreciate you. By the way, I got distracted watching you all those moments...I had to listen carefully again. Third time I might listen and watch same time maybe
Such beautiful, deep wisdom. This video elevates you to guru status in my mind. Heartfelt, genuine, true, and selfless. It seems you "get" the outdoor/physical/psychological experience in similar ways that I can relate to, and feel similar reactions to being out of place in the man-made world and traditional living. You hit so many key issues, right on. I will be re-watching this video many times and absorbing its healing power, and sharing with others.
That feeling hits a couple of days after every thru hike, even if it is a 10 day long one.. I struggle 😂 last part of the video was exactly what I needed, yoga helped a lot by the way..
Coming back from a long hike is the same as coming back from a retreat. For a time, there was a glimpse of how the world could be and should be. On returning to the normal world, you can see the madness of the normal world, which causes acute pain. Then follows the accumulation of chronic pain as you slide back into your old ways. I miss the beauty of the mountains, and the person I am when I am with them.
Great timing today! I haven't returned from a long hike, but I am in the midst of a long winter in the northeastern US, spending a lot of time at home for work & covid. This was just the push I needed to take a brisk walk at my lunchtime before the next snowstorm!
Thanks I'm recovering from an ankle injury so can only go short distances - but I now appreciate everything about these micro journeys, hobbling along with my trekking poles
I keep coming back to this when I need it. Thank you for sharing this important advice. Sometimes I just need to be reminded that maybe I'm fine the way I am, and instead of changing myself to fit into an old version of "normal", maybe I need to change what "normal" is to me.
The good thing is that we're not as badly affected as soldiers. They experience intense moments with companions for an extended tour. Just as with us hikers, they return to world which can't relate to our experiences. However, they can never go back to the same war with the same companions. Us hikers are free to embark on another tour whenever we're inclined. I'm grateful for this freedom.
Thank You so much for making this video. Just finished my first week long backpacking trip ever in my life, and coming home to a still standing life is really getting to me more than I thought it would. I appreciate that there’s others going through this, or have been though this and are willing to share their stories. ♥️♥️♥️ taking it one day at a time!
Chase, I think this was probably your best video. Thank you for putting this particular content out there, it is your most important contribution, in my mind, to the well-being both physical and mental of the hiking community to date, thought provoking and sensitive. 🦶
I stumbled across your channel about 3-4 weeks ago and we just hike many of the Zion trails. I absolutely love your channel and it was a key component to helping my put the finishing touches on my preparation/training. THANK YOU! As far as this video, I'm experiencing that depression from coming back already.
I didn't know that was a real thing...I always get depressed even coming back from a long day hike 😂 I can't imagine what I'd do after a thru hike But I guess you're about to tell me
@@ChaseMountains Maybe someday if you feel like doing a "small" thru-hike around here (north-east of France), there is a nice 430km (14000m elevation gain) crossing of our Vosges mountain range ;] Love your work too, so much to learn
Wow I almost thought this didn’t happen to anyone else. Coming down from the summit, I had this feeling that I would never feel this good again and it was hard coming home, I wanted to take off and stay there forever. It reminded me of taking ecstasy back in my teenage years and coming down from it.
Thank you for giving me a new perspective. I am planning this pretty extreme mountain hike and this got me thinking about the whys ... it also challenged me on whether my plan is damaging to me or not.
Muchas gracias. Such an important, overlooked topic to shed some light on! “Hiking is cheaper than therapy” as the bumper sticker goes but sometimes talking to a professional is a great investment in order to live the life we want. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻
Wow!!! Thank you! I like my weirdness! I am getting a bit antsy for a backpacking trip. However, taking walks have helped and taking longer hikes on the weekends. Thanks for the advice on journaling, I forget to do that.
I really appreciate this man. It's odd... but I sort of already feel like I'm grieving the end of the adventure and I haven't even started yet! I know I'm going to come back to this later. Thanks man! Keep Moving Forward!
This is a very good video. The practicality was different but better than expected. For us, after a great adventure, we think about how can we continue to utilize the information and power from that adventure for the mundane and the next adventure ahead. Strive to remove the temporary aspect from the adventure. Obviously, as Christian pastors, we see things in a hopeful eternal perspective, but even non-Christian perspective, changing your one week/month/year adventure to lessons for life can be very helpful and show the longevity of the adventure. Great work! Thank you for helping so many!
Very good video. Problem with seeking mental health professionals right now is that there are so many people in need and so few to help them. I spoke to someone and took an hour to tell them everything going on, and the next appointment was 2 months later (still about a month out). This can be very frustrating.
Thanks for this video Chase! It was inspiring and I could totally relate. Love how you manage to involve all aspects of life in your videos and do not solely focus on hiking
Inspirational! Thanks Chase, great words of wisdom, especially 'diversify your self', having other options available when we can't do our usual stuff is absolutely spot on, so pleased you highlighted this, great video, cheers
Yes yes Chase, thanks man , really enjoyed that, tbh I always do but this 1 alittle more. Wise words . Excellent subject & vid to boot. Thanks again 🙌🤙
Loved your positive thoughts and advice, thank you! For future videos: You might wanna tune down the music a tiny bit. Some parts were kinda hard to understand (at least on phone).
The part where you should explore your own neighborhood or city got me actually even more depressed 😁 I've been doing this for years and I'm really tired of spending so much energy trying to find something interesting 😁 Nevertheless, I appreciate the video.
This is great! I PREFER to live outside. I feel like a trapped animal in a house. Every time I have to come home I get in a funk. Always counting the days until Friday night with my car loaded and ready to go.
Best way to feel better day to day is probably to have at least a good family or friends or a girlfriend. But it also helps when you're in a good enough situation financially to do a lot of sport or other stuff that's fun and challenging.
Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering. Saint Augustine
I haven't walked outside much lately because of the cold and wet. I went out for a longer walk, but the next day realized that I overdid it a bit and strained a muscle, but the main thing was my mood, I was in tears and really low, with no idea why. Have other people had this or do you get this?
I do get it and I'm sure many others do. Understanding our bodies (why we get injuries) and understanding our minds (why get upset/angry etc.) is really just the same path. The mind and the body are one. I would encourage you to sit down and watch what you feel. Only you have the answer!
Hi Chase, I just discovered your channel. Nice job man ! I enjoyed the tips about gear and about Mont Blanc, they're spot on. Btw I climbed Mont Blanc in August 2019, almost same as you apparently. Anyway, I contact you because I have a big mountaineering project and I'd like to discuss it with you. Wanna get in touch in private ? In any case, I'll follow you from now on, keep up the good spirit ! Fred
I see mostly people improving the world. Where I am right now would totally suck without all of the people, who built stuff. The house, the water and electricity, the roads. Otherwise this would just be some muddy slope on a hill with maybe some bushes on it.
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