I’m on a southbound train on my way to my final destination. My three months in the woods has ended. The train is magnificent. It’s not just the legroom, it’s also missing the edgy desperation that clung to the Greyhounds and stations I spent the past 18 hrs in. I’ve been missing the trail since the moment I stepped off it.
I spent the past three months eager to meet new people and learn about how they perceive the world. I tried to stay open while also staying open to the idea of protecting myself. But I was never really worried for my safety. I may have been wary that someone was angling to take advantage of me, but that was just their angle and I felt forever in control. As I crossed Tennessee and was forced to exit the bus at each layover, the powerlessness of this existence swept over me. It seemed impossible that all these dejected marginalized people could be shuttled from one miserable space to another without riots. I’d heard folks in the woods make this claim about cities. How can the thin blue line prevent the backlash of violence which seems inevitable given the institutionalized psychological violence of the situation?
Presumably, many of the passengers, like me, had retreated into a form of shock, like a cat in a cage on the way to the vet. Nothing to do but tune out. Even after three months of tuning in, it wasn’t hard to do. But I didn’t do it quite as comfortably as before. I felt more aware of the surrendering of my freedom, different from the surrender when I accepted a stream was dry or the lightning close. I wasn’t in control in the woods, but I was intertwined with control. I was as actively engaged with my destiny on a daily basis as I’d ever been in my life. I do not know if it is possible to live constantly like this. But I will strive to.
I will strive to stay awake and remember all the amazing, generous, and unique people I met on the trail. I will also strive to finish sharing all those encounters here. In total I hiked somewhere around 700 miles, and I’ve some neat pictures to share. But it is the people who made it a journey. I want to respect the way each person I met has changed me, and I think the best way to do that is to tell you about them in as much excruciating detail as possible.
So stay tuned, if you haven’t already, I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you’ll be notified whenever I do get around to writing about months two and three.
Shortcut to New Orleans 
Wow. I just read your whole blog from end to beginning. I’d really only skimmed through the few most recent entries before. Now, with the whole adventure done it was an incredibly interesting experience. Like watching this whole stage of your evolution in reverse; with the earliest entries introducing me to a Brendan I’d only heard stories about before…
Glad to see you made it to your physical destination. Keep trecking on towards your mental/philosophical/spiritual one, whatever that may be. I’m glad I ran into you on the trail.