On Leaving, Again

By Tyler Socash

IG: @tylerhikes

"Should I have been packing?  Should I have been planning?" I wondered.  This homecoming tour has been jam packed with events: hikes in the Adirondacks, an ad hoc 10-year high school reunion, holiday parties with former colleagues and neighbors, my first time visiting a cougar bar (Taylor's in Pittsford, NY – it's awesome), a garbage plate a Mark's Texas Hots in Rochester, and even meeting with the press a couple of times.  It was a whirlwind.  I never seemed to have time to plan for Te Araroa, New Zealand's 1,800-mile thru hike. Whoops!

Suddenly, I'm sitting at an international gate in LAX.  I've got a new backpack, no tent, no sleeping bag, and only a faint idea of how to arrive at Cape Reinga, Te Araroa's starting point on the northern tip of the North Island.  At least I watched The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies on my flight from JFK!  It's important to research a country's rich history before tramping across it. 

Te Araroa - Maori for "The Long Pathway"

I know what you're thinking... "Tyler, why did it take you so long to finally go to Taylor's?!?"  Well that's what this post is all about!...

The PCT lasted 4 months.  While on the trail, I began to realize what mattered and what didn't matter.  A tent in such an arid environment wasn't necessary.  Then it rained on me the first night that I shipped my tent ahead.  You sacrifice everything to leave your family and friends behind, and as you walk across the country you miss your family.  You miss your friends.  You miss home.  

As the old adage warns, "You never miss something until it's gone."

Then I returned!  I promised myself that I would take advantage of the time I had back home to do a healthy mixture of old and new things...

• I revisited my haunts of old.  "The Big Rock" and "The Frog Pond" outside of my childhood home deserved a visit.  This is where I played with my siblings and the neighbors all summer long when we were kids.  It was crazy to see how small "The Big Rock" looks now.  My neighbor Katie was right, my whole thru-hike journey may have started at these powerful, tiny places. 

• I bushwhacked to a place in the Adirondacks that I have never seen before.  What made this particularly special was that my Adirondack Mountain Club / Cranberry-50 thru-hike family was with me.  It was great to hike again with the people who went on my PCT preparation hike! 

• I reconnected with high school classmates, some of whom I had not seen in over 5 years.  Shout out to the Class of 2005 and to everyone else I saw at The Back Door in Old Forge!

• I cried so much at the Revelry in Rochester that I'm not sure if I'll be welcomed back!  My friends Chris, Patrick, Sarah, and Zack were kind enough to listen.  I opened up about what the trail meant to me, and I wept.  It was either really beautiful, or deeply disturbing for the other patrons to witness at this classy bar. 

• My friend Jesse went with me to see Turning Point Park and Mendon Ponds Park.  These were new trails around Rochester that we had not been to before.  It's wonderful that you can live somewhere for 10 years and still find new things to do.  We also hiked Pinnacle Hill, highest elevation in Rochester.

• I actually talked with my siblings.  Not just shooting the breeze.  We were really opening up with one another!  Whether it was in the kitchen begging my brother Eric to paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail with me, talking with my sister Nikki about relationships (we both read Don Miller's book Scary Close, which encourages people to be vulnerable and authentic with their spouse/children), or sharing my hopes and dreams with my brother Trey on the way to a Buffalo Bills game. 

• I went to Taylor's and I brought my friends.  While I didn't dance with any cougars, I danced fully cognizant of the fact that everyone was watching.  Damn, my Yelp review would be so positive about that place. 

• I consumed Rochester's cuisine, a garbage plate, at a new restaurant.  This was my last meal in town.  Such a phenomenal choice (qualifier: if you like greasy food and are about to go on a long walk)!

• I hiked a mountain that has eluded me since I stated hiking in the High Peaks region.  My friend Joe and I finally went up Noonmark together.  It was so awesome to connect with Joe and his wife Linda again.  They've supported my hiking quests since the beginning. 

• I tried sushi (admittedly, for the first time) at a work holiday party.  I know, crazy right?!?  I don't have a job, how did I wiggle my way into such a party?!  I'm thankful for that invite!

You might not be able to upend your life and travel tomorrow, but you can certainly do something different tonight!  Go to Taylor's Night Club (open Fridays and Saturdays only – I made multiple attempts), climb Pinnacle Hill, go to that new restaurant and order something that you've never had!  Kiss your partner with passion (come on, use some tongue), invite old friends and new people to a social gathering, check out a new local venue, compliment somebody.

Doing something silly might just make your day more fun.  Don't get sucked into a mundane routine.  Mix it up.  Have a cookie decorating party, build a few gingerbread houses, find new places for me to talk about in my next blog!

I was glad to be home for a few weeks, but now I'm off to Middle Earth.  I'll miss home, surely, but I'll be back soon.  Thanks for your support everyone!  We are about to take off, so I'm not sure if I tied this post together well.  The stewardess is telling me for the third time to turn off my device.