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A thruhike is a lot like a 9-5 job. Let me explain. No matter what, everyday you go to work. You may not always feel like it, but you always get yourself there. Do I want to walk everyday? Absolutely not. Sometimes I don't stop walking until 9pm at night, but the next morning after some grunting I'm on my way again. You're paid to be there, we choose to be. Your motivation might be money or a promotion. Our motivation is more about the next destination or grocery store, but we can both quit at any time. Both technically have start times. My group had more of a start up vibe. The official start time was 8am, but no one's gonna say anything at 8:15. In any environment, humans always find their routines. Before work maybe you cook eggs, have coffee, and get ready for work. We dream about coffee before getting waking up to the aroma of dry cereal. And then we pack away the tent. Throughout the day, we all have our snacks at certain times. On the trail, it's mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Usually something high calorie, either a muesli bar or nuts. Maybe a snickers if I need a pick me up. Wait. That sounds exactly like what I would eat in an office. In both situations, it's usually a struggle to get to lunch. And a spot. Are you feeling the deli, chipotle, or the food truck? Do we sit by the side of the road, wait for a lookout, or stop at the first shady spot we see. At first, everything is new and exciting. You talk to everybody. But soon you find coworkers getting on your nerves. Maybe you keep to yourself more often and only talk to a couple. When I started my tramp, I couldn't stop talking about gear, hiking experience, logistics, but after a while the conversations get repetitive and I found myself being less social. A deadline looms. A mountain towers into the clouds up ahead. Some days drag on and on until you finally head home or set up camp. Both exhausted. But in different ways. #teararoa #thruhike #thruhiker #teararoa2018 #teararoatrail #9to5life #9to5 #analogy #havelock #newzealandtravels #sunriselight #longdistancehiking #multidayhike

A post shared by Kamil (@kamil.skwarek) on Feb 28, 2019 at 3:14am PST