Veterans and Hiking: American Camino (blog #11)

 When reading this chapter of American Camino, there was already some background information I already knew: Dr Redick had served in the military, and I knew he had journeyed/Backpacked across the US for some time. In reading this chapter, Bumpass Hell was hiked by Dr Redick and a friend, John, after being discharged from the Marines. The themes inside were deep, such as how their personal trauma was kept within them, similar to how the environment around them was. I honestly got a little emotional when reading this. To many veterans, the journey back to civilian life is difficult, and can sometimes cause them to feel lost when returning back. The trauma experienced is also why it is so difficult to return to the normal life they had before serving. Dr Redick reconnected through the environment by hiking on different trails, the road, and attending university while getting an education to help Him discover his place in the world. This chapter left me in a state of sitting in silence, while opening my eyes to the different struggles we all face as humans, and how fixing them is completely different from one another.

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