Episode #15 - Clay Bonnyman Evans (Pony)

Clay Bonnyman Evans, 55, is a writer who moved to the beaches of South Carolina in 2015 after spending his previous life in the mountain west and California. His three published books—a memoir about his years working as a cowboy, a children's holiday picture book, and the story of an iconic hardware store in Boulder, Colo.—are out of print, but you can find them on the Amazon Marketplace by searching his name. He blogs at claybonnymanevans.com, including the ongoing tale of his thru-hike, The Trail Is the Teacher.  He'd be delighted to hear from any fellow hikers, so feel free to email him about anything at claybonnyman@gmail.com. I found Clay to be a really interesting guy to chat with. He started his hike in 2016 with the intention of just doing a long section hike. However, the trail got to him and he worked out his own way to achieve a thru-hike. We discuss a number of topics, but I was most interested in the way he brought up the fact that a sort of depression can descend upon you after your hike. As my wife, Diane, says, "you all seem to get some form of depression after the trail and have difficulty getting back to your lives." I'd really love to hear from any of you who feel that you can explain this phenomenon. Please remember to rate the show on iTunes. It will only take a moment and means so much to me.