美国国家公共电台 NPR On The Appalachian Trail, Combat Veterans Learn To Let Things Go

On The Appalachian Trail, Combat Veterans Learn To Let Things Go 

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The Appalachian Trail stretches 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. And people who do the whole trek³ nonstop are called through-hikers. The first-ever through-hiker's believed to be Earl Shaffer, a World War II veteran. Back in 1948, he said he wanted to walk the Army out of his system. Some recent war veterans had the same idea. And NPR's Quil Lawrence shared some of the journey with them.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁴: Through-hikers finish the trail in the last days of summer. The leaves in northern Maine are just about to turn, and the nights are just above freezing.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)

LAWRENCE: I caught up with Sean Gobin as he walked this last rugged⁵ leg of the trail.

SEAN GOBIN: So in 2011, I decided⁶ to get out of the Marines and, you know, I knew I was struggling and needed a life change.

LAWRENCE: After three combat tours, Gobin says he was angry too much. He didn't trust people. Plus, he'd never really lived as an adult outside the military. He needed a transition.

GOBIN: So I convinced a buddy⁸ of mine that I was deployed⁹ with in Afghanistan with. We got out in the spring of 2012, and we drove out of the back gate at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and drove straight to Georgia, went to Springer Mountain and started hiking.

LAWRENCE: Springer Mountain is the start of the trail in Georgia. By somewhere around Virginia, he thought he'd found a formula for getting over the war.

GOBIN: Having the time and space out in nature to process and decompress everything you've gone through - the second thing was to do it with other combat veterans who have gone through the same thing you have and be essentially¹⁰ a mini support group that you can lean on while you do this journey. And then the third thing was meeting all of these other veterans and communities along the way that open up their homes to us during the hike. You know, that framed my thinking that not all people are bad and that I don't have to isolate¹¹ myself.

LAWRENCE: Gobin founded a nonprofit called Warrior¹² Expeditions. It sponsors dozens of combat vets¹³ each year to walk the Pacific Crest¹⁴, the Continental¹⁵ Divide and the Appalachian Trail. Each year, Gobin joins the hikers around the camp fire in Maine next to a bubbling stream at the base of Mount Katahdin, where the Appalachian Trail ends.

DANIEL DEAN: Hey, I'm Daniel Dean, Marine⁷ sniper, hiking the Appalachian Trail with Warrior Hike. And this is the night before we summit Katahdin, the mountain we've been looking forward for 2,000 miles.

LAWRENCE: Dean is one of 10 vets sponsored on the trail this year. Only four are finishing it.

DEAN: My deployments were tough, but this was tough in so many other levels, especially in you don't have to do it. You don't have to be out here. If you walked away at any point, there's not going to be no repercussions¹⁶ except for on yourself.

LAWRENCE: Dean is muscular, with a Grizzly¹⁷ Adams beard. Next to him around the fire is Diana Brown. She did 27 years in the Air National Guard, with four combat deployments.

DIANA BROWN: When I got out, my husband was diagnosed with cancer shortly after that - stage 4 cancer. So I took care of him until he passed away in 2010.

LAWRENCE: How long you guys been married?

BROWN: Twenty years.

LAWRENCE: She finished raising their three children and then finally had time to think about some of the things weighing her down.

BROWN: The death of my husband and my retirement¹⁸ that I didn't really want to happen - those things were kind of intertwined. And I just had to let them go. You know, there's no fixing it. There's no - you don't have to carry them. Let them go.

CODY YATES: Out here on the trail, your mind starts to work through those issues.

LAWRENCE: Cody Yates did 20 years - Marine Corps¹⁹ and Army.

YATES: Whether you want it to or not, you'll be hiking along and all of a sudden your mind just goes off into that realm. It says, OK. You know, I've had a few friends, you know, that have died over in Afghanistan. We'll never completely get over it, but it's been really great for that.

LAWRENCE: Yates was technically²⁰ still in the Army for the first few days of the hike.

So you don't even know what it's like to be out of the military?

YATES: No (laughter). No. I just transitioned from one thing straight to the next.

LAWRENCE: After two decades, Yates says his wife encouraged him to take this trip to reflect and also figure out what's next. He's still working on that part but with a much quieter mind than six months ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)

LAWRENCE: In the morning, it's one more mountain to climb - nearly a mile high. It's a tough hike but a perfect day - barely a cloud. On Mount Katahdin's plateau, a pair of ravens²¹ are playing, catching²² the updraft off a granite²³ cliff again and again just for fun. Then the hikers reached the summit.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Warrior Hike.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You guys made it.

LAWRENCE: The celebration is mellow²⁴, mostly just broad smiles and some hugging. The epiphanies came during the journey, not at the peak. Diana Brown, the Air Force vet¹, sits down and takes in the view.

You feel done?

BROWN: No, I got to get down (laughter). Got to get off the mountain.

LAWRENCE: On the way down, no one is really clear on what's next, just that they've learned one way to deal with a troubled mind is to walk it off. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

1 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

12 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

13 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

14 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

15 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

16 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

18 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

19 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

20 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

21 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

22 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

23 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

24 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。