So many questions.....ready to get on the trail

[jrabbott]

​All...It has been my dream to hike the AT Thru. I am in my mid forties now and have 3 kids, wife, mortgage, job. I live 1 hour from Springer (can you believe that and have never been there!!) Several questions:

1. How many of you have quit your job and just taken it on??
2. How much did you spend on the thru hike? I have saved enough $ to support my family for a year.
3. Were you successful (if you quit your job) in finding a job when you were through?
4. How did you handle the family aspects of being away? Did they meet you every few weeks??

I really want to do it soon. I have most of my equipment ready (need a internal frame pack instead of my old Jansport Frame pack.

Just not sure of the timing in my life. I know each person has their own situations to overcome to do the trail. Just looking for some good dialog and feedback. Thanks in advance for taking time to respond!! Hope to see you on the trail!

[blevi]

Hi,
First of all if you live that close, how could you not have ever visited springer? lol just messing. ok For me im quiting my job at the end of Mayfor my thru hike. Most people that thru hike are, just getting out of school, college, before they start their lives/ or in a rut of some kind in life, or just retired. After i bought some new gear and replaced some old gear i have spent around $800.00 for gear. Now not everyone is going to spend that much, or they are going to spend a whole lot more. Now i have only saved $5000.00 to do this trip and pay my bills for a whole year this includes my drop boxes and to and from transportation and one good meal at a resteraunt each month. Im saving money by dehydrating my own food, and buying bulk. When im done with my thru hike i have already enlisted into the Marines so a job is taken care of for me. As for family yes they are coming to see me three times (excluding seeing me off in Maine, and meeting me at Springer) and ill have my cell phone so i can talk to them when i first get up every morning. I hope this will help to a point, since im not in the same boat as you are in. A good book to buy from amazon.com is How to Hike the A.T.: The Nitty-Gritty Details of a Long-Distance Trek by Michelle Ray : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...alachian+trail. After reading a lot of books and reading alot on whiteblaze.com i still had a lot of questions, and this book really answered the rest of those questions. Hope this helps. The timimg will never be more right, nor will it ever be the right time. Hike your own hike! Hope to see you out there. -rising sun

[bigcranky]

Sounds like you've been thinking about it. What does your family think? Are you getting a lot of support from your spouse? How will she feel if you take a fun six month vacation while she stays home and wrangles three kids? How would you feel if she wanted to thru-hike and leave you with the kids? (Not trying to be negative, these are things to consider.) You might find some good things to think about in The Thru-hiking Papers, especially the Couples page.

Expect to spend about $5K on a hike. Maybe less, maybe a little more, but that's not a bad planning number.

As blevi says above, many thru-hikers are at a major change point in their lives - graduation, divorce (or sometimes marriage!), job loss, retirement, that sort of thing. But there are quite a few in your situation. (Me, I'm waiting for retirement.)

Good luck.

[jrabbott]

Thanks!!!! I will get that book. I have already read AWOL on the AT which was inspiring. I am former Army Officer myself...good luck in the Marines!!! Hope to see you out there!!

[jrabbott]

Thanks Big Cranky! She and I have talked.....debating on section versus through hike...being so close to the southern end I can handle those sections during the summer. Would be interested in seeing how many end up section hiking (like 400 mile sections per). Thanks for the input! Great group on here and as a newbie it very reassuring!!

[Rusty Nail]

I am doing Springer to Demascus this year just because I cant do the full 6 months away from my family and my company.

[jrabbott]

How long do you think it will take you to do that?

[Blissful]

How long do you think it will take you to do that?

Depending on mileage per day - 4-6 weeks. Took me six, but we took our time.

[Hooch]

I was going to say about the same thing Blissful did, plan on about 5ish weeks.

[Blissful]

I think it depends also on the age of your kids. Having you gone for long periods of time (like on a thru) can affect the kids and family unit. I was in my mid forties and I took my 16 yr old with me.
But sectioning is a completely great option.

[jrabbott]

Do you all have any links or articles/books on sectioning?? My oldest is 13...too young to take on the trail.

[Hooch]

Do you all have any links or articles/books on sectioning??

You don't need books, really. Get a good trail guide like The AT Guide, pick out your section, figure out your logistics and go.

[ScottP]

Do you all have any links or articles/books on sectioning?? My oldest is 13...too young to take on the trail.

you could probably take a 13 year old on the trail, if he/she really wanted to go.

why not try a 1-2 week section hike first?

[GooseMan]

You could definitely take your 13 year old. I took my 11 year old (at the time) 18 months ago and he had a blast. He will be 13 when we go again in June for 2 weeks and he seems stoked. Try a section with kids first before making such a huge time committment.

[Spools]

I am doing Springer to Demascus this year just because I cant do the full 6 months away from my family and my company.

I'm hoping to make it back to rt. 64 near Waynesboro VA. I have two months off of work. just going to see how far I go and how I feel. When I get back home and I want to continue, my job can stuff it.

[Del Q]

I am in a similar situation, section hiking works great for me.............2 weeks in the Spring, 2 in the Fall.......trying to get a 3rd hike in this year. Nice balance of work, life, hiking, fitness...............nice balance for me.

A thru hike has to be a great experience, maybe I will do one someday..............it is also a major commitment and a serious amount of intense work....and being away from your family for that long.

[Slo-go'en]

Yeah, before you commit to a long hike, go for a week and see how it goes. You can learn a lot in that week.

[Jim Adams]

your old jansport will still do in a pinch.
why not try a thru and if it is too much for the family while you are gone then just go home and become a section hiker with a large section finished? if you have the money, the time and so far a family that supports the idea, just go and see how it turns out...although the trail will always be there, you will also be aging which doesn't make finishing a problem, it just may take more logistical prep and time.

geek

[moocow]

1. i didn't actually quit my job. okay, i did, but that was because i was placed on disability for health issues. (which makes the mental part of the trail just that much more difficult for me).

2. i have several thousand in reserves, but for the most part my wife will be putting my disability checks into a bank account that i will withdrawal from along the trail. my guess, with perfect health and sturdy equipment i plan on spending anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000. but because things do break and health can quickly deteriorate, always keep a credit card with a high line of credit and current insurance card with enough cash to cover copays. from the first time i walked into a sporting goods store to buy a few camping things years ago to today i think i've spent around 2000 in gear for this trip. it sounds like a lot, but when you think about the fact that it is all that you will use for shelter, sleep, clothing, first aid, and comfort for six months, its not all that bad. nowadays, good cable and internet for a year can cost near that much.

3. finding a job for me has always been difficult because what employer wants a guy that you have to meet half way and accomodate in some ways. for that reason, i really don't give a da mn about finding a job quickly after the trail. although i've heard that it can be very tough in the interview process when they ask for the reason you haven't worked in 6 months and your response is, "well, i had a life goal that i had to complete". -"oh really, what was it?" -"hiking the appalachian trail." -"so you're telling me you went on a six month vacation. exactly how many other life goals are in your future and are you going to disappear on me for them as well?" by that point you've lost the job.

4. my wife is really supportive. she knew i wanted to do this trail before we were even dating some 12 years ago. i carry a cell phone with me so that i can call when i get into town for a resupply. the biggest problem is extended family and friends who believe you're nuts and that you don't have a shot at doing this and you're going to starve or get killed. but in reality, who cares about them. as long as your immediate family is taken care of and they are supportive, go for it!

i spent 12 years looking for and trying to find the right time to go. 10 years ago i would have said it'll be the following year. 5 years ago i would have said it'll be the following year. and so on. but things come up and get in the way. i kind of just had to wait for all the cards to line up perfectly and then i just knew. it was kind of like falling in love. you can't push yourself to fall in love. you can't tell yourself, "okay, i'm in love". its just one random day when you're not thinking about it it sneaks up on you and you realize your in love.

[Montana AT05]

​All...It has been my dream to hike the AT Thru. I am in my mid forties now and have 3 kids, wife, mortgage, job. I live 1 hour from Springer (can you believe that and have never been there!!) Several questions:

1. How many of you have quit your job and just taken it on??
2. How much did you spend on the thru hike? I have saved enough $ to support my family for a year.
3. Were you successful (if you quit your job) in finding a job when you were through?
4. How did you handle the family aspects of being away? Did they meet you every few weeks??

I really want to do it soon. I have most of my equipment ready (need a internal frame pack instead of my old Jansport Frame pack.

Just not sure of the timing in my life. I know each person has their own situations to overcome to do the trail. Just looking for some good dialog and feedback. Thanks in advance for taking time to respond!! Hope to see you on the trail!

1. I quit my job in 2005. I had about 6 months living expenses saved (in addition to what it would cost me to hike). I was very worried I wouldn't find a new job back where I lived (montana). That scared me during the first few weeks of the hike, and the past two, in-between I didn't care, the trail was my job.
2. Not sure how much I spent, I'd say 5K
3. Yes, wildly. I got a job via a friend at first, but then another friend knew I was available and asked me to start contracting (Project Mgmt) which meant much higher pay/work from home/6 month contracts so I could opt out at times for other adventures. It was a HUGE Godsend that might not have come way had I not taken the risk to quit my original job and hike.
4. I am single with minimal expenses and at the time of the AT, I onloy had student loan debt (which I backed down to interest payments until I started contracting then paid it all off, now I am debt free since 2006)

My advice: DO IT. And if you DO IT. FINISH IT. Seriously. You'll be tempted to stop by family issues, finances, feelings of social pressure (oh hiking is irresponsible, I better crush my hopes and aspirations and quit....). If your wife is supportive that is a HUGE benefit and I suspect required? Quitting the trail may very well never leave you (in a bad way)--and I am 100% positive that finishing the trail will never leave you (in a good way).

I was 35 yrs old when I did my thru. When it was done, it seemed to have gone by fasta nd I was very nervous about finding work. Save as much money as you can and minimize trip expenses (hotels are the killer). And yes, leaving a job IS scary. Uncertainty is scary. Fear of failure is down-right paralyzing. But here is a line from a book I've always enjoyed (it's from the forward actually): "What do we risk in a life of security and what do we secure in a life of risk?" -- Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety. Consider reading it.

Lastly, because I was raised to believe in constant work--no holes in resume if you will, and no absences from work or school, and because I had worked from age 10 on (small paper routes, lawn work, fulltime work during high school too). It was VERY different for me to quit a job and hike. I met a guy who talked to me about on trail (he was a former thru hiker). He managed a grocery store so I asked him:

"What would you think about someone applying for a job who had quit their last job to thru hike?", I asked
He replied, "You will find one of two things may happen. One, the interviewer will look down on you for your decision, or two, the interviewer will get excited and ask you about the trip as much as he does about the job at hand. Now, Montana, which employer would you want to for?"

Oooh....yes, I see now, the thru-hike and the personality it takes to do it, especially for guys like us, who are mid-life and in careers and risk a lot to do it--acts like a screening process for both sides. It helps me seperate the chaff from the wheat when looking for a job. Not only would I want to work for the latter guy, but I would want to be excellent at my job for him.

Hope that helps. We live once. So live well, not selfishly--but if we don't care for ourselves we can't care for others, and life is for living our dreams whenever we can. We are not cogs in some undefined person's expectations--some disembodied group of wizened old men who tut-tut our every move but who pay no price in our failure to experience life as serve them. In fact, "they" don't even really exist except in our minds, they are, as aptly put by a good friend of mine, the "****ty committee".

Oh and btw, the grocery guy I mentioned? Who gave me so much good advice? He "manages" a 9 billion dollar grocery store...as in created it, owns it, and runs it. And he found time to thru hike the AT one year and was section hiking it when I met him and his two fellow hikers. His insights have remained me for the 7-8 years since he shared them with me. I never would have had that time with he and his friends had I not risked the trail. It was a short few days for them, but for me the lessons endured and have made a difference in my life.

Completing a thru-hike will give you skill sets no degree and no job can give you. It will teach you about risk, perserveance, success, fear, uncertainty, and much more. All these apply to work, life and family.

It seems to me that your family will be the deciding factor as they will walk along with you, even if they don't hike it. Your risk is their risk too, so be sure to share the reward.

In any case, everyone's mileage may vary on this topic. But I repeat, if you start the trail. FINISH IT.