Newbie with a question

[FentonForche]

Greetings everyone, I'm delighted to have found this forum.

This may be something you've heard ad nauseum, but after picking up Bill Bryson's Appalachian Trail travel memoir "A Walk in the Woods," I've been itching to do this as a thru-hike. I have bagged 14ers, I've run half marathons, and I've done century cycle events...but that's kind of the extent of my athletic accomplishment. I've never done anything quite like walking for five months straight--and the uniqueness of the challenge sounds appealing.

But sadly, the biggest challenge for me will be when the opportunity will present itself. I'm 33. I have a one year old son. I have a regular job. I can't imagine finding five months of time where I could remove myself from my duties as a bread winner, father, and husband to hike up the eastern seaboard.

Which brings me to the question I have for all of you...What life circumstances make this possible for you? Are you retired? A student fresh out of college? Do you have a job that allows you to take some form of sabbatical or extended leave? Did you actually quit a job to do this once-in-a-lifetime kind of activity?

I'm really curious about the situations everyone is in on this forum. Please clue me in.

[patman25]

36, never married, no kids, saved money, quitting my job, giving it a go.

[Slo-go'en]

There are generally two groups of thru-hikers - collage age kids and the retired. Middle aged folks are rare, except as section or weekend hikers. The few middle aged thru-hikers are usually like Patman25 - single, no kids and saved up a lot of money.

[House of Payne]

My thru is planned for 2014. I plan on retiring the summer of 2013. Some of the circumstances will be the same as yours, a wife, my 2 kids (as of the thru 24 and 22) and being away from home for 5-6 mos. I am planning now, spending time here and making a go at ultralight backpacking, its a real challenge but at the same time I'm very excited. My athletic accomplishments are simular to yours but this is on the bucket list for sure. Think it through, nothing says you have to do it now.

[Airman]

USAF retired and semi retired from teaching school.

[coffee kid]

A long sabbatical might work if you could negotiate it with your employer. I couldn't get away for 5 months, so I'm doing a section at a time and loving every chance I get to walk the trail. I hope to do whatever is left when I retire.

[Blissful]

You can always section hike. It's a great way to see the trail at its best and in any season.

[Thenixon]

My company gave me a 6 month leave of absence. Somewhere in Maine, I had to call and let them know I wouldn't be coming back.

[ATMountainTime]

Pretty much decided mid career, and family I needed to do this before I was to old to. Saved the money, told the wife, and boss. Leaving spring 2013. aint gettin no younger ar 41!

[ATMountainTime]

Just remember it is YOUR life.

[dink]

worked until the kids were on their own, then worked seasonal jobs allowing lots off "off" time for hiking all over the country for 12 years...now working full time again while watching the grandkids grow up...at 62 am officially retiring and will finally have the time to do my thru!!!

[ShaneP]

Do you love camping?

[aaronthebugbuffet]

But sadly, the biggest challenge for me will be when the opportunity will present itself. I'm 33. I have a one year old son. I have a regular job. I can't imagine finding five months of time where I could remove myself from my duties as a bread winner, father, and husband to hike up the eastern seaboard.

Yeah you won't be thru hiking for a while.

I did mine between jobs when I was 30. I had money saved, no debt, wife or kids.

[map man]

I've got my eye on 2021 for a multi-month (maybe thru) hike on the AT, the year my wife and I will (hopefully) retire. I'm not going to give up a job I like right now to thru-hike. I'm not going to leave my wife back home working and doing all the household chores right now while I thru-hike. So for the next nine years, like the last six, I'll use vacation time for a couple weeks of backpacking each year in beautiful places around the country, including the AT. Then in retirement at the age of 62 maybe I'll take on a thru-hike.

[jlo]

I'm a teacher and have summers off. Last summer I hiked 500 miles, but I usually just do weekend trips.

Let me echo previous posts, that you should wait until your wife is OK with you being gone for a long period of time. But you don't have to thru-hike the AT to appreciate it. A week to 10-day trip can be a great time!

[dmperkins74]

You can always section hike. It's a great way to see the trail at its best and in any season.

Section hiking's great, just takes patience, a lot of coordination, and a fair bit of $$ for running up and down the trail, getting hotels along the way if needed, etc. It's taken me 5 years to knock out 500 miles (www.gdbdp.com/at) and I'm looking forward to about 15 more years The best part is that I can often choose which direction I'm headed (when I have a shuttler), so I can go down rather than up!

[T-Rx]

My wife and I both retire at the end of 2014 so we are planning to start our thru hike in April 2015.

[Hawkwind61]

I have been wanting to do a thru-hike since I did a section in the Whites in my teens. I married young and raised a family first...and then have been over-whelmed with the needs of aging or sick family members and a military son with a young family.

So I finally decided that since I'm not getting any younger I will plan to do the Long Trail this year (depends on what happens with my one of my military sons...DOD tossed a curve ball at EOD techs that work at reserve bases this year, so he is going back to full-time duty and may need help with another move), and if all goes well and hopefully before something happens to my parents (my dad is 20 years younger than my husbands dad was and 10 years younger than his mom) I plan to do the AT in 2 or maybe three sections.

I kept holding back my hike when first my husband's sister developed and passed from cancer, then his dad collapsed from bleeding on the brain, then the hubby battled cancer, then his mom needed to be settled into an assisted living facility.

I guess my point is that for some of us with families there may never really be a 'good' time to go. And you may encounter some serious resistance.

So you may want to think of alternatives to a full thru-hike. I decided that I had to be more flexible in my planning and I have to get my (older) family members used to the idea of me being away longer and longer on the trails. So the past few years I've fit in long weekend, then week-long, then week-long+ sections of various trails in New England. I hiked the Tulley Loop Trail, a good section of Rhode Islands North-South trail and have knocked off sections of the M-M Trail, and the AT in Massachusetts.

My three kids are all for my plans to hike. In fact my middle son and his wife plan to do a thru-hike when he retires from the military in 10 years or so.

My mom just cannot get comfortable with the fact that this time I'm going 'solo' this year since my hiking partner discovered that she just cannot tolerate too much more than a week on her feet at a time when it comes to trails. I keep telling her that I'm rarely truly 'solo' on any of the big trails...but that is her worry and I am doing as much planning as possible to keep my mom in particular in the loop about my trek down through Vermont this year.

Even the hubby hates the idea of me being out there. But I just keep reminding him that I gave up my dream of hiking the AT to raise the family that he wanted and his one promise to me when we found out we had our first son on the way was that when our family was grown I could get back out on the trails. I'm holding him to that promise regardless of the fact that he regrets making it.

[Todd Tarbox]

No wife, no kids, no real responsibilities. I'm just quitting my job and going for it!! My employer is excited for me and told me that my work ethics are great and he would be more than happy to hire me back when I'm done.
12/21/12 will be here soon, so why would I put it off any later
15 more days till I'm on Springer!!!!

[T.S.Kobzol]

so true.

10 days on the trail compared to a weekend on the trail is a whole another ball game. It is a great training to find out if you REALLY want to hike the trail for 5 months or so.

I'm a teacher and have summers off. Last summer I hiked 500 miles, but I usually just do weekend trips.

Let me echo previous posts, that you should wait until your wife is OK with you being gone for a long period of time. But you don't have to thru-hike the AT to appreciate it. A week to 10-day trip can be a great time!