I fly out to Atlanta April 4th. Quitting two jobs before I go. WIll have plenty of time on the trail to think about what I am going to do after.
HYOH
Will you be completely broke or close to it at the end or do you have enough to give yourself time to get back on your feet?Originally Posted by lkn4air
depends on how much i spend. don't have allot of money anymore. should have done this trip three years ago when i was in excellent shape and plenty of money. but it is now or never so here we go. i am really looking forward to it. also unlike allot of people all of my friends and family are totally supportive of my decision.
Getting paid to do a thru is the way to go. It has been done before.
Daddy made whiskey and he made it well.
Cost two dollars and it burned like hell.
I cut hick'ry just to fire the still,
Drink down a bottle and be ready to kill.
I've wrapping up eight years with the Marine Corps next month. I spent two years in Iraq and am currently finishing my third year in Afghanistan. I have enough saved to make the decision pretty easy. If I can't find my way into a defense job when I'm complete the trail in the Fall, I'll have the GI Bill to fall back on.
And how does one do this.
Someone should make a Hike for Hire site. Paid Porters lol.
Kinda like hiring them that stand outside of Home Depot. Now thats Slack Packing to the extreme! Hire 1 for gear and hire 2nd for cooking, hire 3rd for Security, hire 4th as a gf...lol
Haha! Wouldn't that be something....
If a tree falls in the woods, be there to hear it.
Gives a new meaning to "trail girls" *grin*
Unlike the hikers who wail that hiking in Georgia is the toughest thing they have ever done, I doubt you'll find it so. Good luck and best wishes on your hike.
If not NOW, then WHEN?
ME>GA 2006
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=3277
Instagram hiking photos: five.leafed.clover
Having just about finished my thru-hike my answer is HELL YEAH!!!,!, You have to be committed to finishing or at least doing half. The AT has changed my life, my whole outlook on life. If it is something you REALLY want to do it and it is something that will always be there in you mind as something you really wanted to do in your life, by all means do it. Plus the time has to be right. As you can see I am 44. In November of 2011 I realized it was the perfect thing to do. And it was. Go crazy. Quit your job. Be foolish. Live your dreams.
I did and I don't regret it. I hiked with a woman who got a leave of absence from work and she was so stressed about finishing in time that she had trouble enjoying some things and then had to get off the trail before she was ready or finished her thruhike because her job was bugging her family to get her back. Sooo.... I'm unemployed, but I now that I finished my thruhike in December I don't want that old job anyway, and wouldn't take it back if I could.
I have more than once, and I've quit jobs to travel as well, the key is setting things up before you leave, and believing things will work out, just quit!
YES!! And leave my apartment, put my stuff in storage and go. And another thing, having been a company owner and a manager at a company, if I saw tru-hiked the A.T. in ???? Year, on a job app. YOUR HIRED ! The planning, the never quit attatude that within you to overcome problems and live in those condishions for that long ......just what I'm looking for ! If you can tru hike the A.T. ....you can do anything !!!!!
Last edited by Tramp; 01-18-2013 at 07:40.
I absolutely would... but I'm not sure my wife would be so thrilled with that. I've often thought if I had a major life changing event (loss of job, death of close family member, etc) that it'd be a good way to reflect on life and what's important in it.
unless you are A) retired or b) in or just out of school and don't have a job yet, you can't thru hike unless you quit your job. No one in any country gives 5-6 months of vacation.
plenty of employers that would grant a leave of absence.my own boss would let me take the time off if i wanted.
I'm not wishing to start a debate hikerboy57. I simply disagree with one word in your statement. That word is "PLENTY". Based upon my personal experience and my own observations--the number of employers that would grant an employee a 5-6 month leave of absence to go hiking is actually pretty small.
I have worked for several companies with hundreds or thousands of employees--and in each company their employee policies specifically stated that leaves of absence would ONLY be granted for things such as medical reasons, military duty, and schooling that would directly benefit the company. Most of the policies went so far as to specifically say things such as "under no circumstances shall a leave of absence be used for the purposes of an extended vacations or for personal enrichment".
"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world." - Paul Dudley White
well i certainly wouldnt have highlighted plenty. and you're right. but if you enjoy your job, and you do have a good relationship with your employer, its not that unusual. the larger the company you work for, the less likely they would grant you a leave.i think it matters greatly how much you enjoy your wor but for those who work at small companiies, many bosses are very supportive of helping key employees achieve their own personal goals, knowing this will benefit the company in increased loyalty, assuming the employee wants to return to his job. i wasnt kidding in my older response that if you would quit your job to go hiking for 5 or 6 months, you should probably quit your job anyway. i am fortunate to work for a business owner that has been extremely supportive of my own personal goals, and has told me if i wanted to thru hike,he would keep my health insurance coverage active and i would have a job when i returned.i know im lucky. when i left for my section hike last year he paid me full vacation pay the whole time i was out.
there are oher employers out there that are likeminded, and i know im lucky.
yeah. maybe not plenty
Last edited by hikerboy57; 01-18-2013 at 20:29.
I got pulled into the office and they thought I was going to go work somewhere else. When I told them what I was doing they were cool with it. They thought I was crazy, but cool with it and said it would be fine to take a LOA. Even got a raise in the same conversation. I love what I do get to build race cars every day.
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