Successful Homeless Hiker?

[JFW]

Homeless on the trail? Nah, that won't happen...what u need to do is get out there next year. Hike the trail with no expectations . Live day by day and keep moving. Even If only shelter to shelter. Meet the most amazing people u can imagine...ull have time to think and gameplay for the future. The trail works in mysterious ways. U might find urself a whole new outlook on life! But, keep moving up the trail...or ill personally will drag u to Maine

[daddytwosticks]

Living in Murphy NC, the epicenter of Ericism, I can tell you that he had help in many ways. Living on the run the way he did was no picnic.

[Pedaling Fool]

Know anybody that has been good at it?

Been thinking about trying it out.

I’m tired of being responsible and trying to live the so called American dream. I’ve been responsible for the past 20 years, and been thinking about being non-responsible for the next 10 years or so. Of course, this would come at a great price.

Been thinking about selling anything of value and hitting the trail for good. I know there’s unforeseen things I haven’t thought of, but the idea sounds great at the moment.

SMSP

This raises a lot of questions, but just a couple for now.

1. Have you ever thru-hiked or attempted a thru-hike, if not successful why did you quit?
Not that a thru-hiker is a good candidate for this kind of move, but it would at least give a little and I mean VERY LITTLE idea of what this kind of lifestyle would be like. The reason this is a good question is because of this statement by you, "...but the idea sounds great at the moment."
The vast majority of thru-hiker wannabes quit not because of injury, financal or family problems; they quit because of reality.



2. What's the longest you've stayed out in the woods?
Be very telling (if you've done a long-distance hike) if you're the type of hiker that during resupply visits you get what you need then go; or like most get a room...

3. How do you like the cold?

Tons more questions you gotta ask yourself, but that's a beginning...

[texascampgal]

I have to share a link to a youtube video. I had forgot about my uncle who successfully lived in the woods of Florida for over 20 years... from the mid-80's into the early 2000's.

The entire movie is very difficult to find, but it is a great watch. It shows the guys' homes, water purificiation systems, and "neighborhood", if you will. My uncle collected aluminum as a way of generating income. I believe he was the only guy in the movie who had a checking account.

"My Father's Son" is a great movie about doing just this... leaving society to live my no rules... unresticted... FREE. If you get a chance, WATCH THIS MOVIE!!

Here's a link to the trailer...
http://youtu.be/XrWw6i6SheI

[Hosaphone]

I have to share a link to a youtube video. I had forgot about my uncle who successfully lived in the woods of Florida for over 20 years... from the mid-80's into the early 2000's.

The entire movie is very difficult to find, but it is a great watch. It shows the guys' homes, water purificiation systems, and "neighborhood", if you will. My uncle collected aluminum as a way of generating income. I believe he was the only guy in the movie who had a checking account.

"My Father's Son" is a great movie about doing just this... leaving society to live my no rules... unresticted... FREE. If you get a chance, WATCH THIS MOVIE!!

Here's a link to the trailer...
http://youtu.be/XrWw6i6SheI

I just spent about an hour searching the interwebs for this video... Found out it was part of a 2002 Florida Film Festival. Here's a review: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...rfriendly=true

I was able to find a part 1 and a part 3 of the movie, but the guy who uploaded it doesn't seem to have uploaded part 2... I might try messaging him to see if he'll upload it because from what I've watched so far it seems really interesting.

Here are the clips:
Part 1: (20 mins)
Part 3: (14 mins)

I think I read somewhere that running time is 70 minutes, so there's a big chunk missing here

[Hosaphone]

"To me this is, most importantly, a stress free environment, or at least less stressful. If I had to go put up with somebody looking over my shoulder while I work I know I'd be drinking, doing cocaine if I had the money. Doctors told me, 'you need to get a new job!' Well I guess I have: no job."

[texascampgal]

I just spent about an hour searching the interwebs for this video... Found out it was part of a 2002 Florida Film Festival. Here's a review: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...rfriendly=true

I think I read somewhere that running time is 70 minutes, so there's a big chunk missing here

I do have the entire movie on the harddrive of my DVD player. I burned a DVD of it once. I'll have to revisit the owner's manual and figure out how to do it again. The person I loaned the first copy to hasn't returned it.

[DavidNH]

If you sell off everything you have of value and go hike the AT, what will you have to comeback to when your hike is done? Better really think this through!

David

[Espero]

Know anybody that has been good at it?

Been thinking about trying it out.

I’m tired of being responsible and trying to live the so called American dream. I’ve been responsible for the past 20 years, and been thinking about being non-responsible for the next 10 years or so. Of course, this would come at a great price.

Been thinking about selling anything of value and hitting the trail for good. I know there’s unforeseen things I haven’t thought of, but the idea sounds great at the moment.

SMSP

Wow! It sounds like you have a bad case of "burn out" by trying to live "the american dream" as others see it. When I was in High School a teacher once told me two things a person needs in life is to know where they are and what they're doing. It sounded dumb at the time , but as I got older it made more sense. So, with that in mind, what are your goals? Are you trying to go off the grid; shed responsibility; fall back and reorganize your life; take a breather; see the world; live in the wild; some or all of the preceding? Once you sort out your goal, make a plan on how to achieve it and go for it. Wikipedia describes Homelessness as the "condition of people without a regular dwelling". So, if you want to go "homeless" (but I think if you the trail you won't be since your dwelling will be on your back) go for it. Just don't become hopeless. Good luck.

[Hosaphone]

Just don't become hopeless.

I assume you're aware that "espero" means "I hope" in Spanish? Just noticed that

[Odd Man Out]

It seems the real distinction here is doing it with money or without. There doesn't seem to be a lot of support for doing it without money. If you have money, it would not be conceptually much different than "full-timers" who sell their home, buy an RV or sailboat, and cruise around full-time. I'm not sure if these people consider themselves homeless or not. If you are a full-timer, your RV or boat is essentially your home. The only difference is that unlike a conventional home, you can take your home with you where ever you want to go. So you could consider yourself a full-time backpacker and your "home" is the stuff on your back. Of course the level of comfort is somewhat different than the boat and RV full timers. I once read that before you buy a sailboat your should get a hand full of $100 bills, light them on fire and stand in a cold shower with your clothes on. If you enjoy that, buy a sailboat. A similar test might in order before becoming a full time backpacker.

[Thatguy]

Has anyone ever heard of a man by the name of Poppa Neutrino? He practically spent his entire life homeless yet he had a wife, family and had a book written about him and two documenteries done on him. He built a raft out of wood he found from the Streets of New York City and sailed it across the atlantic. He supported himself & family by Busking, playing music in the streets. He wasn't a backpacker but he led a life free of convention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppa_Neutrino

[Mizirlou]

...been thinking about being non-responsible for the next 10 years or so. Of course, this would come at a great price. SMSP

SMSP, pls clear up the meaning of your tag “South MS Patriot” -- izzat a Sovereign Citizen thingy? Eric Rudolph dug that ideology. Now he’s doing life in a supermax prison: ADX Florence.

http://lfeffortposts.wordpress.com/2.../adx-florence/

[DapperD]

If you have some money available to do this and have no real responsibilities other than to yourself then give it a go. You may enjoy the freedom for awhile. The hard part will be the bad weather. Now if I personally was going to do this, I would go be homeless and free say on the AT when the weather was great, but when it turned bad I would go to like California or Hawaii or somewhere where I would most likely be basking in the sunshine, not on the East Coast during the winter months wet and freezing.

[bad marriage]

Don't go into it thinking you HAVE to do it forever, or even the next ten years... just leave it open ended and see where life takes you. If it rolls on indefinitely, great. If you feel the need to jump back into the "real" world after a year or five or whatever then you won't feel like you quit... It was just a grand adventure.

[Moose2001]

Don't go into it thinking you HAVE to do it forever, or even the next ten years... just leave it open ended and see where life takes you. If it rolls on indefinitely, great. If you feel the need to jump back into the "real" world after a year or five or whatever then you won't feel like you quit... It was just a grand adventure.

I think this is the best answer of the entire post. It's kind of what I've done. First hiked the AT in 2001. Then again in 2003. Left the fulltime work world for good in 2005. Done the AT three times, the PCT once and biked arcross the US three times. I've traveled and seen lots of things. Now I live on my retirement check in the summer and work winters at a ski resort. Spend every winter day on my skis. Life is Good!! The "grand adventure" continues!

[Panzer1]

Theres no place like home.
Panzer

[justwalkin]

I'm new. What are "rainbow people?"

[sbhikes]

You need to read these two things:

First, read this series of zines. They are fabulous and extend back decades. You will learn practical ways to live this way and see that you are not alone. The early ones have as much useful information as the later ones.
http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2637/

Also, read this blog. This man lives without money, but not on the AT. He does it for spiritual/religious reasons, but I think if you can get past some of that, you might get a better idea what it is actually like to live this way, the internal struggles and the kinds of crap you'll get from others. Also read his website, linked in the sidebar.
http://zerocurrency.blogspot.com/

[Just a Hiker]

SMPS,

After leaving the Marine Corps and being very unsatisfied with civilian life, I hiked "fulltime" for quite some time, and this ia what I learned:

- There are 2 kinds of "fulltimers" on the AT- There are those who actually hike every day and steadily move up and down the AT, and then there are those who just live around campsites and shelters close to towns and rarely hike at all.

- Having a Storage Unit along the trail really helped- I was a "fulltimer" who actually hiked, so I kept a small storage unit in Front Royal, VA so I didn't have to carry Winter and Summer gear all at the same time.

- Winter time is hardest part of hiking Fulltime- The weather is the obvious reason; however, hiking fulltime in the Winter has a variety of hardships.....very long nights after the time change, very few hiker services are open, feeling very isolated, the trail from Vermont to Maine is very difficult to hike....and so on.

- There will be more expenses than you think- Regardless of what anyone tells you, hiking the AT ISN'T free! You will have just as many cost's per mile as any thru-hiker, and I even spent more money in the Winter time.

- I learned alot about myself- After doing this for a long time, I came to the conclusion that I need to try and create a balance of "trail life" and a "regular life". I knew I wanted the AT as a "lifestyle", but I eventually learned I needed a balance.

Hopefully this helps you.....as has already been stated, give it a try; however, leave everything open ended and take it a day at a time. Good luck!