30 Year Plan?

[writerguy]

Since age 12, it's been my dream to thru hike "the trail". Growing up in Knoxville, TN, I saw the Smokies each and every morning. I planned to a thru hike for after HS (common plan eh?) but the "real world" and an Air Force recruiter got a hold of me. So my senior trip was spent at Lackland AFB! Since leaving the military, I've gotten married and a "real job". So it seems like I'll be on the 20-30 year plan. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm the impatient type. It'd be a lot easier if my boss would let me take 6-8 months vacation eh? What do you think?

Also, I've been trying to get my lovely wife into the outdoors (she won't have anything to do with bugs, no A/C, lack of shower, etc basically anything to do with camping and/or hiking) it seems I've tried everything short of blindfolding her and throwing her in the trunk.:eek: Any suggestions?

-jason

[JimSproul]

Model T offers some very creative was to handle "The Look" in On the Happy Side............

[Sly]

I've heard of a few companies that let their employees take a sabatical after so long. Try asking.

As far as your wife is concerned, if she doesn't want to hike, see if you can get her get involved with resupplies, transcribing a journal, uploading photos and meeting you on the trail a couple times.

[kevin]

Last year, I adopted the trail name 20-year plan as I went through year 3 of my section hike. While I did manage to convince my wife to give an overnight hike a try, I think that was her first and last backpacking trip. While she's very supportive of my hikes, its not her cup of tea. So I head out for a week or three each year and knock off another section. The two biggest problems (as someone that is in your neck of the woods...just about 2 hours south) are the drive out and back each year and the trail kicking my butt for the first two-three days each time. However, just consider those the "price of admission"...well worth the tradeoff to get out there. Besides, this way I get something to look forward to each year.

[gsingjane]

As a very enthusiastic backpacker and hiker with a spouse who is decidedly... not... if you've "fought the good fight" and done your best to get her to try it and it's still not for her... it just may never be. I am sure there are things your wife does and enjoys very much that you would also not choose to do, or certainly not appreciate on the same level that she does. My husband is a competitive cyclist who has tried many times to get me interested... nothing doing. It's just not for me, for whatever reason, no matter how much he loves it and tries to "help" me appreciate it. It isn't that I'm retaliating for his refusal to go on a bp trip, either, it's just that the whole thing just doesn't appeal to me.

I think the best you can do in a "mixed marriage" of the kind we have is to reach an agreement where the "non-doer" spouse supports or at least doesn't actively oppose your engaging in your chosen sport or activity. It does help if the spouse has a passion of his/her own, so you can put a little bit in the "forebearance bank," but I think that at some point, you just have to accept that this is going to be the reality of your marriage.

By my lights there's nothing at all wrong or undesirable about doing the trail on the installment plan. Given the presence of young children and teenagers in my life, that's been the decision I've made as well, and I'm quite comfortable with it. Just get out and enjoy the Trail on whatever terms you are given... I don't love hippie sayings but it really IS "all good" on the AT.

Jane in CT

[LIhikers]

writerguy, Welcome to the world of section hiking! It's a great place to be really. Just think, you get to go when and where you want to and can hike a section in either or both directions. While the driving part can be a pain it's not anything to deter you from doing a hike. Like you I'd like to do a thru hike but I have a job that I just love but can't get that much time off from. But unlike you I'm lucky in that my wife loves to backpack as much as I do. In fact, we'll be going out this weekend to spend a couple of days on the trail in NJ. Someday when we run into each other don't forget to say "hi".