View Full Version : Should i do it
i am 15 years old. this summer i hiked 3 days 2 nights in the smokeys . some of it was on the AT. i hiked to ice water spring then the next day up to mt. le cont. i really enjoyed it . i love the out doors and would take a day in the woods alone over a day in a town with friends any day. well after the trip i thought i would enjoy to thure hike the AT once im out of high school. would you recomend it?
Lone Wolf
08-25-2007, 22:19
i am 15 years old. this summer i hiked 3 days 2 nights in the smokeys . some of it was on the AT. i hiked to ice water spring then the next day up to mt. le cont. i really enjoyed it . i love the out doors and would take a day in the woods alone over a day in a town with friends any day. well after the trip i thought i would enjoy to thure hike the AT once im out of high school. would you recomend it?
yes. take at least 6 months and have at least $4000. have a ball. college can wait a year if you're thinking about going.
Just a Hiker
08-25-2007, 22:21
Hey there Jordan! Like you, I grew up in Ohio, also my first AT experience was in the Smoky's. I was immediately smitten but I didn't return for another 25 years; therfore, I think it would be a fantastic idea to thru-hike after you graduate high school. I would start saving money and put gear on your birthday and Christmas lists. So good luck in school and good luck on the AT!
Just Jim
There were a number of recent high school graduates out there hiking this year. Two kids from Hanover, NH, recently completed their NOBO hikes. They spent most of a year (May-March) after high school working to save money for their hikes. They attempted a one-month section hike last August to try out gear and gain experience. Here's a link to their Trail Journal:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=5317
They stopped hiking together fairly early on because they wanted to go at different paces. Karl summitted Katahdin in late July. In Stumpknocker's TJ this week he mentions running into Rachel, aka Pinky, so she must be just about done.
Here's another TJ from Alleycat, a recent high school grad I ran into this past spring when she had just started out:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=166331
The more short hikes and camping you do weekends and holidays between now and then, the better.
Good luck!
Marta/Five-Leaf
yea. i really enjoy the wilderness. and think i will be doing a thu hike once i graduate. i camp a lot and live in some woods so i get to try new idias ll the time. my favoit thing tho it seems stuped is going out there and trying the things they do on man vs wild and surviver man
Lone Wolf
08-25-2007, 22:47
yea. i really enjoy the wilderness. and think i will be doing a thu hike once i graduate. i camp a lot and live in some woods so i get to try new idias ll the time. my favoit thing tho it seems stuped is going out there and trying the things they do on man vs wild and surviver man
that crap ain't real. it's entertainment. the AT ain't wilderness. disregard those shows
yea they are prity fake but its still fun to do it lol.
i wanted to hike right after hi school but didnt get to maybe nxt year
i forgot to say, go for it i wish i had done it when i had the chance
FFTorched
08-25-2007, 23:07
I wish I would have gotten into backpacking earlier. I went to college and discovered the AT because it ran right past Penn State Mont Alto. After two and a half years of being an English major I dropped out because I was bored. I justified it to myself as I want to be an outdoor/adventure writer and I can't acheive that spending my time in the class room. Well it didn't work out for me, I ended up working all the time and not having anytime for the trail. Finally I joined the Army and have no time for the trail. To take off for a weekend you have to do so much dumb paperwork it sometimes seems not worth it. I got two four-day weekends coming up so I will probably put in a pass so I can go somewhere here in NC.
The thing is if I would have done it right out of High School maybe I would have completed my degree and I could be living the dream, now I'm waiting another three years to go back and get a Journalism degree and try again.
--FFTorched
Tennessee Viking
08-26-2007, 00:34
From the a number of but not all hikers I met, some will drop out of college or quit their jobs to thru hike the AT. So if your able and save enough to thru hike after highschool, go ahead. If not wait till after college before you go into the professional field.
A few weeks back I ran into a hiker that quit his job and sold all of his possessions to hike the A.T. And was going to settle somewhere around the trail once he completes it. Thats brave to be technically homeless hiking the trail.
SGT Rock
08-26-2007, 07:43
Make sure you talk it over with your parents too. I know if my son came to me asking about it I would support it.
hopefulhiker
08-26-2007, 07:49
Yes, I wish I had done it when I was younger. Be sure to plan carefully and have some support person tracking you, also practice hiking and camping techniques. My son just told me he wanted to hike the AT right after he graduates from college....
Appalachian Tater
08-26-2007, 10:44
Yes, it is an excellent idea.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
08-26-2007, 10:54
Amen to what Rock said and I've never heard anyone regret doing something like this before they had things like a job and family to hold them back, but have heard any plenty say they wish that had gone before they had those things.
yea my parents said that i should do it.
shelterbuilder
08-26-2007, 21:28
By all means, go for it before you have the responsibilities of job/house/family. Traditionally, most of the folks I've seen doing the AT were either: just out of high school, just out of college, just divorced or widowed, or just retired. In other words, they were at some type of cross-roads in their lives where the responsibilities could be put on hold for a while.
Pedalsndirt
08-26-2007, 22:13
Go For It! I wish I had.
Time To Fly 97
08-27-2007, 09:03
Go for it!!! You will thank yourself every day for the rest of your life. Good job getting your parents involved early on and bravo to them for being supportive. There is a ton of advice here.
Happy hiking!
TTF
Appalachian Tater
08-27-2007, 15:51
yea my parents said that i should do it.
Congratulations. Now get to work planning & saving!
Geez, I should hope if someone was to do the AT at a young age, like under 21, they should have a pretty good chance of doing it for well under $4000. Perhaps I'm mistaken.
yea saveing wont be a problem i dont think. ill just star p grading my gear now and the summer after my junior year i can make and easy 1000$ every to weeks as a lifegurd.
i just graduated high school, and a friend of mine and i are taking a year off before we head off to college so that we can hike the trail. so basically i'm using this first semester to work and save money and then i'll be starting sometime in march.
if its something you really want to do, its a great thing to do before you go to college and not have any time to do it at all and miss out