Walk the trail, then what?

[stickangel]

My boyfriend and I are tenatively planning on doing a thru-hike in 2010, which would be followed by a move from Ohio to Texas shortly afterwards. We're thinking of staying with family for a couple of months to get adjusted to back to everyday life.

Has anybody here done this before? A thru-hike, or a large section hike followed by a long distance move? How'd you do it? Any advice? There is the obvious need to save cash but we're wondering how to work out the logistics of it and what other people have done.

[gravityman]

We moved to Colorado after a 2001 attempt. I highly suggest not giving yourself too much time to 'readjust' but rather keep busy! We aborted in June in 2001 and had a pretty hard time of it until I started the new job on Oct 1st.

Something that did weigh especially heavy on us was the fact that we were homeless (not so bad when hiking, but when we left the trail early, we had no where to go and no plans!). We stayed with family and it drove us insane! We did do a number of good trips in to the woods (10 days canoeing on the Allagash in ME).

In 2005 we kept our townhome while we hiked. The realization that we had somewhere to call ours to go to when we were done really helped the pysche for both of us. We finished Sept 3rd, I went back to work mid october. We were really ready to go back to work. We did some home impovement as soon as we got back, then did a 2 week trip to Utah. I don't suggest that. It was WAY to stark for us after 6 months in the green tunnel. Would have been better off in the Colorado Mountains...

Gravity and Danger

[stickangel]

We moved to Colorado after a 2001 attempt. I highly suggest not giving yourself too much time to 'readjust' but rather keep busy! We aborted in June in 2001 and had a pretty hard time of it until I started the new job on Oct 1st.

Something that did weigh especially heavy on us was the fact that we were homeless (not so bad when hiking, but when we left the trail early, we had no where to go and no plans!). We stayed with family and it drove us insane! We did do a number of good trips in to the woods (10 days canoeing on the Allagash in ME).

In 2005 we kept our townhome while we hiked. The realization that we had somewhere to call ours to go to when we were done really helped the pysche for both of us. We finished Sept 3rd, I went back to work mid october. We were really ready to go back to work. We did some home impovement as soon as we got back, then did a 2 week trip to Utah. I don't suggest that. It was WAY to stark for us after 6 months in the green tunnel. Would have been better off in the Colorado Mountains...

Gravity and Danger

We're not really thrilled with staying with family either but financially speaking it would be the best thing to do for us. I totally understand what you're saying though about having something to go back to, which is a big fear for us right now. The opportunity is only there though if we both make a saftey net then I quit my job and he takes a kind of extended leave/transfer from his. And moving is something we both want to try.

I don't know, so many if's!

[MOWGLI]

I waited almost 3 years to move, but started planning and plotting almost immediately.

Good luck!

[Mags]

Has anybody here done this before? A thru-hike, or a large section hike followed by a long distance move?


One year to the day after finishing the AT, I moved to Colorado (seems to be a theme.. :D)

I lived with my family for about a year to save cash. I was also only 24 yo..a bit easier than being 34 yo and living with Mom. :)

If you can't tell by all my trip reports, moving to Colorado was one of the best decisions I ever made. And I don't think I would have moved to Colorado if it was not for my hike on the AT.

Seeing and experiencing a different way of life than my conservative (and rather limited) upbringing gave me the chutzpah to pack up my belongings and starting a life 2000 miles away and not knowing a soul.


Social groups are a great way to meet people, learn the cool things about the area and make friends that are like family in your new home. (That is what happened to me. I have a two yr old "nephew" I am very fond of; have been in weddings, etc.)

Ten years later, it is probably easier to meet people and get meshed in with a social network.

I'd look up Craig's List a bit before you move to your new home to get a feel for the area.

Finally, something about fear I wrote previously ...maybe it applies to you?

Last year a friend of mine thru-hiked the AT. As with you, she's a young woman who hiked solo. She also had many fears about what she was getting into. So I told her this African proverb I enjoy:

Come to the edge," he said.
They said, "We are afraid."
"Come to the edge," he said.
They came, and he pushed them
And they flew.

Yeah...starting a new life and doing something out of your nomal comfort zone IS scary.

But sometimes you need to go to the edge..and sometimes, most of the time actually, you will fly.

If you want, my friend's journal is:
http://www.trailjournals.com/nira/

Here's her journal entry about many of the thoughts you are having:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=123902

And post hike? We grab beers and talk about post-trail adjustment. You can ask those questions ~7 mos or so from now. :)

Good luck!

[Sly]

We put everything in storage in MD and once we were finished hiking traveled a bit before moving to NC. At 1st we lived in a motel until we both found jobs and then rented an apartment. Once we had the apartment, we rented a truck to move all our stuff.

[gravityman]

We're not really thrilled with staying with family either but financially speaking it would be the best thing to do for us. I totally understand what you're saying though about having something to go back to, which is a big fear for us right now. The opportunity is only there though if we both make a saftey net then I quit my job and he takes a kind of extended leave/transfer from his. And moving is something we both want to try.

I don't know, so many if's!

You do what you can do. It is absolutely worth hiking for the unexpected things that will happen during and after the hike! Don't let it stop you! Just prepare mentally for the different possibilities.

Have a plan for if you don't end up hiking for the entire time. It will be a big disappointment if you have to get off because of injury or lack of desire to continue, and you will need some way to deal with that.

If you want to move (to Texas? Really? I don't get it :) then this is probably the best time to do it, but you are right in asking what are the challenges with deciding to do that. Then you have to decide if it is worth it.

Anyway, keep thinking about it! The hike will be worth it!

Gravity and Danger

[tucker0104]

Why Texas? I grew up there and would never think about going back there. You are either in a concrete jungle (Houston, Dallas, etc) or you are in super rural no where. The only city I would even think about moving to is Austin.

[Spirit Walker]

A lot of people hike the AT at times of transition, you just have a better idea than most of where you're heading.

After my first AT hike, I went home for a few months, then decided it was time to go live in San Francisco, as I had always dreamed of doing. A few years later I was ready to leave the city and headed back to the trail to figure out what I wanted to do next. While there, I met my partner and ended up moving east six months after finishing that thruhike.

In some ways, moving helps with post-hike letdown because you have a new environment to explore, a new adventure to begin. Life isn't mundane, it's exciting as you learn about your new home and deal with new people, new jobs, etc. But I found I still missed my thruhiking life and sooner or later began yearning for the trail again. YMMV

[rafe]

In some ways, moving helps with post-hike letdown because you have a new environment to explore, a new adventure to begin. Life isn't mundane, it's exciting as you learn about your new home and deal with new people, new jobs, etc. But I found I still missed my thruhiking life and sooner or later began yearning for the trail again. YMMV

Interesting. I met my wife a few months after my attempted thru in 1990. In the 18 years since, we've moved four times. We've been in this house (our third...) for six years. She keeps saying it's a beautiful house... but I think she wants out of New England. California dreaming.