for those who have done many long distance hikes...

[punkbohemian]

For the sake of brevity, I'm going to try and long-story-short this as best as I can.

Long story short, after I graduated high school, I hiked around the White Mountains with my best friend. It was the greatest experience of my life. But then the summer ended, I had to go to college, and life just kinda happened until about 7-8 years later when I had cancer and had to spend a year in treatment and recovery. Strangely enough, it wasn't the worst experience of my life. That happened for the three years after when I was in a Ph.D. program in the midwest and really couldn't stand it (the Ph.D. program, I mean).

Long story short again, I left the Ph.D. program this past summer, and moved back to New England planning to go into another field entirely. I've rekindled my interest in hiking, and have done quite a few day hikes since I've been back. They've been fun (in a cute-sy, quaint sort of way), but not that kind of challenge for which I'm looking.

That's when I started thinking about distance hikes. I really want to get into it. After that trip to the White Mountains, doing the entire AT found its way on to my bucket list. Now, I'm thinking I'm at a good point in my life to take it on, since I'm kinda in between things. However, I don't want to do just the AT, I'd also like to do another distance trail that lets me try my hand at navigation and orienteering, or just try other long trails just because...

So, one of the things I'm thinking about at this point is the financial aspect. Over the years, I've managed to bank a bit of money. I've been researching long distance hiking (including the financial side), and figure that (if I also sell my car and computer) I can do two to three practice/shorter long distance hikes before taking on the AT, and then do the AT (and possibly one other real long distance hike) before I go completely broke.

Now, I've read about people doing the AT and/or other long distance trails multiple times and whatnot, and I'm wondering how they can pull it off, financially. With all the time off spent hiking, having a decent career (nevermind advancement) must be impossible. And taking crappy temporary/entry-level/low-wage work in the off season can't possibly bring in enough cash for the next trek. So, how is it done? Thanks.

[Pacific Tortuga]

Retirement, at any age
Government Pay/injury/social security/unemployment 6 on 6 off
Trust funds
Law suit/ insurance settlement
Cash out your life insurance
Item's that pays dividend's (other than a REI type)
Relaitives with finacial means, or added in a will.
Seat of the pants, living a very simple life, no entertainment or beers. :eek:
Never pay retail
Sponsorship
Hike/Work program (small jobs along the trail) "work a week, make a 100 dollar, hit the road again", M. Tucker Band
Marry into money/widow or widower
Lotto
Ponzi scheme, blackmail, not recomended
Movie maker or adventure writer
Or ?, what am I missing ?

:welcome Sure this will be expanded on.

[Chaco Taco]

Do it. If you really set your mind to it, and it sounds like you have, just make it happen! Its a great experience. I hiked in 08 and not a day goes by that I dont long to do it again. There is nothing like thruhiking. You wake up and you walk, see a bunch of beautiful stuff, hang out with awesome people. For me, thruhiking the AT was the coolest, best, most amazing thing I have ever done. I highly suggest it.


The thing is, if you feel it calling you, you can work it out. The thing about it is, if you want it bad enough, you will make it happen. Thats just how it all worked for me. I just really wanted it!

[Chaco Taco]

Oh and I saved every damn dime I could to do it, sold my stuff, and just worried about after the trail, after the trail

[rambunny]

Worked like a dawg 2 1/2 years-sold everything not personal-GOT OUT OF DEBT- hiked Nobo 2000-worked like a dawg stayed with a friend that needed help with her mortgage.Hiked Nobo 2001-worked like a dawg stayed with a couple friends that needed me to be there-Hiked Nobo 2002'03Tried to be normal helped with family-worked like a dawg and went Sobo-only to Ny (injuries)2004. If it's ment to be meet that expectation with effort! Sounds like you will have your dream from the way you write. Best of luck. Hiking is Life the rest is just details.

[Blue Jay]

Hiking is Life the rest is just details.

Damn, that's a good one.

[Blue Jay]

With all the time off spent hiking, having a decent career (nevermind advancement) must be impossible.

In the first place, decent career is usually contradiction in terms. Granted there are some people who are fortunate enough to love what they do for a living. Unless this is true trading your priceless life for money is not living, just taking up space until you die.

[Spirit Walker]

You're right, most of the perennial hikers don't have careers, we have jobs. Different thing. It works for me, but wouldn't for someone who cared more about their career, status or wealth.

If you aren't lucky enough to inherit, retire, marry well, or luck out on the stock market or lottery, the best option is simply to work hard, save your money, live a simple frugal life and go hiking as often as you can afford.

I had several years between each of my hikes, because it wasn't easy to start over each time, finding new jobs, a new place to live, etc. At least twice I was down to nearly nothing at the end of the hike, but in a few years I had enough to go again. Hiking/travel is my life. Wierd life, but it works for me.

[punkbohemian]

Marry into money/widow or widowerknow any single, loaded ladies who wouldn't mind me spending all my time (and their money) hiking? :D


Government Pay/injury/social security/unemployment 6 on 6 offI've thought about something like this. However, in my state (CT) the rules for unemployment are pretty rigorous (needing to apply for jobs every week, meeting with employment counselors, etc.), making it impossible to pursue a hiking career, and SSI pays barely more than minimum wage.


Unless this is true trading your priceless life for money is not living, just taking up space until you die. I totally get this. It's how I've felt about every job that I've had. Even with my current career, it was just kinda killing time.


You're right, most of the perennial hikers don't have careers, we have jobs. Different thing. It works for me, but wouldn't for someone who cared more about their career, status or wealth.I definitely don't care about career or status (cancer really fixed those priorities), but there's something to be said for a bit of wealth. I've had "just jobs" kind of jobs, and even living on the cheap (which I was doing at the time), I don't see how I could have saved enough for something like a 4-6 month hike.

Not to mention, eventually, I'm sure my knees will have taken all the abuse they can take and I'll have to retire somewhere (hopefully becoming a trail angel), so I want to keep that in mind.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm just trying to come at this smart, hopefully finding a way to make this all happen that's as much of a win-win as possible. I figure asking the more experienced is a good start.

[sbhikes]

In the first place, decent career is usually contradiction in terms. Granted there are some people who are fortunate enough to love what they do for a living. Unless this is true trading your priceless life for money is not living, just taking up space until you die.

I'm going to print that out and hang it somewhere because it's so true.

Here's what I did. Perhaps you have more money than me or can do better than I did.

I worked at a traditional job and managed to save 60K in my checking account. It seemed like a bad place to store so much money, but I didn't want to do something boring with it, so I quit my job and hiked the PCT for 3 months last year. I bought brand new gear, I stayed in hotels in town, I spared no expense. I had to continue to pay a lot of rent back home. I came home with a bit less than 40K left.

I worked during the winter at a couple of part-time jobs. Sometimes I was lucky enough to earn enough money to pay my rent without dipping into my savings. Then I hit the trail again for another 3 months and finished it up. I went more frugally and spent much less, but I still stayed in a couple of hotels and bought a few new gear items.

I now have a little more than 30K in left in my savings. I also have no desire to have a career. I'm working at a part-time job and freelancing. So far I'm making it without dipping into my savings, but I don't know what the future holds for me. Does anybody? Is there really any security anymore? If all those corporations have broken any pretense of a social contract with us, why bother upholding our end of the deal? What are we all working so hard for? What's the economy for anyway? If it isn't making people better off or happier, then why bother? If you die without living, does it matter that you had brand name drugs in your old age and every single need you ever had bought and paid for to some big giant corporation?

Meanwhile, I'm thinking if I didn't have to pay for rent, I could live a much better life. A career and tons of possessions and worrying about money all the time isn't living. Hiking is living!

[garlic08]

In my case, it was dedicated, exciting professional career work that I enjoyed for 20 years that led to a planned, self-funded early retirement. I got an engineering degree and went to work with a 20-year savings and retirement plan and a strict budget, and a similar-minded spouse. In our forties, we quit as planned, hopefully for the rest of our lives. The secret for us was paying off a 30-year mortage on a modest home in five years so we have a rent-free place. Then the rest of our income went to work for us. Imagine fifteen years of a couple's wages without paying rent. Nothing lucky or unusual about it, just average people who planned and saved towards a goal.

[warren doyle]

I have four more days left to complete my 15th traverse of the entire AT. I hope to have my 16th traverse of the entire AT done by September 4, 2010.
I am not a trust-fund baby. (First-generation college from a working class background).
I made consistently wise decisons over the last 40 years to make sure I would not become solely trapped maneuvering in the real world.
I have balanced idealism with practicality, romanticism with realism and my "vocation with my avocation as my two eyes see as one".
Time to flow on the trail is more important to me than a larger income.
My pilgrimage through life takes frugality, sacrifice that doesn't feel like sacrifice, creativity, courage and discipline.
I have never had to give up a job to do a thru-hike. I have also fulfilled my responsibilities as a husband, father and son.

[BrianLe]

Yup, garlic08's coments make a ton of sense to me. I think there's a distinction between relatively young hikers who have few assets and are doing a long trail when they're between things, and older hikers. The latter might section hike while mostly having a "normal career". Those who thru-hiker I suspect are more often in some form of retirement or semi-retirement (maybe sabatical), and that's where garlic's comments come so very well into play.

If a person takes reasonable care of themselves and has a good "I'm not dead yet" attitude, they can not only do a long trail relatively late in life, they can have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. The power of compound interest can be pretty profound. Books like "The Millionaire Next Door" talk about the real power of combining a fairly simple (dare I say thrifty?) lifestyle with good investment decisions over a decent number of years. In this context, one can have a "career" rather than a "job" and then check out at some point and doing things like long distance hiking trips with a decent asset base. Hmm, though last year I found that most thru-hikers tend to get by pretty cheaply regardless of their bank balance --- it's part of thru-hiking culture, and it just makes sense to pack four people in to share a motel room or whatever, as that's what your hiking mates are doing ... !