View Full Version : should I do this
greepigfoot
11-25-2009, 15:13
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
Red Beard
11-25-2009, 15:16
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
You mean thru-hike? If I were in your situation, I'd do it. I talked about thru-hiking for over 10 years. I'd hate to think that I had not completed the AT in another 10 years.
harryfred
11-25-2009, 15:24
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
HELL YEAH! nuff said
Blissful
11-25-2009, 15:26
Absolutely. Time of your life...
I would. Try to save up a little more $$$ though. Not that you can't do it on $3K, you could, but it'll be easier if you have more $$$.
bigcranky
11-25-2009, 16:57
You're asking a forum of long distance hikers and AT junkies if you should thru-hike. What answer did you expect? Of course you should thru-hike.
Living on the Trail is usually cheaper than living in town. Even an expensive thru at $6000 is only $1000/month, a lot of people spend more than that on rent and utilities.
Have a great hike.
Slo-go'en
11-25-2009, 20:28
Living on the Trail is usually cheaper than living in town.
But only if you don't have any overhead while your gone, such as storage, keeping a place to come back to, car stuff, etc.
Also, do you already have the gear you need to start out that early? If not, that can be a big chunk out of your 3K.
Oh, what the heck, just go!
JoshStover
11-25-2009, 21:03
If you have the gear, GO! You will NOT regret it. Plus it will look good on your resume. Not as good as a PHD but it sure wont hurt. I hope to see you on the trail next year and have a Happy Thanksgiving...
Chaco Taco
12-02-2009, 20:02
Good luck with the decision. Dont hesitate, if you have the means and have the gear, go hike
Jack Tarlin
12-02-2009, 20:07
A typical doctoral program will put you out of commission for long adventures for perhaps five or six years.
If you have the opportunity and the means......well of course you should hike this spring. Put away another $1500 bucks and start walking!
Lone Wolf
12-02-2009, 20:44
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
no brainer. like Nike says, just do it. i almost died one day 9 months ago. in fact i did die. 4 times. shocked me back. point is, jobs are just jobs. dime a dozen. just go walkin' and worry about the future in the future
Do It!
I have a wife, 2 kids and a crappy job.
I wish I could but not now is what I am saying now and its what you'll be saying in a few years.
warraghiyagey
12-02-2009, 23:11
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
If it's what you really want to do with that time in your life, then as Wolf says, it's a no-brainer... but consider everything you might want to do with that chunk of time and money. . . and decide accordingly. . . enjoy your spring/summer. . . . :sun:sun
Many Walks
12-02-2009, 23:21
Once you settle in for your career, family, etc. it will be hard to take the time. Do it now or wait till you retire. Now you have the perfect opportunity. Go hike and have fun!
If you wait for all conditions to be right, you'll be waiting a long time. As with the doctoral program, it's probably best not to ask whether you are biting off more than you can chew. Just chomp away.
Come on! Slap Slap Slap Wake up! You are going into a doctorate program shortly. You are 26 yrs old and you can't decide for yourself if you should hike! You don't need validation from anyone here! Either decide to go for it or don't!
What do you think most of the responses are going to be regarding whether or not to hike when you ask that question at a hiking website?
Mikiniki
12-04-2009, 14:17
you would regret NOT hiking more than you could EVER regret actually getting out there. TRUST ME (and the other hundreds of people on WB) you've got a good window of opportunity here! I'm doing my hike in 2 sections over summer breaks from school. This first half will be completed this summer and the second half next summer! Its perfect for me : ) so just find whats perfect for you : )
Job = Journey of the Broke
Hike = Journey of a lifetime!
gravy4601
12-07-2009, 23:04
you would regret NOT hiking more than you could EVER regret actually getting out there. TRUST ME (and the other hundreds of people on WB) you've got a good window of opportunity here! I'm doing my hike in 2 sections over summer breaks from school. This first half will be completed this summer and the second half next summer! Its perfect for me : ) so just find whats perfect for you : )
I agree dont miss the chance it may not come again hope to see you on the trail
Sue_Bird
12-08-2009, 00:22
I quit my job last march and did it before starting grad school. Great decision. It may not change your life, or it might, or you might meet someone incredible who is in a situation just like you. (that happened to me and i never would have predicted it.) Words can't describe the difference between sitting around your apartment/going to the bar/getting worked up about little things and walking somewhere utterly new, every single day. You will not regret.
re: gear. new gear CAN be expensive....but you can gear up for pretty cheap. I didn't even have hiking boots at the start and I completely geared up for about $800. Others on this site have done it for way cheaper. craigslist and this site were great resources for new or gently used gear.
For people like many of us here who really like the outdoors and hiking, it is an easy decision. But MOST people find out a thru-hike is not as much fun as they thought it would be (boring, lonely, cold, wet, dirty, muddy, buggy, steep, difficult) and they decide not to finish the trail. For a smaller percentage of people, a thru-hike is one of the very best experiences of their life. (difficult, wet, buggy, adventurous, scenic, challenging, fun.)
Frankly, I think that asking your question here is not going to be very helpful in deciding what's best for you, because in a very real sense we tend to be "extremists." If you don't know what you want to do, take a week-long hike and think about it and maybe the answer will become clear.
this is the deal im 26 graduated with my M.A. and will be enrollng in a PHD program in september. I cant find a full time job but have roughly 3000 saved up (probably more through a temp job). I see no point sitting around from late febuary/ early march to september doing nothing should I hike?.
You didn't really think you would be talked out of it here on Whiteblaze did you?
Most of us would absolutely LOVE to be in your situation. If you don't go for it, may a thousand camels set up housekeeping on your tongue...
ShelterLeopard
12-08-2009, 14:09
My gut reaction was GO FOR IT. But wait... Why do you want to hike? Have you ever hiked before? Or are you just thinking that you'll be bored out of your skull, and what else can you do? If you have never hiked before, go for a section before you decide about thru hiking.
For me, I love hiking, I CAN'T WAIT! For my thru, and have been planning and getting psyched. But not just because I had nothing better to do, but because I've always really wanted to do it. Just saying, before you go blow thousands of dollars on gear and transportation for something you don't necessarily want to do, try it first. Borrow a friend's gear, join an outdoor club (they often let out gear, maybe for a small fee). Try it first. You knows? Maybe you'd rather take a trip to Ireland or backpack across Europe? Just think about what you have ALWAYS wanted to do, and do that. Otherwise, you're not going to be spending your last free months wisely.
Snowleopard
12-09-2009, 12:24
Once you start your doctoral program it'll be hard to take such a large chunk of time off. You probably won't have much money to spare in grad school. I went straight from college to grad school and had to work the summer. The thing I remember best of that summer was a couple day backpack on the AT in CT and MA.
I'd say do the AT, or part of the AT, or travel someplace where the living is cheap.
If you don't have gear now, look in the articles section of this site. SGT Rock has a good article on getting cheap gear.
daylaandjasper
12-18-2009, 17:38
I agree- Do it ! you will never regret it.
Sully5400
12-23-2009, 13:46
DO IT!!!!!!
And if you're worried, just think "hey, if I'm not having fun, I'll come home". You don't have to finish, and if you tire of it or it's not what you thought it was going to be, go home. I guarantee you will have fun!
ShelterLeopard
12-23-2009, 14:02
I still hold to what I said earlier, think about it first. The AT is not for everyone. And that has nothing to do with strength or weakness for many people, maybe you'd rather hike the camino de santiago in spain, awesome, but no heavy pack (don't need to carry much, as you always stay in hostels and buy food along the way), a totally different experience. Or maybe you'd rather do the AT- who knows? All I'm saying, is try it before blowing all your savings on trail stuff.
I like your answer Colter because it hits home some of the realities of a thru-hike! For so many a thru-hike is only viewed as something adventurous, romantic, an escape, or as an accomplishment to brag about. Once on the trail it can become a surprising negative dose of reality real fast if not knowing what it entails before COMMITTING to a thru-hike. I think this is what happens to many, hence the high drop out rate on the AT or those who skip major sections of trail and still claim to have completed a thru-hike!
Colter, I also think it wise for the OP to take your suggestion by doing a week long hike and getting a glimpse of what may be right for them. Perhaps, a long section or AT state hike is more suited to their desires?
I think it needs to be strongly stated over and over, especially on this website, that doing a 2200 mile thru-hike over the course of several months IS NOT for everyone. It requires a high level of committment. It usually requires much planning and expense. To start off a thru-hike with the mentality that you can just "go home" when you don't feel you are having "fun" anymore seems like an incredible waste of time and expense during the thru-hiking planning stage and lacks committment to a thru-hike!
Frankly, for a 26 yr. old to seek validation and needing coaxing to start a thru-hike at a web based hiking site points to a lack of committment to a thru-hike that will show up in so many ways once on the trail!