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Raul Perez
01-03-2010, 11:56
I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

bigcranky
01-03-2010, 12:18
Many hikers are at a transition point -- post college, post military, post retirement, divorce, etc.

If you have a lot of responsibilities (mortgage, kid in college, etc.), then it's tough to thru-hike. That's my current situation.

If not, if all you have is a job, then you have to decide for yourself. There are very few "secure jobs" anymore. Quit. Hike. Get another job when you get back. A good CPA is always employable.

Lilred
01-03-2010, 12:20
I teach, so I have my summers free to hike

Spirit Walker
01-03-2010, 12:25
I quit my jobs and started over each time. I worked retail and then was an administrative assistant. My husband was an astrospace engineer. He also just quit each time and started over again afterwards. Not always easy. It's a good idea to have a cushion of savings if that's what you're going to do as it may take a while to get a new job after your hike.

Raul Perez
01-03-2010, 14:29
Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

rickb
01-03-2010, 14:31
Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

How about working 100 hours a week during tax season. Then start your hike in May.

Raul Perez
01-03-2010, 14:43
Im not a tax accountat per se contrary to the popular belief of what a CPA does. My area of expertise is running audits for local governments and not-for-profit corporations. I'm usually busy year round due to the different fiscal year endings of the entities. My slowest times are Nov-Dec and May-June.

Hyway
01-03-2010, 22:39
I don't know if I am allowed to post links to trail journals, but I am a Civil Engineer with a wife and kids at home and I am quiting my job to thruhike. I explain my reasoning/rationalization (take your pick) in the first entry of my journal. http://www.trailjournals.com/hyway

Roughin' It
01-03-2010, 23:02
I am single, 22, work construction, taking a break from college, and my future is 100% undiscovered. might as well walk 2200 miles and get away from this crazy place we call "real life".

malowitz
01-03-2010, 23:22
I'm an environmental engineer w/a good, steady job. I'm looking at taking a 6-month leave of absence. Call it a sabbatical. I don’t have full approval yet, but I’m working on it.

I’m hoping to pull off a thru-hike but keep the house and job in case I end up like the 80% or so who don’t finish.

Miner
01-03-2010, 23:38
I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.
Who needs a job?

Actually I was an engineer with normally 2weeks of vacation a year +10holidays. I consider being laid off in a bad economy a time to celebrate as I now have a valid excuse to be out of work for several months on my resume. Its happened twice and I use the time to take several months to do those long dreamed about trips such as the PCT, Europe, etc.

I hiked with a woman who is a CPA and use to be a manager at a company. She decided to sell her house and go part time (ie. Tax Season) and hike/travel the rest of the year for the past 3 years. You make your choices and you live with them. If you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to do it.

hikingRN
01-03-2010, 23:56
I have never thru hiked but am planning a week-long trip in May. Thru hiking is also something I would love to do but it is something that I know is not possible at this particular stage of my life. I do have to agree with other members though if you don't have any heavy responsibilities (children, mortage, etc) then I say go for it. I know that times are tough right now, but you can always find another job. A job is something that eveyone will have in their life but being out there in nature hiking for 2000 miles is something that only a few people ever get to experience.

healthymom
01-04-2010, 10:44
I'm a doula. When I have clients, I'm on call 24/7 for up to 5 weeks for each mom. When I don't have anyone due, I'm out in the woods with my son.
I have an amazing (non-hiking) husband who works full time. Two of our 3 vehicles are paid off. The 3rd will be paid off by mid summer. We have less than $15K left on our mortgage.
My children have known since they were small that they would have to finance thier own college. I am homeschooling both of them now.
I will be graduating the oldest in May. The youngest hikes with me and the AT will be his senior project.
I am spending this year paying all the bills ahead and teaching my husband how to live frugally. I have been saving for years for this. I have a dedicated AT account which currently has enough in it for us to finish our hike without having to scrimp. I have been outfitting my son and myself from sales and with good-quality used gear.
I have been letting my clients know for the last 2 years that if they wanted to use me for their next baby, don't get pregnant between June & Dec of this year. Many of my clients use me for 2, 3 or 4 babies.
This was on my life list before I knew what a life list was. I been dreaming of doing this since I found out the trail existed in about 1975. I set the year of departure in 1999. I have been training since 2006. I have been collecting equipment for 2 years. I have learned to dehydrate food. I have read probably 30-40 memoirs of the trail and how-to hiking books. We will be completely ready for our thru starting Mar '11.
In short, if you have a dream, you can make it happen with careful planning and prep.
Do it!
Dee
healthymom

wudhipy
01-04-2010, 11:29
:DLeft the rat race years ago, declared the rats winners. Cashed in the 401k, paid everything off,discovered the difference between rent and mortage ( land lord more likely to work with ya than a bank) The econony got me a long time ago,so the stars are aligned for this to happen. There was a time I needed to be an income generating machine to provide the material trappings for those in my life who depended on it. Now they are firmly in the grasp of the commercial rat race for themselves, and old dad is free to down size to the level of a monk. Fortunate to have an understanding spouse that wants me to persue my dream of a thru hike. Wow...and she likes living like a monk too...as long as the Sports channels are available on satellite.

The_Saint
01-04-2010, 13:02
I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

I quit a great paying job to do the trail and haven't taken another job yet. I've been home for 2 months and am just starting to really look around. You will not regret the decision to THRU. It's the time of your life.

max patch
01-04-2010, 13:09
Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

I'm a CPA (Industry) and I quit my job to thru. ( I asked for a LOA but was denied.) Of course, I had an employed wife, didn't like my job and was looking to leave anyway, and I had no doubts that I would get a job upon my return.

For you to quit a job for an awesome vacation given your current circumstances and the state of the economy would not be the smart decision to make. Keep sectioning until the time is right for your sabatical.
It'll come.

JokerJersey
01-04-2010, 13:24
I'm personally in the group who has no real responsibilities other than to myself. I'm divorced, ex-military, have no debt, no mortgage, and was looking at quitting my job next year to do a thru-hike. Then, in July, I got laid off. As it stands right now, I cashed out my 401k, took the $7k I had built up in it, and started collecting unemployment to cover my living expenses. If I find a job between now and then, I'd still quit and leave this year. My plans had me leaving in 2011. As it turns out, I'm leaving a full year earlier than I had planned. Sometimes, it just works out that way.

I agree though with what people are saying about responsibilities. If I had children, was married, and had accumulated debt...I wouldn't be going now. Then again, I also believe if you want something bad enough...you'll figure out a way to do it. Good luck to ya!

Dogwood
01-04-2010, 13:36
I'm a landscape architect who owned his own business for several yrs. Sold it, during the busiest time of the yr, to hike. Landscape design is also my calling and passion. For many yrs., during the height of the landscaping season in the northeast, I would work 70 + hrs per wk. I still do some projects by myself but I also work for other companies at times. Now, I live frugally on a more limited income because I've chosen not to buy into all that I've been led to buy into so I find I can take off large chunks of time to hike rather than make money to buy those things or live that way!

Quit. Hike. Get another job when you get back. A good CPA is always employable.- BigCranky

I took this route. I think, as with most people, this initially scared the shish out of me, but I made it work out, and I also got to hike, which is another one of my passions! In the process, I've learned a lot about myself and others, how to live more simply, less wastefully, healthier and less selfishly. Personally, I wouldn't trade my trail experiences for any flat screen TV, cell phone, white picket fence, SUV, or security at a well paying job. But, I have managed to hike and still retain some of those things!

Raul, whatever your responsibilities and situation, there is a solution for you if you really want to thru-hike. But, only you can fully figure that out! You have to find a way and finding that way doesn't mean you have to avoid responsibility!

On my thru-hikes I've met a couple of practicing lawyers, several active MDs(one a brain surgeon), several engineers, one Fortune 500 CEO, many who worked govt jobs, at least three with the military, one notable actor, a couple of notable professional musicians, an owner of a professional baseball team, those between jobs, those who owned their own companies, in the process of divorces, college students, homeless people, society dropouts/wanderers, newly recovering drug addicts, another landscape architect, one 14 yr old, one elderly great grandmother completing her second thru-hike, and probably lots of others who slip my mind, all on thru-hikes. Some married w/ children and not empty nesters. Some w/ money. Some dirt broke. Some care free and footloose. Some w/ life/death responsibilites. Some woman. Some men. Heck, Bill Erwin found a way to hike the AT and he was blind!

How much do you want it? What will you do to prioritize your goals in life to get it? You have already done this in other areas of your life! Now, apply that same ability/processs/attitude/philosophy/thinking/behaving to making your desire of thru-hiking a reality!

drifters quest
01-04-2010, 13:48
I working on a Ranch, we work cattle in the Winter (calving season starts February) and farming in the Summer. My boss is great, I can choose hours, days off, and despite leaving for my trip he would be cool with me coming back and working for a bit afterwards. He even offered a place to stay the next two months so I don't need to spend money on rent.

Dogwood
01-04-2010, 13:49
One more thing. Cease trying to find some other thru-hiker who is or was in the exact same current situation as you described. You are probably not going to find that. That is not what determines if YOU can manage a thru-hike! YOU have to find A WAY that is RIGHT FOR YOU!

Spokes
01-04-2010, 13:50
[QUOTE=bigcranky;943386]Many hikers are at a transition point -- post college, post military, post retirement, divorce, etc....

QUOTE]

I agree with Bigcranky. When thru hikers are asked why they're hiking the trail the 3 most common responses are:

1- Retirement
2- Divorce
3- Just graduated college.

jersey joe
01-04-2010, 14:26
I don't know if I am allowed to post links to trail journals, but I am a Civil Engineer with a wife and kids at home and I am quiting my job to thruhike. I explain my reasoning/rationalization (take your pick) in the first entry of my journal. http://www.trailjournals.com/hyway
Great story Hyway, good luck with your thru!

Raul Perez, life is all about choosing one thing over another, it's that simple.

AggieAl
01-04-2010, 14:27
I talked my department head into allowing a one semester leave of absence. I teach at a New Mexico State University.
You might consider sub contract out your work for 6 months, it that would be feasible. Or start in February and finish in late September. You could sub part out and leave the trail for a week or two at a time. Not an ideal way.

Raul Perez
01-04-2010, 15:01
Thanks for the replies so far. So basically the consensus is those that have done or are planning to do a thru hike quit their jobs or are in a transition stage in their life (divorce, school, military).

Personally I dont see myself quitting my job anytime soon. But if I hit a transition period with my relationship that might give me an opportunity to think about doing a thru hike.

Right now I'm content with section hiking and I can't see myself being away 3-5 months from my family.

This thread was merely out of curiosity to see how people managed to get away from their work to go on a thru hike. I understand that if I want it I have to find a way and I wasnt looking to see how people of similar circumstances got it done.

prain4u
01-04-2010, 15:31
I am not aiming my comments at anyone in particular. So please, everyone, do not take my remarks personally. My comments are not necessarily even in response to anything on this particular thread. My remarks are of a GENERAL nature!

From time-to-time, some (rare) posters on WhiteBlaze seem to imply that anyone who does not go on an (annual?) thru hike "doesn't want it badly enough" or "hasn't set their priorites in the proper order" or "has become a slave of the great corporate machine". I would disagree with such individuals.

For most of us, life is not that simple. Going on a thru hike (particularly annually) is far more complicated than just "wanting it badly enough" or "rearranging our priorities".

True, any of us COULD technically drop everything tomorrow and begin a thru hike. However, the possiblity of jail time, divorce, bankruptcy or child abandonment charges are simply not a price that many of us are willing to pay! I don't think that makes us any less committed to hiking--or makes us "sellouts", "wimps" or somehow inferior to those individuals who are fortunate enough to participate in multiple long-distance hikes. Sometimes, being able to go on a thru hike all comes down to the "lottery of life"!

Society REALLY frowns upon people who "abandon" a terminally ill parent, spouse or child. Judges get pretty angry when you stop paying court-ordered child support payments. Assets tend to get confiscated if you don't fulfill leases or other contractual obligations. The IRS wants their payments in a timely fashion. Military officials get just a tad upset when military personnel take an unauthorized six month leave of absence! Postponing certain medical procedures for six months can leave some people permanently disabled or even dead.

I think the majority of the people find themselves in one of the above situations--or in a similar situation. The person who can drop everything "right now" and go on a thru hike--is actually a pretty rare individual.

Thus, I am somewhat offended when someone seriously implies that going on a thru hike is simply just a matter of "wanting it badly enough".

Remember, it won't be a completed thru hike if the authorities have already arrested you by the time that you reach Harper's Ferry! It is also pretty difficult to pay for food in a trail town if a judge has frozen all of your accounts and assets!

sbhikes
01-04-2010, 16:49
I was a web developer for a prestigious company making a very good salary. I have no children, no debt and live somewhat simply. I saved up lots of money over 10 years of my career without even trying. One day I thought, what should I do with all this money? I quit my job to hike the PCT. My boss begged me to take a leave of absence, but I turned that down. I didn't want to come back.

I hiked the trail for 3 months and then had to get off the trail. I struggled with what to do next and managed to push that question aside with a relatively well-paying part-time job (compared to flipping burgers.) That job paid my rent for winter and spring and I decided to go back and finish the trail the following summer.

Now I'm home, and having learned I could pay my rent with a part-time job, I went and got another part-time job. It's in web development so it, too, is relatively well-paying. I'll take some classes, too, to build up my skills again. It's hard to keep up in something like web development. Eventually I'll be ready to go back to the machine, but in my heart I know I will never go back. I won't do annual thru-hikes, but I won't allow my free-spirit to ever be as crushed as it was working at that prestigious company.

I envy people who are nurses or accountants or similar things where there is high demand and you can work anywhere. You could quit any job, hike, then move anywhere in the country and get a good job right away.

The trick is not to have debt or too many expenses. I think that's the thing that keeps people feeling like they have no options. It really doesn't take a whole lot of money to live. But it does if you buy all the crap they want you to think you have to have.

Petr
01-04-2010, 18:52
[QUOTE=bigcranky;943386]Many hikers are at a transition point -- post college, post military, post retirement, divorce, etc....

QUOTE]

I agree with Bigcranky. When thru hikers are asked why they're hiking the trail the 3 most common responses are:

1- Retirement
2- Divorce
3- Just graduated college.

2 + 3 for me, and maybe 1 many years down the line.

Caveman of Ohio
01-04-2010, 18:56
I quit my job and was rehired a year later.

jnanagardener
01-04-2010, 20:05
Great, great thread, especially for those of us who, if we could, would take off today! Until I get the chance for the "big one", I make the most of every hike. Just went back to teaching today after the winter break, buzzing over the eight hikes I crammed in those two weeks. Between hikes I check White Blaze to remind myself I'm not the only one who gets it! :-) I appreciate the discussion...

4shot
01-04-2010, 20:50
For most of us, life is not that simple. Going on a thru hike (particularly annually) is far more complicated than just "wanting it badly enough" or "rearranging our priorities".

True, any of us COULD technically drop everything tomorrow and begin a thru hike.

I think the majority of the people find themselves in one of the above situations--or in a similar situation. The person who can drop everything "right now" and go on a thru hike--is actually a pretty rare individual.

Thus, I am somewhat offended when someone seriously implies that going on a thru hike is simply just a matter of "wanting it badly enough".



are ready. I was in the shoes of alot of posters here, mortgage, kids and wife, good job,etc. Would have loved to have gone but didn't want to walk out on those who depended on me. So I did what I had to do (as the "take the path of least resistance" did not appeal to me either) and grateful that I did , as you seem to be doing.Then one day, I woke up and the kids are grown, the bosses kept getting worse and the mortgage decreased. the 'new' boss (aka "meet the new boss, same as the old boss") tells me one day that "X" will happen. However, I was lucid enough to tell him that "X" would not happen, instead "Y" was going to happen. The short story, I don't have a job but am blessed with a great spouse and small savings. After this year's hike starting at Springer, and I do not have the gumption to say a thru-hike because I realize that many others before me who were better experienced or better equipped did not make it through no fault of their own, I will come home to maybe no savings and have to go back to some sort of "real job".

So, to paraphrase a term that is used here often, live your own life. Don't worry about when others go or what they say.Hope that you get to go one day.

Guy
01-04-2010, 22:58
In my case, I work for a corporation that has a leave of absence policy which is fairly standard. Most mid to large sized corporations have a leave of absence policy. It's boiler plate stuff that appears in most employee handbooks. I'm just using the policy in a non-typical way by using it for a hike.

The catch is that it's also boiler plate stuff in these policies that state that they can choose to not take you back at the end of the absence.

I've weighed the consequences and am willing to take the risk of not having a job when I get done. I'd prefer to be all sorted out for employment when I finish, but if I'm not, I'll have some pretty useful skills for being homeless. :)

Hyway
01-04-2010, 23:06
4shot, I am taking the opposite approach by calling it a THRUHIKE rather than an attempt at a thruhike. I don't intend to quit unless the dice of fate forces me off do to injury. I gave up a great job with a good salary and benefits and will be putting a lot of load on my wife and daughters for me to do this. It would be a disservice to them if I did not put it all on the line and get it done. Starting out with anything less than 100 % commitment would not be wise. I don't care why anyone else got off the trail. I am me and they are them, and what will be, will be. As long as I am still walking the trail I will be on a thruhike. I won't consider it a failed thruhike until I am back home again making excuses why I didn't make it. Until then, it costs me nothing to exude confidence in my ability to make it to Maine. The trail will do its best to break my confidense, I don't need to give it any help :).

I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but its how I am looking at it.

4shot
01-05-2010, 00:17
4shot, I am taking the opposite approach by calling it a THRUHIKE rather than an attempt at a thruhike. I don't intend to quit unless the dice of fate forces me off do to injury. I gave up a great job with a good salary and benefits and will be putting a lot of load on my wife and daughters for me to do this. It would be a disservice to them if I did not put it all on the line and get it done. Starting out with anything less than 100 % commitment would not be wise. I don't care why anyone else got off the trail. I am me and they are them, and what will be, will be. As long as I am still walking the trail I will be on a thruhike. I won't consider it a failed thruhike until I am back home again making excuses why I didn't make it. Until then, it costs me nothing to exude confidence in my ability to make it to Maine. The trail will do its best to break my confidense, I don't need to give it any help :).

I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but its how I am looking at it.

and also the same sense of sacrifice. notice that I did not use the phrase "attempted thru-hike".I am just going out for a long walk starting at Springer and I aspire to reach Maine in 5 or 6 months. I just understand that others before me have suffered sickness or injury through no fault of their own and did not get to finish.It is out of respect for these folks that I do not use terms like "failed thruhike' because I don't believe that they (or you or I if heaven forbid something similar happen to us) "failed". If my choice of wording implies lack of confidence or will,I am comfortable to say that it would take something of this nature to prevent me from completing this hike.best of luck to you, hope to see you out there.

Red Beard
01-05-2010, 00:34
I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

I'm currently the Senior Systems admin at a major accounting firm. I'm well aware of how much accountants work. Remember, your Sys Admin has to work whenever you do. In 8 weeks I'm saying bye bye, and I have no job lined up for when I get back. In fact, I may leave the IT field altogether. If hiking the AT is something you want to do, reach out and grab it. No sense in wondering "what if" 20 years from now.

sarahgirl
01-05-2010, 00:48
I'm a nurse. Great job to have if you're flighty :D
Although, I must say my roth account isnt looking that great and I have no 401k built up at the moment. I agree though with what someone else said, jobs will come and go, opportunities for thru-hikes won't always be there.

Graywolf
01-05-2010, 00:58
I am a chef for a Horse track and have about 4 to 5 months off a year, (not in a row) due to between, off, seasons..I do some private chef work on the off seasons, but I do get out for hikes...I will be doing another in August and if things go right, I plan my first thru attempt in 2011.. I am single, no kids no mortage no car payments, so I can pretty much go where I want when I want...

The EXE. Chef said if I wanted to take a full season off to hike, then go for it,I'll still have a job when I get back...But then, I may not come back..

Graywolf

Nean
01-05-2010, 01:10
Working construction or the restaurant biz and living simply I discovered I could work 5-7 months and hike 5-7 months.:sun
Doesn't really take a lot of skill or $.:o

Since I live like a king :)- people think I'm rich!:eek:

Considering I measure success in free time,:-? instead of $$$ & stuff :eek:

I'd agree!:D

cheeks
01-05-2010, 09:17
A bad day on the trail is better than a good day at work.

jombo22
01-05-2010, 13:15
Working construction or the restaurant biz and living simply I discovered I could work 5-7 months and hike 5-7 months.:sun
Doesn't really take a lot of skill or $.:o

Since I live like a king :)- people think I'm rich!:eek:

Considering I measure success in free time,:-? instead of $$$ & stuff :eek:

I'd agree!:D

My sentiments exactly. Wealth is determined by how much you want, not how much you have.

stranger
01-10-2010, 00:44
I'm able to do a decent hike (2-3 months) atleast every other year, and could probably do this every year if I wanted to, however I don't live in the US anymore. In New Zealand and Australia, every single working person gets between 4-6 weeks vacation per year, paid, and in Australia we get leave loading...meaning when you go on leave you do not get paid your typical salary, but your typical salary plus 25%.

On top of that, taking 2-3 months unpaid leave is another right I can exercise if I choose to.