How did you do it?

[Tilly]

How did you do two LD thruhikes back to back?

Or back to back to back?

I have an idea how those in college, living with parents, or retirees, can do it, and I would love to hear from you! But especially those in the middle--how did you do it?

[fiddlehead]

Not sure what you want to know: How do you plan? walk? or get to the trail?
Now that the internet is here, the planning is much easier.
Walking is walking. (Someone named Rainman said that)
Getting to each trail depends on where you live and getting back home is tough sometimes. Hitchiking used to work fine but sometimes, one has to take the Greyhound.

In between hikes is time for work, reflection, cleaning up yourself and staying in touch with the many friends you met along the way.

Sometimes (rarely) you even have to make or buy some new gear.

[Blissful]

I waited a few years between my LD treks until the time opened up with my work. To make money and get newer gear. But I still sectioned in between. :)

[Iron Will]

just do it!!

i have luckily gotten fired after climbing the ranks to the point i was making like 80k a year at 24 yrs old

after my life fell apart from that i decided it had fallen apart it just opened up for me to take it into a direction i wanted instead of the direction my bosses wanted

i got a new job down in paradise known as the florida keys, they house me and feed me and still pay me a tiny bit, there is ZERO stress at this job and i made it clear when i interviewed that i had no intention to go back to the stressful job lifestyle :P


and they will only employ me for upto 9 months out of a calendar year, so with really good diligence of scraping pennies together and thriftyness i will be taking off work for 6 months in Feb, starting my first AT NOBO Hike and then return to work when i am finished or around sept, whichever comes later.

i am gonna work till the summer of 2012 then gonna take off work again for the next adventure im already slowing piecing together ^_^

[CrumbSnatcher]

layed brick 6 months
hiked 6 months

[Spirit Walker]

Most of my hikes have had significant time between them - 1988, 1992, 1999, 2006. In each case I started over afterwards in a new job, home, etc. However we did back to back hikes in 1999 and 2000. In that case, we had planned to go in 1998, but Jim's job and Masters program demands forced us to wait an extra year. We were able to save enough money during that time to hike for two years straight. We figured that it was much easier to go on another hike while everything was in storage and we were homeless anyway, rather than get settled somewhere and then have to pack up again. That's always the hardest part of a long hike for me, especially as I've gotten older and accumulated more stuff. Our travels the past few years were made possible by the fact that we sold our house and stuffed everything in a storage locker before heading back to the CDT. Four four years, we found temporary homes for the winter, then were able to leave as soon as spring was near. Now that we can't hike, we've bought another house and gotten a dog and taken our stuff out of storage. We traded freedom for comfort. Frankly, I preferred the freedom, but I don't have a lot of choice in the matter.

[Lyle]

Had a friend who used to hike/travel 9 months out of every year. Would work for three months during the summer, live VERY frugally, then hike/travel nine months. When I met him had been doing it for 11 years since he had divorced his wife, or rather she divorced him. No kids, no car, no house. He continued this lifestyle for many years since then too. The trips I know of:

Bicycled across the US several times
Bicycled the perimeter of the US
Hiked the AT
Hiked the PCT
Hiked San Francisco to Lewes, Delaware (Hikanation - precursor to the ADT)
Bicycled Fairbanks, Alaska to Key West, FL
Bicycled across Australia
Bicycled Mexico
Rafted the Yukon

These are just the trips I'm aware of, sure he has done more. It is just a matter of choosing your lifestyle.

One point he drives home is don't limit yourself to the conventional hikes or routes. Adventures can be had all around us, very good adventures. There's a lot more out there than just the AT or even the Triple Crown.

[garlic08]

I assume you mean mainly financially when you ask how you do it. The hiker who's out there all the time needs financial security, I guess. That doesn't necessarily mean needing a lot of money, just being secure in what little you might have. It might mean carefully crafting your life so you have no expenses--no house, no car, no insurance, no cell phone contract. A few people can do it and have done it--you meet them on the trails. You can crash at a friend's house for three or four months between travels, pay rent only when you're there.

A friend of mine does that, but he has a retirement pension, so he actually makes money when he's hiking.

[Moose2001]

A friend of mine does that, but he has a retirement pension, so he actually makes money when he's hiking.

Yeah.....that's what I do. 24 years in the military gives you a decent check once a month. I work at a ski resort from November to mid-April. Gives me prime hiking season off.

You can do it also by working for 6 months - hiking for 6 months. You just need to plan so you have no bills during the summer. It's doeable.

[Dogwood]

Depends on exactly what you mean by long distance hike. Under my current hiking habits/style I defiine back to back to back long distance hikes by doing consecutive trails of at least 300 miles or more back to back to back with a yearly total mileage of 2000 miles or more.

But, to answer your question, what currently has been working for me is alternating years between doing one long hike(2200 mile) and sandwiching several(3-5) smaller thru-hikes on "OFF" years.

[Tilly]

Yes, I primarily mean financially. If one has limitless funds, then certainly anything in the world you want to do is possible.

I guess I also mean psychologically. I am not in a position to just 'crash' with friends or relatives. Also the stress of 1)starting a new job already knowing your quit date and 2)training in said job and then leaving right away 3)coming back and hopefully looking for a new one.

I personally would have a hard time taking a long hike or other extended outdoor trip every 6 months even though I would love to. I don't make alot of money in my field and the startup phase when you get back into the world is expensive.

Thanks for the feedback.