View Full Version : Should I do it?
pattydivins
01-23-2011, 19:46
I want to do it. I have no job or plans except possibly being in school during the fall semester (still waiting to hear back from schools). I come on here everyday and fantasize about doing it.
I would have to do it relatively fast, thinking about 4 months to 4 and a half months if I start in early March (school usually starts in august sometime). I am pretty fit/good athlete so I wouldn't mind hiking all day (I usually do this anyway on trips). I have all of the gear, just would need a few cold weather items (warmer tights).
Can't think of a better way to spend my time before heading back to school. This is kind of a impulse thought, but I have a lot of impulses.
What do you think?
/neuroticism
Awol1970
01-23-2011, 19:51
If you got the cash then do it. or you will regret it like hell later.
4eyedbuzzard
01-23-2011, 19:51
If you got the money, why not. Worst thing that could happen is you walk until you're done walkin'.
takethisbread
01-23-2011, 19:54
You should, but lose the time constraints. If you are gonna cap it time wise you are gonna be miserable. Relax. Seriously. Start in march and just hike. All the rest of your stuff will fall into place.
Just hike your hike. Have fun. Get to wherever you get to by the time school starts. Hiking the trail in 4 months is a hard commitment to make. What if you get out on the trail
And you hook up with a crew and y'all become like a family (extremely likely) will you want to push on to keep some silly mileage schedule? Will that enhance the experience?
Point is, if you start in march and God willin nothing goes horribly wrong, you'll probably finish in August.
Do it and enjoy.
Blissful
01-23-2011, 19:54
If you got the money, why not. Worst thing that could happen is you walk until you're done walkin'.
Yep that pretty much sums it
Turtle Feet
01-23-2011, 20:01
Let's put it this way...
How do you feel about waiting until you're, oh, say 52? I turn 52 on the trail this year. I was in your shoes at one time and I didn't go. I finished school, got married, had 3 kids... you get the idea.
If you can go, by all means go!
tf
Lone Wolf
01-23-2011, 20:09
I want to do it. I have no job or plans except possibly being in school during the fall semester (still waiting to hear back from schools). I come on here everyday and fantasize about doing it.
I would have to do it relatively fast, thinking about 4 months to 4 and a half months if I start in early March (school usually starts in august sometime). I am pretty fit/good athlete so I wouldn't mind hiking all day (I usually do this anyway on trips). I have all of the gear, just would need a few cold weather items (warmer tights).
Can't think of a better way to spend my time before heading back to school. This is kind of a impulse thought, but I have a lot of impulses.
What do you think?
/neuroticism
it's a no-brainer
pattydivins
01-23-2011, 23:14
If I were to do it, I guess I should not worry about my school obligations. If I have to get off the trail, then so be it.
NerdyJohn
01-24-2011, 00:55
I work with a man in his late thirties. He hiked the entire AT when he was about your age and still talks about it to this day. How often do we get a chance to do something that inspires us years later?
If you really feel the calling to go, and it seems you do, then by all means, go. You will probably never have as much freedom to drop everything to chase a dream as you do now.
In just a few years you'll be shocked at how hard it will be just to take 2 or 3 weeks off. Go!
crazystick
01-24-2011, 01:59
I would think of it this way, and decide if you should hike the AT.
First, when will your next opportunity be?
Can you afford it? if not, when will you be able to afford it and be able to go?
when will you be able to take 4 months off again?
do you have anything better to do?
look, if you cannot completely finish in four months, its not like your stopping because you couldnt handle it, school is pretty important. just start back up where you left off the next summer.
If I were to do it, I guess I should not worry about my school obligations. If I have to get off the trail, then so be it.
Why not do a traditional thru hike (5-6 months) and start school a semester late?
naturejunkie
01-24-2011, 11:07
If you get admitted to school, ask them if you can defer your admission until the Spring Semester. Most schools will likely say yes. That way you wont have to reapply, and you may be able to preserve all of your financial aid options for the school year.
Go for it! As long as you have the money to do it, why not!
Definitely do it. I was in your shoes, and decided to wait until I graduated college - thinking that I would still have the freedom. Except that I ended up married with a job, and now its much harder to pull off. Still making it happen this year, but I highly recommend just doing it now - it would have been so much simpler for me anyway.
Sickmont
01-24-2011, 13:11
Go for it. 'Nuff said.
Do it or you'll regret it.
Tumbleweed
hikerboy57
01-24-2011, 21:48
For 35 years I've been waiting for the opportunity, and finally april 10, 2012, I'll begin!!
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
Do it now!
pattydivins
01-26-2011, 00:13
I'm going to go for it... late feb/early march
:cool:
TheYoungOne
01-26-2011, 00:26
I would at least do from GA to NJ
pattydivins
01-26-2011, 00:41
I would at least do from GA to NJ
If I am going to do it, I want to make it to and enjoy New England. :sun
Star Walker
01-26-2011, 01:30
im in the same boat. i had to throw things together really fast, like the money lol. but im not in a hurry. iw ill be starting school next winter.
pattydivins
01-26-2011, 01:32
All the graduate programs I am applying for have fall semester start dates, and there is no other option.
Going to take it slow and steady at first to build up the legs, then set it in cruise control and hopefully make it to the end before the end of July. If not, oh well!
jabowman7
01-26-2011, 01:41
The great thing about the AT is that, should you have to drop out to go to school, it'll still be there when you have your next break. The people I know who dropped off completely usually did so because they were focused on keeping a schedule/plan rather than enjoying their time on the trail.
It's not like you lose if you don't make it all the way to Katahdin — you still spent several months walking in the woods. :D
I'm going to go for it... late feb/early march
:cool:
There you go. Worry about finishing after you start.
Just do as much as you can, then break off and go to school.
That's what I did in 1974, when I was 17/18. Since then I've done many trips to do other sections of the trail, some several times. I still haven't quite "finished" the trail, but that's not very important to me (beware of others' expectations).
It can be something you do your whole life, not just something you do just once. I hike much differently as a 50-something than I did as a teen, and get different things back in return.
I think everyone here agrees that it will change you life, for the better.
Just do as much as you can, then break off and go to school.
That's what I did in 1974, when I was 17/18. Since then I've done many trips to do other sections of the trail, some several times. I still haven't quite "finished" the trail, but that's not very important to me (beware of others' expectations).
It can be something you do your whole life, not just something you do just once. I hike much differently as a 50-something than I did as a teen, and get different things back in return.
I think everyone here agrees that it will change your life, for the better.
Do it. Even if you don't complete a thru hike in the 4 1/2 months you have, You'll still have done 4 1/2 months of awesome hiking.
moondoggie
01-26-2011, 21:00
I have been waiting for this opportunity since I have been 8 years old!!!! Finally at 52, this has been my first chance, and I am taking advantage of it!! I finally hiking in March...
In other words, you may never get another chance.
You gotta ask yourself...how bad do you want it?
This isn't really the place for an unbiased answer to that question :)
But we can all say from experience that having the time and freedom to take a 5 month hike doesn't come easy. And I don't reagret any trip/adventure I've taken during summer breaks. You really won't regret it.
tirebiter
01-28-2011, 01:46
I just quit my job (hated it anyway) to do it is year. I figure I'm 22 and this is the simplest my life will ever be! We gotta do it while we can.