View Full Version : Tossing around the idea...
I have been an avid backpacker for a few years now but over the last year I have really been slacking as my job has pretty much consumed me - and even beyond the backpacking aspect.
A buddy and I were hanging out last night, first time in a year, and he's the same type that likes the outdoors. He's been off in WV guiding rapids, mountain biking, and a few other things so he hasn't been around any to hang out. I've been throwing around the idea of attacking a thru-hike ever since I really got in to backpacking and, of course, this topic came up again last night - as well as the PCT and a couple others. I don't know that I have much of a desire to do the other trails, I know the appalachians better as I have family in VA and a lot of my treks have taken me to the WV mountains (I know the trail is different on the south and north, but I at least have some exposure to the terrain there).
I know the longer I hold off the harder it will be to tackle the trek, but at the same time I don't know that I can break away and drop everything to do it.
I'm 25, I have been out of college for a little over a year (dec 09), I am getting pretty well situated in my job (which took me 2 years to get). I am a precision farming specialist for a John Deere dealer - I work with the GPS systems on tractors and combines. I've been all the way through masters training in my first year. Right now I am the project manager for the installation of our reference GPS network covering much of south western Ohio, as well as spotty coverage further north. My job is good and now that I've been there a year they are throwing more responsibilities my way and I am a lot more comfortable with the industry I am in - in regards to knowing the products/systems and understanding our customer's uses, operations, and the culture. I still have a ways to go, though.
Over the past year I've pretty much sacrificed everything for my job. I let my friendships lapse, I missed out on the one trip that means more to me than anything else - visiting my family's place on Lake of the Woods in Canada (a 2 day drive from here). The only semi-backpacking trip I have gone on since I started working is down to WV - a combination snowboarding/snowshoeing trip. We only hiked a couple miles up in to the appalacian mountains on snowshoes, camped over night, and hiked back. Its just way too much effort to do that over a weekend and make it to work at 8am Monday morning ready for the day.
Last August I bought a new truck - pretty much exactly what I wanted. January 20 I rolled it in a ditch. I hit ice, couldn't hold it on the road, and lost it in the ditch. I made it out OK, but how I'm not sure. The truck was a diesel F250 - when it was upside down all 8500lbs of that thing squashed the cab like a can.
It is a wake up call - puts in to reality a bit more what I've been missing out on. I could be dead right now and I haven't been living hapily. I've put all my time and energy in to my job so I can feel better there and perform better, but I've sacrificed my friends and all that I like to do to build my career. I need to get away and back to some of the things I love.
For those that have dropped everything and taken off - how do you go about doing that? I have a good career lined up and I am making some decent headway in that. I don't know how I would quit that path now and not know what the future holds. It took me 2 years to get this job, though I didn't really know what I was in for - I just wanted a job that took me out of the city to guide me to the lifestyle I want to live. With the current economy and job market only 1 in 5 college students have a job out of college - I was one of those.
How can I drop it all? Should I drop it all? I know no one can answer those but me, however I know there are others that have been in the same situation, or very similar. How did you do it? How did things pan out when you were done with the hike and had to get back to "reality" with a job? Did you have your old job back? Did you get a new job? Are you happy with your decision to drop it all and are you happy with how you are living now?
ekeverette
03-06-2011, 11:31
good jobs,or any job is hard to get. and the older you get, the chances are,more responsibiliy. it's a hard choice. unless you're rich i guess you can have fun,but if you're like most of us,you may want to keep the job. thankfully i'm getting close to the end of my 30 year job, a probation officer. i need the break! my advice ,if it's worth anything, keep the job, and get away as much as you can.
It looks like it's Sunday morning and you don't want to go to work on Monday. If you quit your job, you will get another one -I don't know much about tractor GPS networks or whatever, but I'm sure there will be one needed somewhere next year - you don't have a wife, kids, or a ton of bills to pay (I'm guessing) so it sounds like you are an excellent candidate for a thru-hike. You'll need about $2.00 per mile minimum (for the average hike) and will need to let some things go - you can still communicate with people - e-mail, snail mail, phones, etc. but there is letting go to do. - All that said, you are the perfect candidate for a Thru. NOBO season is pretty much upon us. If you need a few months to get out of your job and other obligations (I'm guessing you are in pretty good shape, 'cause its harder) consider starting a SOBO in mid-June.
If I were you (and I'm not), I think that I would be happier 5,10,20 years out having done a thru-hike than loosing the tractor GPS guy job you had once upon a time (and I'm sure it IS a good job) - I gave up a quarter of college to hike the trail - not the same of course, but everyone who does it is probably a tiny bit reckless with their priorities - that is what is part of the fun of it all.
Ekeverette gave you the answer pretty much everyone in your front country life will - work hard and play on the weekends. It's not wrong, but it is the kind of logical response that a thru-hiker resists. If you think things through in the most practical way, you will take his advice, if you think like a thru-hiker, you will not.
An ideal job is one that you can't wait to get to, and the boss has to turn out the lights to get you to leave. Unfortunately, few have anything like that. Most people work to get money to do what they want to do when they're not working. I'm sure you get a vacation through your job. Schedule your vacations to backpack at the most ideal times, then use the rest of your time to plan the trip. Whatever you do, don't put the trip off. If you can't do a thru hike, do a section hike. Good luck, and remember no person, on their death bed, wished they had spent more time in the office.
I guess I fall in the "Live to Hike" and not the "Hike to Live" category.
As much as I love to hike it's not my world. I've got a family, career and some other interests that I wouldn't dream of giving up just to hike.
Yeah 10-K - I have a family and am in my 40s too. My next thru hike will probably be when I retire and 75,100, and 200 mile sections feel great right now, but this guy is single, 25, educated and not too attached to anything. Given that information, he's the perfect thru-hike candidate.
I assume you get some vacation time at this job, though maybe not a lot in your first year. Recreate on vacation time and weekends. As for friendships, everyone with a job has found they have less free time than they did in college and thus have to work harder to stay in touch. If it's a priority, you can find a way.
Rewarding jobs like yours are hard to find.
Yeah 10-K - I have a family and am in my 40s too. My next thru hike will probably be when I retire and 75,100, and 200 mile sections feel great right now, but this guy is single, 25, educated and not too attached to anything. Given that information, he's the perfect thru-hike candidate.
True... when I was 25 and single the world would have been a safer place if I had been in the woods! :)
Appalachian Tater
03-06-2011, 12:13
Eh usually I would say if you have $7,000+ in the bank to thru-hike and have a little bit of money when you get home to get started again I would say go for the hike.
But you have a job that it took you a while to get and that is important enough to you that you have given up a lot of other things to have it, plus it would be hard to replace with even an inferior job.
So I would say start planning now for a thru-hike when your current job is no longer what you want.
Keep your commitments and major purchases down so you can be ready to take off. Do some hiking and figure out what you enjoy about it that makes you want to do it for 5-6 months, get your equipment lined up, get your shots, save money to pay for health insurance, etc.
Then when all the stars line up for you to leave your job you'll be ready for a thru. Heck, save enough money and do several long-distance trails. Take a couple of years and hike the length of South America.
Having money in the bank and not owning a lot of things will allow you the freedom to do that.
I think it's been pointed out vacation time.There's nothing wrong with section hiking.Have alot of friends who do it because of their career. Friends always loose touch do to real life.But you can work on that.
NCarolinaHiker
03-06-2011, 12:31
I was in an accident 2 years ago that left me in your shoes. A near death experience changes a lot of things in life. I barely escaped getting killed in an accident at work, 6 days later (all spent at home and/or in the hospital or doctor office) I quit. I liked the work but didn't like my job, and ALMOST having the experience of seeing what it feels like when life ends before you've done anything with it made me realize that no job is worth feeling that again.
I don't think anybody is qualified to tell you what to do, and I'm certainly not - but the 15 months I spent out of work were financially straining, and some of the best times I've ever had. I did exactly what I wanted to do and I didn't feel bad for doing it. When I needed extra cash I worked - but never at a job, all cash exchanges. It floated me along just great and I wouldn't have changed that experience for anything.
My only regret in the last 2 years was having the accident in the first place.
Best of luck, either way the trail takes you.
Doing a thru hike would show you how you don't need all of those 'worldly' comforts. There is a lot to be said when you 'seize the moment' in life. Good luck!
Doing a thru hike would show you how you don't need all of those 'worldly' comforts. There is a lot to be said when you 'seize the moment' in life. Good luck!
This is not in direct response to your post but I was thinking about this yesterday when I was hiking because I've spent about $800 at Golite courtesy of their 40% off coupon. I'm literally a walking Golite spokesman!
In my lifetime I've been way poorer than most people and now I'm relatively comfortable when it comes to creature comforts.
I can safely say that, based on my experience, there is nothing noble about poverty and having things is a lot better than not.
To quote Cher (which I think I've never done...), "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."
I think I would rather start south and go north, but like has mentioned that window is fast approaching. I can't quit work tomorrow and start planning on such short time, but maybe with some more planning for next year I could give it a shot - or even do like Appalachian Tater says and do a few hikes, maybe not long distance ones but if I dunk the job that would allow the freedom to get more hiking in, maybe enough to work me in to shape well enough to hit the AT.
I don't hate my job - I like it, as a whole. There are aspects of it I don't like, but the more I am there the better off I am. What I don't like most is, like with most career paths - they "consume". I've lost the balance of life and work. I didn't get any vaccation time last year. My trek to WV was a cram-session over a weekend. I can't do that, though. I need more time to spread that type of event out otherwise its not worth doing - its all around just too much effort to do over 2 days. It becomes a chore with no enjoyment.
Maybe the best thing to do is tone down my adventures to where I can do them over a weekend, or maybe squeeze out a half day Friday and Monday to ease up the rush. That would get me out with my friends backpacking again, and build me back up to where if I can jump out of work for a while to hit the AT I'm ready.
I remember how bad I made it out of my first backpacking trip fall '08 - blisters all over my feet, didn't have the right gear for sub-freezing sleeping, and I was way out of shape when I hit the trail. I think I spent a month or so recouperating from that. I wouldn't go back and do it any other way though - it made a strong impression on me as to what is out there to experience, which most people never get a chance to, as well as the "what not to do's" with gear and being able to hold up on a trek. Subsequent adventures were some of the best times of my life. I've just been missing out on that entirely.
On a complete 180 degree thought - if I did hit the AT perhapps I would get burned out of backpacking. That could be worse than not doing it enough. Just a thought...
ATHokie2012
03-06-2011, 14:48
I'm in a very similar situation, minus the near-death experience (unless you count just getting married?) :) I've been in my job for 3 years now. It pays well and I'm financially secure for the first time in my life. I just got married and the wife wants kids and a house. It would be ridiculous for me to hike the AT, right?
And yet this summer/fall I'll be telling people at work that I'm going to be leaving for ~6 months next year to hike 2200 miles. It's something that I've always wanted to do, and the window to do it is closing. I'm lucky that my wife supports my decision and will happily be planning my drop-boxes.
The big question probably is can you find another job when you get back? A big factor for me is that I can. I am highly skilled, and if my employer won't give me the time off (unpaid of course) to do this then I've made up my mind to go elsewhere. I have a certain degree of confidence that they'll give me the time off - they've put 3 years into training me, why lose me now? If you can say something similar about your job, its worth it to give it a shot. It sounds like you're a hard worker, so you might be surprised at their answer.
Here's what I suggest - do some practice hikes this spring/summer. Make sure this is something you want to do. Then come summer/fall if you've made up your mind to do it, float the idea to your employer. Explain that this is a great opportunity for you and you can't pass it up, but that you would really like to come back and work for them when you're done. Perhaps you can even negotiate some kind of deal where you'll promise to work for them for 2 years if they let you leave for the 6 months. If they say no, you can always give notice in Feb/March next year and be on the trail a couple weeks later. Nothing to be lost by asking them though. Maybe you'll have a job waiting for you when you get back.
You wouldn't burn out only feel you could have done something differently. There are other trails closer to you. you could do those on weekends. On vacation time you could get in 100 -200 miles on the AT if you wanted. You have lots of maybes now you have to decide on a few dos. Make yourself happy, hike your own hike (HYOH).
A very good friend of mine planned a successful thru hike with my help over one weekend at my coffee table. He'd been "loosely planning / thinking" for a while of course, mind you, and was in good backpacking shape, and his money situation was passable, but when he showed-up at my house, he had little idea about things like where, when, miles per day, mail drops, his gear needed updating, etc. - what to do about this and that but we spend a Saturday afternoon planning and did some shopping He was nearly ready to go by Sunday night. This is to say that YOU say: "I can't quit work tomorrow and start planning on such short time" - of COURSE you CAN. - you could plan a thru-hike in an afternoon - you get your gear in a bag, buy a plane ticket (or rent a one way car), put your thumb out when you run out of public transport, and ultimately follow those white blazes from one end to the other. You can make it MUCH more complex than that or absolutely that simple. Some people don't want to let go, some people want to let go cautiously, and some people just let go all the way. None of this is right or wrong, just an observation - you CAN do more or less whatever you want to do, right?
zombiegrad
03-06-2011, 21:28
I'm reading this thread with interest. Whether staying or leaving, it requires some risk and sacrifice assessment. And courage to take action. I was in a similar position of being on a good career path (third year phd study) but feeling the need to take time off to work on some personal growth goals related to school, love, and life generally. It was a difficult and complicated decision to make, and fortunately I had the flexibility to make it. Funny that the decision to thru hike didn't happen until afterward!
But hey, I have the time (took a year long leave of absence), I have the financial resources, and I have my health. I also don't have some of the responsibilities that would keep me back, like children or monetary need.
People are compelled to the appalachian trail for all sorts of reasons, and I think only you can decide if it's appropriate for you. You're the one who has to live with the decision and the consequences of it. Whether you stay or go, there's some kind of risk involved. I think when you're ready and the time is right, you will go. You'll figure out a good way to make it happen!
Snowleopard
03-06-2011, 23:13
It seems to me that you have some questions to think about.
Can you have a good life with this job?
Will this career path lead to a good life?
Are there changes that can be made in the job or in your approach to it that would make you happier with it?
Once you're advanced enough in your career, does it make sense to move to another job in a place with better outdoor opportunities? This also depends on things like closeness to family, friends, or if you're single, dating opportunities.
If you took time out for a thru-hike or two, would you be starting all over in finding a job or career or could you pick up where you left off?
You've given up a lot (friends, hiking) for this job and that's not good if it goes on very long. It seems like one way or another, you need a better balance of job/career and the rest of life.
My choice has been to consider my career very important, but my career (research in academia) has a lot more freedom than most and my work has been fun and rewarding for me.
Good luck.
Walter, k1cmf
The trail will always be there. If you don't go now, the trail will still be there. I wanted to hike the PCT since I was 10 and I finally did when I was 43.
It sounds like your life has no balance. You have given up everything for your career and now you want to give up your career for a long distance hike. That's a big swing in the other direction.
It is hard to tell someone what to do so I will tell you what I did. I had a good job at a billion dollar a year company. I had all the benefits and a good salary. I worked very hard to get to the point of having a job like that. I lasted only a year and a half and went hiking instead.
When I came back from the trail, the economy wasn't doing well. Even though they said the door was always open at my job they would not give me the time of day when I called them up. Companies, especially big ones like that, want people who have their career as a first priority. Because you have your career as your first priority, that is why you are advancing. Once you show them that you don't, you will no longer advance. At least you'll never advance THERE. Maybe somewhere else. That's just the way it is.
I now work for 1/3 of the income I used to have. I do the same kind of work and it's actually more interesting work at the company I'm at now, but there are no benefits, no paid holidays, no medical insurance or anything. But being low-commitment, I have more time for hiking. So it's not all bad. But there won't be any fancy big trucks in my future. At least the trail showed me I don't really want stuff like that anyway.
The way I see it is you can choose careerism and all that that brings, or you can choose to just work at a job that pays for other things you'd rather do. You can choose what you prioritize. I always thought everybody prioritizes work, that work was everything. I thought it defined you and your value and worth. It wasn't until I hiked the trail that I met all these really interesting people who had a totally different value system. Not everyone prioritizes work and somehow it turns out okay for a lot of people. That really opened my eyes to a different way of doing things.
So while it kinda sounds like my current work situation can be blamed on the economy and blamed on my decision to hike the PCT in actuality it is equally or more that I chose it. If I had the courage I would go all the way with my priorities and live in a van, work just enough at some job waiting tables or making espressos to pay for another hike, and then go hike. But I don't. It is hard to give up my puritan work ethic. So for now, I'm working and not hiking and saving 50% of my income because I'm pretty frugal. Someday maybe I'll get another good job and this time I'll hang on to it for 5 years and try to save up at least 75% of my pre-tax income and then I'll be free of this whole quandary of how to find balance between work and what I really want to do because honestly, you can't find any balance in our culture.
blackbird04217
03-07-2011, 12:53
I just read a lot, not all, of the responses. And I agree that no one can tell you what is right for you. But my situation was, I was 23, knew my job was coming to an end as the project we were working on was wrapping up. And simply saw my opportunity - I mean, I could have immediately started looking for a job, and that may have helped me in some regards but I will never know, nor do I need to.
Instead I planned and went on my thru-hike. How I afforded my college loans, taxes, and other expenses - I have no clue. But I know I was well under budget, and would need to be careful what and where I spent pennies.
[b]The end result[b]
I lived for 6 months off $1000. (Less than a months rent)
Met some of the kindest, friendly "strangers" around.
Had a wonderful experience in every sort of weather condition.
Learned to live without my computer, technology, etc...
And most of all - the effects are still occurring at this very moment, life changing was an understatement.
randyg45
03-07-2011, 13:31
I'm pushing 60 and was thinking about my retirement the other day. I will still have a child at home for at least another five years. So I'm stuck with the rat race for a while longer.
But when I can pull the plug, I think I'm going to do some kind of seasonal work in the winter (I'm thinking ski resorts) just to have a roof and a warm place to sleep, and spend my summers hiking, fishing, camping....
And, looking back, which it seems I do more of as I age :>), I am tempted to say that I should have done it thirty years ago. The reasons I am only tempted are my children. In retrospect, all the money stuff is trivial. A lot of stuff is trivial, in retrospect.
Jobs, shmobs. In 30 years jobs as we know them will not exist. (Read The End of Work if you can find it, or anything Kurzweil has written on the Singularity). If you want money, work. If you want to do something else, go do it.
Tempus really does fugit.
mattenylou
03-07-2011, 14:24
Go... just go!
I'm an older female that has dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail since I was a little kid. For more than 50 years I've been riding under the trail's walkway over the Massachusetts Turnpike, dreaming about the day I, myself, would be trekking across that highway, waving to those other dreamers speeding off on their daily grind.
I waited.... I did the family thing, had a great job, nice home, all the toys and goodies that go along with life, while reading every article and book I could find thru the years about My Dream Hike. Someday I would hike the Appalachian Trail, I just knew it!
My "someday" never came, and I doubt it ever will. 15 years ago I had a common woman's surgery and ended up with nerve damage. Long story short, I can no longer sit for more than a minute or two, I spent a few years in a wheelchair, but now can shuffle from my bed to the kitchen if I'm having a good day. I eat pain pills all day and stay awake all night due to pain, reading about others living my dream here on Whiteblaze.
I'll be Whiteblaze's proud PackSniffer President if you'll have me. I follow every link you guys post, and have every piece of equipment picked out, just in case my legs decide they want to move again someday.
Thankfully, we have a weekend cabin in the middle of nowhere that gives me a taste of Mother Nature's glory. From my hammock, if I look hard enough thru the trees, I can picture a trail of sorts along the stream that I hope to be able to follow someday.
This is my first post, I've come out of lurking here to give you a gentle shove. Pack up your stuff and get out there. Following your accident, you could have ended up in worse shape than me, you just never know what tomorrow will bring. This is your second chance at life, don't wait for the "someday", you may never get the chance again.
Do it, NOW!
First I would request a leave of absence from your office. It's a long shot, but if you are valued they might make it work. I just got a approved for 4 months of unpaid leave (tight time frame, but I will request additional time when it comes to that). It's worth asking about.
Second, you still could plan a thru-hike for an April start - but I'm wondering if it would be more stressful and less fun that way.
I personally can relate, we're about the same age and it seems crazy to give up a good job. But my boss summed up my feelings about that pretty well when he admitted that he wished that he did something like that when we was young.
Things will only get more complicated. But that doesn't mean it won't happen later in life either.
sheepdog
03-07-2011, 15:25
Never ask anyone who hasn't anything to lose for advice.
tirebiter
03-07-2011, 15:33
I was working a well-paying but miserable marketing job in DC for a while after college and while I know I was lucky to have a job in this market, I hated that I had given up my outdoorsy and generally exciting life for a stable income and predictable life. So when I was almost hit by a bus a few months back, I could only think, "Oh my god, I almost died a glorified telemarketer." Seems to me that between marriage and kids and whatever else, it only becomes a lot harder to do these sorts of things the older you get, so no better time than now. I start my thru tomorrow.
gravityman
03-07-2011, 16:19
My suggestion - Take your time on planning, don't rush for it. You won't be as invested, and so it won't be as hard to get off the trail when things get tough.
A few thoughts:
1) set aside money for the thru hike (7k-8k is about right if you ask me)
2) Set aside 6 months of living expenses for after the thru
- Yes, 6 months. Include all your bills, food, rent, mortgage, whatever. I would think20k is about right for a single 20-something. This is for the post-hike job search. You should ALWAYS have 6 months emergy fund that you continue to grow as your commitments grow (wife, house, kids).
3) Once you have proven your abilities and your value to your boss, ask for a leave of absence about 1 year to 6 months in advance.
4) Don't let anything stop you in the 3-5 year period between now and when you get to go. You have to be committed. Girls/Significant Others and jobs may/will try to stop you...
I worked at my current job for about 3 years, asked for a leave of absence, got one, and went on my thru with my wife the following year. Came back to the same job. Still love it, but it can get old some weeks. Same with hiking. Same with kids (have 2 of them). Everything worth doing is hard, and hard things sometimes aren't fun.
Gravity
I am one that likes to be detailed and make things a certain way, a perfectionist I guess you could say. I think that is one of my biggest down-falls because I put too much in everything. It irritates me when there is a plan and gears shift half way through - then I have to go back to the drawing board and "plan" again.
In terms of planning I like gravityman's reply. That allows me to "plan my exit" with a few years. The other side of me says screw the planning and pouring over details, I do that too much as it is.
Maybe I should form a plan for no plan? That is, strategize my start without having a real "plan" throughout, other than the gear/supplies (and not put a whole lot of time in that, either - enough to be well-set). After all, it is hiking. I tend to go slower than most and like to hike my own hike :)
I ordered a Warbonnet Blackbird hammock and big mamajamba tarp so I will have to acclimate to that. It should shift my focus and effort a bit more towards backpacking and away from other things. I need to build myself back in to backpacking shape too.