View Full Version : Breaking Point
To everyone that toyed with a thru and then finally did one... what the deciding factor for you? What made you decided to give up your home life for 6 months to hike. What made you decide to quit your job, move from friends and family, etc. I was just wondering because I'm pretty sure I'm close to mine, just not feeling life in general any more. I've been talking about a thru for a while but it seems like something always comes up. How did you know when it was the right time?
Wise Old Owl
10-10-2012, 21:27
Just go... be a little impulsive - don't have regrets and have a damn goal... Work up to it over this winter - you are close enough... Its the treadmill you cannot leave.
MuddyWaters
10-10-2012, 21:32
You sound as if you are searching for a reason to go hike.
Have you searched for a reason NOT to go?
Moose2001
10-10-2012, 21:34
I put an entry in my 2003 journal that said...."to me, the saddest phrase I've ever heard is when someone says, "I wish I had......" So many people say that and don't follow through on a dream and regret it later on. If you have the chance, go for it. Even if you don't finish, it's something you'll always remember.
starbright
10-10-2012, 22:05
I planned for two years to do a thru-hike for 2005 that got put off due to accidents that needed long term physical therapy with my children. A year ago I was diaganosed with spinal tumors the doctors have given me 30% chance of being able to walk after surgery that I put off for my thru-hike for 2013. Not everyone has a last chance to do this but for me it might be my last chance. And if God is willing I will be there March of 2013 with two of my children who are older now and still want to complete it with me.
Not everybody hikes for the same reasons. It's always been a dream and I'm not going to let it get away this time.
You just have to find the reason that you want it, don't make excuses for not doing it. If it is what you really want.
if youre going to do it then do it. stop making excuses and start living with meaning and substance. stop accepting the obstacles in your life and look at them as challenges. i dropped everything and with in 1 month was on the trail from GA to Me for 4 months. i have no regrets. to many people today whine about why they cant do something. stop whining and get off your ars and do something. make it count.
Great question...even greater responses.
starbright. you just inspired me!
forme, the process was backwards. I left a job that I didn't like, thought about what I wanted to do next, then decided to thru-hike. If you had told me a year earlier that I would be on the AT the following spring I would have thought you were crazy. Yea, you will miss home and family for 4-6 months but you will have no regrets by at least attempting to thru-hike if you are the least bit interested (which of course you are oor you wouldn't be here.)
It's something I always wanted to do so when I retired a decided to do it while I still could.
Goal #2 is to complete the AT by section hiking. I'm half way there.
If you love hiking it's not a question of "If" but "When".
I don't consider it the "breaking point." Rather, I consider it the freedom point--the point at which I became willing to open my hand and ungrasp the things that I'm squeezing so tightly that they're preventing me from achieving a dream.
Karma13, that is a great point. one really has to learn to let go of their everday lives and material items and learn to take hold of themselves. freedom is def the right word.
88BlueGT
10-11-2012, 10:49
You sound as if you are searching for a reason to go hike.
Have you searched for a reason NOT to go?
^^ Voted for best response.
I feel the same way EJC. Regardless of your mentality on life, etc. theres always going to be concerns and things that will scare you while making a decision like this. It IS a HUGE decision that could greatly impact your life (both positive and negative). My 'concern' is my job. I have a good job that I don't like. I CAN leave but what happens when I come back? I work in a very niche industry and finding another position may be very difficult... but do I let this hold back my dreams? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.... I feel your pain brotha.
Darwin13
10-11-2012, 11:30
for the adventure and the education.
Drybones
10-11-2012, 14:23
[QUOTE=EJC;1347309] , just not feeling life in general any more. QUOTE]
I believe you'll find the answer in your posting. I suggest you find and read Marta's signature line, it's the best advice you'll get from this site.
To everyone that toyed with a thru and then finally did one... what the deciding factor for you? What made you decided to give up your home life for 6 months to hike. ... I was just wondering because I'm pretty sure I'm close to mine, just not feeling life in general any more. I've been talking about a thru for a while but it seems like something always comes up. How did you know when it was the right time?
EJC, if you haven't already seen Tuts's vids from his thru on YouTube, they're excellent. And his first one, his prologue, sounds like he was in a situation similar to yours. That video is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T9tBO_GIw70). Maybe he's got some input for you in there.
In fact, now that you've reminded me, I might have to go through and watch his stuff again. :D
Thanks for the input everyone. Starbright- you are a huge inspiration. Congrats on your decision to hike! I'm checking out Tut's video as we speak :)
[QUOTE=EJC;1347309] , just not feeling life in general any more. QUOTE]
I believe you'll find the answer in your posting. I suggest you find and read Marta's signature line, it's the best advice you'll get from this site.
You can thank Mark Twain for that sage advice.
My "breaking point" was the death from cancer of my husband's younger brother. Which drove home the message that you can't put things off indefinitely.
But one always has to walk that line between living as though you're going to die tomorrow, and living so that if you don't die you won't wake up hung over, broke, pestilentially infected, and sleeping in the sidewalk.
In other words, find that balance between living for today and living for tomorrow.
ATMountainTime
10-11-2012, 20:47
I think you hit the nail on the head for me, i LOVE my job, my marriage is pretty great, nice lil home in atlanta, crappy truck, great dog...all THINGS. I too have sorta "lost myself" in the possesions, responsibilities, and theres ALWAYS an excuse.
I had a financial set back this past year, but back on track. My wife is actually very supportive, and has helped me shop for my gear, the tough part is leaving a dream job. Yes the trail will always be there, but i may now!
Best of luck!!
Breaking point... that's an interesting question. I don't often chime in on this site, though I do keep up with it from time to time. I never really talk about it in any of my films, but for me... it was the end of a relationship. My soul was wrecked and I began my travels... all the time searching. To be honest, I found my smile again, but not what I was looking for. That is why my travels continue. But hey, at least you get the films...
Tuts
Breaking point... that's an interesting question. I don't often chime in on this site, though I do keep up with it from time to time. I never really talk about it in any of my films, but for me... it was the end of a relationship. My soul was wrecked and I began my travels... all the time searching. To be honest, I found my smile again, but not what I was looking for. That is why my travels continue. But hey, at least you get the films...
Tuts
How odd just today i asked myself "WHY AM I DOING THIS?" My answer to myself was to find my smile again...... which translates to saving your life.
HikerMom58
10-11-2012, 22:13
..........^Amazing, it seems to help so many people. :) I say- whatever it takes ..........
Completing a thru-hike -- what other activity can you do where people who have gone before you would never have given up the time to have gone and done anything else.
What other activity can you undertake and complete where, a decade later, you will likely think about every day.
Datto
The breaking point for me came when when I looked out the window to see who was ringing the doorbell. There stood an IRS agent, State Trooper, and my wife's attorney with divorce papers. I grabbed my backpack, jacket, and headed out the back door and I've been hiking ever since.
No seriously, ask yourself - do you always want to be a person who talks a good game but never does anything to move forward to grasp your dreams or do you want to live a life filled with passion and fulfilled goals?
You want some inspiration. You should see and feel what you would be missing. You live in PA. Go to Mt Katahdin in Baxter SP in Maine as AT thru-hikers are finishing up their nearly 2200 mile walk through 14 states. Look into their eyes. Look at their faces. Notice the gleam in their eyes. Listen to their words. See the determination, commitment, and focus in their stride. See the friends they have made for life. Know the strength of character that develops after 6 months of overcoming challenges on a daily, if not hourly basis. Understand that a thru-hike CAN be one of the healthiest, mind altering, and enlightening experiences you can have in life. Do you want that? Or not? Make the decision! Cross the road or don't cross the road BUT at least don't get caught at the end of your life standing absent minded in the middle of the road while mesmerized by the oncoming headlights wondering whether or not you should cross the road OR you might just get squished like a grape, as Mr Miagi has said.
mrcoffeect
10-13-2012, 08:04
its easy to change where you live or what you do for a living.................... you ever try to change your dreams???????
MuddyWaters
10-13-2012, 12:19
Life isnt about cars, houses, or even jobs. Those are necessary evils.
If you dont do things in your life that you enjoy, then you have wasted it.
Thanks for the responses everyone. I especially have to thank Karma for suggesting Tuts videos and Tuts for his response. The line that really stuck out in my head more than anything was when Tuts said he was doing this "to find my smile again". I'm not looking for a band-aid fix on life or anything, but just finding my smile again would be a awesome start.
HikerMom58
10-14-2012, 19:54
EJC...that's great. If hiking the trail helps you find your smile again then I don't think you could start hiking soon enough. :)
Drybones
10-14-2012, 20:07
Breaking point... that's an interesting question. I don't often chime in on this site, though I do keep up with it from time to time. I never really talk about it in any of my films, but for me... it was the end of a relationship. My soul was wrecked and I began my travels... all the time searching. To be honest, I found my smile again, but not what I was looking for. That is why my travels continue. But hey, at least you get the films...
Tuts
I believe there are only two reasons folks make this journey...they're either searching to find something or trying to escape something...and sometimes both.
turtle fast
10-14-2012, 21:16
My spouse an I sold our home, car and donated a lot of our material possessions. We had insanely great paying careers and we were just repeating the same routine day after day, trying to chase that giant wheel of cheese that every mouse wants. But you get to a point where when you really look at that cheese you realize that it is not fulfilling, and that those mice really are not as happy as well. Those mice have cheese but have just the same problems as the other mice.
MuddyWaters
10-14-2012, 23:26
Ive said it many times. I think we are programmed by our educational system and government to be good little robots.
Most people cannot think outside the box far enough to consider actually having adventurous lives.
The most time they will ever take off of work at once is 1-2 weeks. And it will be dedicated to a trip to disney world, a man-made amusement.
The focus of their life is to work to pay for a house that is larger than they need, cars that are fancier than they need, and possessions they dont need.
Why? Because thats what everyone does. Heaven forbid they think for themselves.
Josh Calhoun
10-15-2012, 09:30
my Thru hike is planned for this coming year. but i do not want to be an old man looking back at my life and asking myself "what have i done that was great". and not being able to anwser. i want a story to tell my kids and my kids kids if i am lucky enough. i do not want to fall into a normal life, just bc it was the easy thing to do. 124 days!!!
For me, I went through some major personal issues. I decided that I HAD to stop being the man I WAS and HAD to START being the man I wanted my son to be and the man I wanted my daughters to marry. Part of that was taking risk, following your dreams, stop saying "I Wish I had," So far it has made me a better man. I have also made mistakes but made them without regret.
turtle fast
10-17-2012, 00:06
The nursing homes and retirement communities of America are full of folks that sat "I could of, would of, should of"....you want to be one of them...