View Full Version : Why I'm hiking the Trail in 2013. How about you?
No trail name yet so everybody can call me Max for now.
My plane ticket from Milwaukee is booked for April 4th and I plan on hitting the trail the next morning. I must say suddenly this trip that I only teased myself with during the summer of 2011 is seeming so real!
In 2011 my mom (turtle feet) thru-hiked and as I followed her hike and listened to her stories I felt like this was something that I MUST experience. But to be honest I've never been completely sold on a 5-6 month hike. from my childhood until my last year in college I was lucky enough to spend my summers on 7-14 day canoe and hiking trips. Even when I was working summer jobs I was able to go on two or three trips. But after college I joined the workforce and suddenly a year and half went by until I even slept in tent; that was July 27th 2012. That next week I decided that I would attempt that AT hike toyed with in mind for over year.
In August I started obsessively saving money, decided that I'd quit my job in march, and begin the trail on April 5th 2013!
To be honest haven't felt this nervous and excited since those few days before I left for college over 7 years ago. Not just because I'm throwing myself into the new and challenging experience of very long hike but, I also feel like this upcoming April marks a dramatic new chapter in my life. As I said I am leaving my job at the end of March to hike the trail, but truth be told I would be leaving regardless... I work an office job (8-5 on a computer in a cubicle) and I need to get away from that.
Aside from the job I also need a change of location. I've lived my entire life in Illinois and Wisconsin and badly want move somewhere with mountains on horizon. I thinking Pacific Northwest or Alaska but who knows.
Now I honestly do not expect to come to some sort of "moment of clarity" on trail and discover an occupational calling to pursue. But i do hope that the experience provides me some time to reflect on where I'll be and what I'll be in doing the next year or two.
That's why I'm leaving Milwaukee for the AT in few months.
Can't wait to meet some of you guys in Northern GA very soon!
~Max
Max,
You and I sound similar in many ways. 25 years old, grew up in the midwest (Indiana), hiking the AT in 2013 (starting on Jan. 1st. 6 days!) Nervous? You betcha. As cheezy and cliche as it may sound, I really am treating my trip as a "soul search." I grew up in a conservative Christian home, believed it all for years, went to a Bible school, did some ministry and mission trips, then realized I don't know what the hell I believe. So I'm taking a slim Bible (slim and LIGHT!) and two journals. I figure I'll have all the time in the world to read and write. Sort out my thoughts. Maybe find some answers. I believe there's no better place for that than nature. I've also been working random jobs for the last 7 years. Really no direction, just working to make money. No fulfillment, satisfaction, goals, or purpose. So I hope to resolve some of that on the trail too. I realize I may not have an epiphany, but I'm hoping for some level of clarity. I also REALLY want another big challenge and really CRAVE another adventure. I get bitten by the adventure bug at least every couple of years. My last one was Australia in 2010. Now it's time to see what the US of A has to offer.
I hope that on my trip I grow in flexibility, independence, mental and physical strength, discipline, and determination. I hope to get over my bitterness and cynicism so I can get on with life with a fresh and healthy outlook. I hope I have the strength to finish the journey. I hope my dad is proud of me. I hope my stick legs develop some muscle! I hope I see some amazing wildlife and capture some breathtaking scenery with my camera. I hope I meet some amazing people. I hope for solitude in the most natural, most fundamental way. I hope I don't run out of money. I hope I don't run out of motivation.
There's a good chance I'll never see you on the trail, Max since I'm starting a full 4 months before you. I'll be close to finished when you're starting! But just know as you're walking the trail on your own journey that 4 months prior Rifle walked the same path! Best of luck to you! I'm sure you'll do great.
- Rifle
Hey Max I met your mom hiking in 2011! If I recall thru hiking is a family tradition.
Your mom and I had traded info here on WB and just by luck we met on the trail during the first week out.
I'm sure your mom and dad are very supportive of you. Good Luck!
It's going to be cold and lonely this time of the year.
Capt Nat
12-26-2012, 19:50
I like the thread topic. Now I'm asking myself, why am I hiking the trail? I guess my whole life has been one adventure after another. I just moved off the boat I had lived aboard and cruised for the last ten years and it just seemed the thing to do to hike the trail. I've got no allusions that my body may give out or an injury could derail me. A death in the family is very possible and could pull me off the trail. None of that matters. I will strike up the approach trail at Amicalola with the intent to climb Katahdin at the other end. Whether I make it or not, my life will be changed forever. The alternative would be to sit and do nothing. After the trail, I don't know, but an eddy or stray zephyr will surely whisk me in some direction. I'm looking forward to the experience and the people that will soon be forever a part of me.
Brandon BUNCE
12-27-2012, 03:30
for many reasons
1 i like to travel
2 to get in touch with nature and develop spiritually
3 just to do and say i did it even though people tell me its a crazy idea
4 it is going to be a fun adventure full of natural wonder historical sites and a fun place to go
5 i like nature and outdoor activities
Brandon BUNCE
12-27-2012, 03:31
fun places to go
HikerMom58
12-27-2012, 08:02
I'm pulling, on the sidelines, for you Max L, to fulfill your dreams. I know you will, whatever that looks like.....
Rifle - are u going to journal on line as well? If you do, I'd like to follow u along on your journey. I'd like to meet y'all when you come through Daleville, VA. Send me a PM for my contact info.- Roanoke Trail Angels like to help out hikers in our area.
Capt Nat- it won't be long now. :) I'm thinking u should get to meet quite a few out there from WB.....Class of 2013 is about to begin... exciting!! :)
Half-Life
12-27-2012, 21:44
Trailname TBD (Vaughn)
First post, very much excited for this year's hike.
In 2006, I took three months off from work to do the Mongol Rally, driving a crap car from London to Mongolia. Having spent the previous three years working from a cube, I wanted the time away to have an adventure. I got back to work after my leave of absence and knew that I was done working there. I quit in February 2007, enjoyed a few months of work-free life, and then moved to Japan in July 2007 to teach English.
I spent five years there and became really good friends with an outdoor enthusiast (I also decided that being willfully unemployed in ones life is a good thing to do occasionally). He hiked the PCT some years ago and I always enjoyed listening to his stories and respected his ability to survive on a minimal supply of material goods, as well as being really handy when it came to making due in the wilderness.
The timing and budget work out this year. I can only imagine it will be harder to find the time (or make the choice to quit and take half a year off) in the future, so at 32 and single, I'm going to give it a shot. I'll head back to school in 2014 for a change in career, too. I'm enjoying the preparation and looking forward to the basic-ness of it all while meeting some like-minded hikers on the way. At times, the idea of hiking so far seems daunting, but I know if I never at least make the effort, I'll look back and wonder if I could have done it. So I'm going to do it.
Max, good luck. I'm planning a mid- to late-April start, so unless I'm hoofing it, I probably won't see you.
HikerMomKD, mind if I get in touch?
sgt easy
12-27-2012, 22:01
thanks for making me think - amidst all the logistical crap involved in actually making a run at the a.t., the motivation, or whatever spirit that moves me, got a bit lost. i'm an old fart; ex marine vietnam vet (thus the sgt easy, not my yet to be determined trail name); ex marine biologist, with more than 20 years studying ecology of tropical shores, then moving into applied science focussed on making polluters of the oceans pay for their "mistakes"; avid reader, paddler, hiker, fisherman; 30 year "veteran" husband, and now widower, of a beautiful soul - yikes, i could go on. i'm in it for the journey, the joy and the suffering. who knows where and when it will end, and does it really matter? i'm not gregarious, but i'm with you all, those who have hiked it and those who will...walking on the earth, as long as she grants us the privilege. that's why i'm going.
colorado_rob
12-27-2012, 22:17
Easy answer for me, nothing too exciting, just a four month long retirement party. Well, maybe "celebration" is a better word. Just want to chill out and push the body hard, one of my favorite pasttimes, and at the same time thoroughly resting the mind. Can't wait! Nice thread.
I started thinking abou hiking the trail about 8 years ago when we moved to Tenn. from Mich. I raised my children giving up alot for them. Empty nest now, retired young because I could. Wife supports me although i truly wish she would come with. I now have a cousin on board and he and i are excited. All our family are behind us, and there are those whom say we are nuts. Now i have a bigger incentive and that is to make all those nay sayers eat their words because CAN'T never did anything. Good luck to all those that share this dream. C ya on the trail.
turtle fast
12-28-2012, 13:00
The trail does afford you the time to do a lot of thinking and you DO realize what is important to you. You also realize how good sometimes you have it and things you take for granted...like indoor plumbing. I have though run into folks that did have an epifany on the trail about their lives, but I think that the time and space afforded by the trail helped them to their conclusions.
turtle fast
12-28-2012, 13:18
As another resident of Milwaukee...and as someone who has traveled and lived elsewhere extensively....you will find out that the character of here is unique and is uniquely situated to afford a variety of activities as well as offer a good job environment. Unfortunately it does take money to live. Now when one thinks Milwaukee...NOBODY and I mean NOBODY thinks it sounds like a nice place to live and work (and that's the secret). Not to say that the place has a few problems (like everywhere else), but you will realize that if you wanted to go somewhere that being in the center of the country affords an easy airplane ride to sun and surf, to the big time skiing of Colorado or Montana, to a ride to some of the best canoeing in the US. And I have not even gotten to the cultural benefits of being close to Chicago...and yet not feel close to.
Loon Louie
01-03-2013, 00:26
Life is kind of like being on one long hiking trail. We all know where we started and I think most of us know where we want to end up and what kind of person we want to become by the end. Getting there and being true to it is the hard part, even though we all know we simply have to put one foot in front of the other. For me, this hike is about finding my courage and confidence and learning to humbly put one foot in front of the other.
In South Africa more than 2 million children n go to school each day without having had anything to eat since they left school the previous day.
blisters for bread is an Organisation that feeds over 375 000 children every day. They are fed a warm brea Kraft of porridge when they arrive at school and a cooked lunch before they go home.
This scheme is a non government body and survives on fun raising.
southern cross and I ( springbock) will be walking to raise funds through being sponsored by companies and individuals in South Africa.
we only have time to walk 1000 miles from springer mountain to Harpers ferry but we hope to raise over 500 000 rand enough to feed 500 children for a year.
http://1000atmiles.webs.com/
In South Africa more than 2 million children n go to school each day without having had anything to eat since they left school the previous day.
blisters for bread is an Organisation that feeds over 375 000 children every day. They are fed a warm brea Kraft of porridge when they arrive at school and a cooked lunch before they go home.
This scheme is a non government body and survives on fun raising.
southern cross and I ( springbock) will be walking to raise funds through being sponsored by companies and individuals in South Africa.
we only have time to walk 1000 miles from springer mountain to Harpers ferry but we hope to raise over 500 000 rand enough to feed 500 children for a year.
http://1000atmiles.webs.com/
Sorry about the spelling. iPad doing its predictive text thing and me not checking before clicking on post.
Hope you get the picture
HikerMom58
01-03-2013, 05:02
Sorry about the spelling. iPad doing its predictive text thing and me not checking before clicking on post.
Hope you get the picture
I do :) Nice Mulungu...hope to see you in Daleville VA. PM me for my contact info, if you like.
Many Moons
01-03-2013, 21:03
No trail name yet so everybody can call me Max for now.
My plane ticket from Milwaukee is booked for April 4th and I plan on hitting the trail the next morning. I must say suddenly this trip that I only teased myself with during the summer of 2011 is seeming so real!
In 2011 my mom (turtle feet) thru-hiked and as I followed her hike and listened to her stories I felt like this was something that I MUST experience. But to be honest I've never been completely sold on a 5-6 month hike. from my childhood until my last year in college I was lucky enough to spend my summers on 7-14 day canoe and hiking trips. Even when I was working summer jobs I was able to go on two or three trips. But after college I joined the workforce and suddenly a year and half went by until I even slept in tent; that was July 27th 2012. That next week I decided that I would attempt that AT hike toyed with in mind for over year.
In August I started obsessively saving money, decided that I'd quit my job in march, and begin the trail on April 5th 2013!
To be honest haven't felt this nervous and excited since those few days before I left for college over 7 years ago. Not just because I'm throwing myself into the new and challenging experience of very long hike but, I also feel like this upcoming April marks a dramatic new chapter in my life. As I said I am leaving my job at the end of March to hike the trail, but truth be told I would be leaving regardless... I work an office job (8-5 on a computer in a cubicle) and I need to get away from that.
Aside from the job I also need a change of location. I've lived my entire life in Illinois and Wisconsin and badly want move somewhere with mountains on horizon. I thinking Pacific Northwest or Alaska but who knows.
Now I honestly do not expect to come to some sort of "moment of clarity" on trail and discover an occupational calling to pursue. But i do hope that the experience provides me some time to reflect on where I'll be and what I'll be in doing the next year or two.
That's why I'm leaving Milwaukee for the AT in few months.
Can't wait to meet some of you guys in Northern GA very soon!
~Max
Should see you on trail or we will here about each other. I am hitting trail on 12th at Franklin NC to start NoBo. That is 8 days out from Springer. Good luck on your hike. Hike On!!!
Miller
tjkenney67
01-03-2013, 22:05
Life is kind of like being on one long hiking trail. We all know where we started and I think most of us know where we want to end up and what kind of person we want to become by the end. Getting there and being true to it is the hard part, even though we all know we simply have to put one foot in front of the other. For me, this hike is about finding my courage and confidence and learning to humbly put one foot in front of the other.
Nicely said....
clowncsc
01-05-2013, 22:46
I'm retiring from the Marine Corps after 20 years infantry in February and why do I choose to add to the thousands of miles already on this body....because I'm sick of the news, where our country is going and I just want to have a clear mind shoot I may even just turn around and walk back south when I get north.....
cliffdiver
01-05-2013, 23:45
I'm going because something's calling me there, it's been a dream for many years. The odds are against me, but I have money and the patience to hike my own hike, so maybe I achieve my dream. At least I will have tried, at least I will not have let a dream slip by with regret. I'm going to take it one day at a time, one shelter/campsite at a time and hopefully, just keep moving to the end of my dream. That's all I got.
My reason is simple and somewhat of a cliché really, I had a brush with death. Two years ago I came down with gall stone induced severe necrotising pancreatitis with a side of sepsis and a helping of E. coli. While laying in the hospital for two and a half months I came realize, as people do in these cases, that I hadn't been doing what I had always wanted to do with my life, traveling. Since I was about 13 or 14 I always had this desire, wanderlust as it is called among travel junkies, to travel, go somewhere and see something new and exciting. As life tends to go tho I ended up making choices that did not allow me to travel, in my case supporting my wife while she went to college. Now tho I have come to the point that I no longer want to wait for the next chance, talk about doing but not, dreaming but never achieving. Come rain, shine, fire, brim stone, the apocalypse (so much for that) - I will and MUST set foot on the AT. On March 27th I will be there and wether I make it 2 miles or 2000 miles, the next time I meet death I will be content knowing I lived.
I hope to meet you on the trail Rifle. I am interested in hearing your story more in depth. I am hiking the trail to be used by the Lord, so it is a mission trip for me. I'm also bringing my Bible, and I think it's amazing that you are doing the hike. I hope that it brings you clarity, and that you find all the answers that you are looking for. Although, I already have a good feeling that you will :)
Max- that is awesome. I couldn't fathom working in a cubicle. I understand the longing hearts that many of us have to just adventure and explore. Gosh, that just makes my heart smile thinking about you pursuing a dream. I could read these things all day. I'm personally hiking the trail to hopefully be a light to someone. I pray to be the crutch that someone needs on a rough day, the smile that is just enough to keep someone going one more step. I hope that everyone finishes this year! Anything is possible.
I have taken multiple semesters off of college to work. I enjoy being hands on, and though I crave knowledge, I wasn't satisfied with the ways I was getting fed the knowledge in school. I really just want to help people. I guess I've always felt a calling to missions. We have family friends in North Carolina, and I've been absolutely in love with the Smokies since I was tiny. I decided that I needed to hike the trail when I was in middle school. I have fought with the idea for years. Finally, after a fall trip to Seneca Rocks, WV, a family friend brought up the trail and I instantly started pouring out my dreams. They were encouraging and urged me to pursue that dream. I'm almost 21, with no boyfriend, children, husband, I still live with my parents. I have been working full time and frugal as can be for over two years now, so money is no issue. I mean, why not! We only live once, and I can't stand regrets. Ever since that trip, I have wrestled with the idea. I needed clarity, and I spent a few months going back and forth. Finally in December, I knew for certain that I was definitely doing it. Ever since then, I can't go more than a few minutes without getting jittery with excitement! I've trained for marathons and have been running consistently, hiking as well as doing some killer Insanity workouts for a long time, so I'm not too worried about my physical shape for the trip.
I want to grow closer to Christ, be away from society and rid my addictions with the materialistics and junk in my life. I want to find a greater purpose for my life. Learn to abandon fear, and push through the hardest of times. I want to meet people with the same craving for nature that I have, because I have yet to meet anyone like that other than my Mom. I want to spend nights just listening to what the wind, and the moving streams have to tell me. I want to be at one with nature for more than a day.
I'm also a photographer, so I am stoked to photograph and blog the trip. I can't wait to write back home to my church and family about how God is using me out on the trail. Can't wait, can't wait!!!
TheGreek
01-07-2013, 09:12
I burned myself out at my sales job. It's a longish story that you'll probably hear should you meet me on the trail, but it wound up with me realizing that after growing significantly and being bought out, it was no longer the company I knew/loved.
Somewhere over that 5 year period, I went from being the person I wanted to be to a person I didn't really like very much. Hoping to come out the other side of the AT as the person that moved to Colorado 5 years ago, and not the burned out salesman I am right now.
jimmyjam
01-07-2013, 14:13
I'm going because:1) I can and 2) I just love the outdoors.
clowncsc
01-07-2013, 20:13
I'm going because:1) I can and 2) I just love the outdoors.
I'll go with your answer as well.
Why I'm hiking the AT?...... I just bought my plane ticket yesterday (March 11) and it still feels like a dream. I can't think of a time when I didn't want to hike, be in the woods, hear birds around me... and if I may say, not be bothered by indoor plumbing ;) So, at this time I am able to go and my kids are encouraging me to do so.
"These shoes are made for walking" ...atop Camelshump, Vermont
18874
robertblake60
01-09-2013, 16:57
I'll probably see you then; I'm starting on the 10th. I don't have a trail name yet, so I'll be known as "Bo".
No trail name yet so everybody can call me Max for now.
My plane ticket from Milwaukee is booked for April 4th and I plan on hitting the trail the next morning. I must say suddenly this trip that I only teased myself with during the summer of 2011 is seeming so real!
In 2011 my mom (turtle feet) thru-hiked and as I followed her hike and listened to her stories I felt like this was something that I MUST experience. But to be honest I've never been completely sold on a 5-6 month hike. from my childhood until my last year in college I was lucky enough to spend my summers on 7-14 day canoe and hiking trips. Even when I was working summer jobs I was able to go on two or three trips. But after college I joined the workforce and suddenly a year and half went by until I even slept in tent; that was July 27th 2012. That next week I decided that I would attempt that AT hike toyed with in mind for over year.
In August I started obsessively saving money, decided that I'd quit my job in march, and begin the trail on April 5th 2013!
To be honest haven't felt this nervous and excited since those few days before I left for college over 7 years ago. Not just because I'm throwing myself into the new and challenging experience of very long hike but, I also feel like this upcoming April marks a dramatic new chapter in my life. As I said I am leaving my job at the end of March to hike the trail, but truth be told I would be leaving regardless... I work an office job (8-5 on a computer in a cubicle) and I need to get away from that.
Aside from the job I also need a change of location. I've lived my entire life in Illinois and Wisconsin and badly want move somewhere with mountains on horizon. I thinking Pacific Northwest or Alaska but who knows.
Now I honestly do not expect to come to some sort of "moment of clarity" on trail and discover an occupational calling to pursue. But i do hope that the experience provides me some time to reflect on where I'll be and what I'll be in doing the next year or two.
That's why I'm leaving Milwaukee for the AT in few months.
Can't wait to meet some of you guys in Northern GA very soon!
~Max
Max, do you happen to remember when you and your mom were walking on the VA creeper trail, and you were circled by some hikers on bikes? I was among that group! Turtle Feet is a great person. Last I saw her was in Monson, Me.
Best of luck to you. You already know you'll have the time of your life out there.
Be sure to tell Turtle feet Lando says hi
The travel/adventure bug first bit me when I was 15 and went to play baseball in Australia for a summer. I worked my butt off all year raising money and luckily didn't have to pay anything to go, otherwise it would have never happened.
Since then nothing has fulfilled me more then seeing and experiencing as much as this world as I can. I joined the Peace Corps at 21 and when my service was up I moved to eastern Europe and from there continued to travel. I moved back home from the Ukraine in late 2011 when I found out my dad was sick. Regrettably, living abroad was a perfect excuse to avoid my family for a number of years, especially my dad, who strongly disapproved of my lifestyle.
Fortunately when I came home I got to spend 7 months with him before he died and in that time we really talked to one another for the first time and developed a friendship that I thought would never exist. He told me that while he never understood my adventurous, unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous lifestyle he now, at the end of his own life, wished he could have lived more like his son.
I'm hiking the AT for a lot of the same reasons as other people. For the challenge, the experience, the people, but also because for the first time in my life, I know that my dad would want me to. I depart Monday, April 8th, 2013. What would've been his 60th birthday.
Max, do you happen to remember when you and your mom were walking on the VA creeper trail, and you were circled by some hikers on bikes? I was among that group! Turtle Feet is a great person. Last I saw her was in Monson, Me.
Best of luck to you. You already know you'll have the time of your life out there.
Be sure to tell Turtle feet Lando says hi
lando11, Unfortunately I don't have this memory.. I wish I did! My younger brother visited my mother that summer for a section of VA... i was pretty jealous sitting back Milwaukee. But I had to work,work,work. I will def remind them! I'm sure I'll get a great story outta it.
I had been working as a musician since high school. Mostly just teaching saxophone and guitar lessons. I moved to LA to get more serious and to get studio work. Started practicing a lot more and what do you know, I got really bad wrist tendinitis, just from overuse apparently. I ended up with "minor" nerve damage in my right hand. Minor because It's not supposedly permanent, it'll just take a year or two to heal completely. I should be pretty glad about that I guess.
Anyway I need to take a break from music from a while, so this seemed like a good idea. I can't use trekking poles though : / I hope my skinny little legs can carry me the whole way!