To thru or not to thru

[betic4lyf]

I have been thinking about trying to thru hike the AT for some time. I am a senior in High school, and i thought that i might be able to finish in time for college. I am in good shape, but i was wondering if it is at all doable. if not I probabaly plan on going on a monthlong trail crew thing with the svc or othe groups, as well as hiking the long trail. I would apreciate opinions

[Lone Wolf]

Hike the trail and skip college for a year. What's the rush for college?

[eyahiker]

Do it now!
If not you may find yourself
a) saying you'll do it later and then life happens and you will be sitting years from now wishing you had.
b) find yourself swamped with responsibility and not able to pull yourself away because of your obligations, job, spouse, etc.
Plus, some of the best life lessons are learned on trail, you will have a wonderful and different perspective when it comes to the WANT/NEED areas of life in general.
IMO of course ;-)

[Bassline]

Do it now. I would recommend starting a little early if you want to start college this fall. Say, somewhere between the 1st and 15th of March. What others have said though, college can wait. Get this hike out of your system, then worry about college. Besides, you will probably be a different person when it is all said and done.

[neo]

go for it,do it now,college can wait one year neo

[Tractor]

Do............seek..........the................... .thru..................now! Focus and all will get clearer, including college and Anything that comes after.......... t

[frieden]

I agree; do it now. It will give you a better perspective in college, and will teach you how to focus on what really matters.

[rickb]

Not sure about the quality of advise you are getting here.

Assuming you graduate mid June, you will end up going Southbound. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Or am I missing something? I thought you said you are a HS senior this year.

If you do start a thru hike Next June, chances are you will be like most hikers and will drop off the trail. I mean quit. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Except you will be screwed. You will end up bussing tables and living with your folks until mid January. All this while your friends are chasing women, men, or both and having a different kind of great experience. You will be in a living hell with laundry service.

Even if you do walk all the way SOBO, there is something to be said for starting college when everyone else is. And if you walk fast, you will still end up wasting the best months of your life at home. I mean you parent's home.

Could you have it all? Hike the AT in time to start college in the Fall? In theory, yes. If you hike that fast you could even go North. But anything is possible in theory. Others have done it. Not a good bet for most people, however.

So forget the AT. For now. In a couple years you can take off a Spring semester and do it right. Since you willl have realized that avoiding work over the summer is very important and that your parents are unlikely to ever be willing to support a 6 month vacation again, you will end up defying the odds and walk all the way to Maine. Plus you get to go back to college with a new perspective. Which considering that you will have spent your first few semesters drinking and goofing off, will probably be a good thing.

Plenty of great alternatives for next summer other than a thru hike. Sounds like you have a few excellent choices in mind already. The only thing I'd add is that you consider buying a motorcyle (even a small one) and/or sharing your "dream" of a career as a commercial fisherman in Alaska over the course of your senior year. This will give you a tremendous amount of leverage when looking for parental support for your AT adventure down the road. They will be so relieved when you give these up, they will drive you to Springer.

[Whistler]

Totally go for it. If you know you will go to college one day, go ahead and get applications and acceptances, and pick your school for Fall '06. Start the AT as soon as you're able to and go as far as you can before college starts.
-Mark

[Israel]

You can do it all and NOT miss college. I did the southern 1/2 in 93, the northern 1/2 in 97 and then did it all again in 98.
Nothing stops you from applying to the college of your choice, walking for the summer, and then if you don't want to go to school right away, delay everything by one semester, or stop walking and go to school.
In 93 i ended up getting off in PA and then spending 6 weeks in Alaska prior to going to school.

you are only young once.

[Israel]

forgot to add i left in 03 10 days after graduating h.s. my 97 hike started just after graduating college.

98- well, i hadn't had enough so i had to do it all over again.

[jimmyjob]

listen..the summer between high school and college is your shortest...high school ends in june and college starts in august..you will need 5 to 6 months to do the trail....everyone so far has said to hike the trail,hike the trail,hike the trail,hike the trail....i agree but would offer one alternative....instead of thru hiking...section hike one month a summer...

the only reason i say this is because once you stop going to school it is damn hard to go back...i finished my undergrad in 2000 and have just start doing some graduate course...and it has been so hard to get back into it.....

But do what your heart tells you....I have three young brothers and sisters around your age and i have talk to them about doing a large section or the whole thing with me next year...

good luck

[dje97001]

If you are really set on going hiking instead of college--consider applying for college with the rest of your classmates and then writing (or meeting with) the school you get accepted to. Ask them what your options are for deferring entrance by a semester.

If you really want a balanced perspective, post this same question on a "Going to College the Right Way" forum. It isn't suprising that people on whiteblaze would recommend hiking over college--this site is about hiking, afterall.

My thoughts would be that you should apply and get accepted this year, then see what your options are for postponing your entrance by a semester (usually you take a bunch of gen eds for the first 2 years anyway and the restrictions on order are minimal--unless you go into engineering or the like). If they won't accomodate you--then decide what is more important to you.

[Gonzo!]

Worried about finishing college? Do like I did, go to college, then hike when you have only four semester hours remaining to graduate so that you will have to go back to college and finish that off too!

Gonzo!

[jaboobie]

Worried about finishing college? Do like I did, go to college, then hike when you have only four semester hours remaining to graduate so that you will have to go back to college and finish that off too!

Gonzo!

I like that advice. There's nothing quite as fun as a semester of college with only one class. What a great way to celebrate a completed thru-hike.

Also when you delay college you really need to remain focused on getting back. I would imagine a large percentage of people who say they are going to "delay" college end up never going. They get OK jobs and start having fun spending the money with their friends and end up with a lot of responsibilities that make it more difficult to give up the job and go back to college. It can happen quick.

[Ender]

Well, I think it's always a good thing to go for a hike, but at the same time, college is a wonderful experience and really shouldn't be missed. I'd say take a month during the summer for a section hike, and then do the whole thing after college. Try to work it out so you can leave college a semester early so you can leave around the normal time in the spring to give yourself more time in the woods. Just my humble advice.

[Peaks]

Well, it's your decision.

These days, very few people go into college and graduate in four years without taking a semister off, changing majors, and even changing colleges.

If the itch is there, then go hike the AT, and defer college for a semister. Or, just hike the AT for 2 months between high school and college and see if that satisfies your itch. Or, get a year of college out of your way and then hike the AT.

How do you feel about college?

What do your parents think?

Lots of things to think about before making a decision.

[Marta]

If you want to hike, go hiking. College will be there, and chances are you'll make lots of friends while you're there, and maybe even meet your life's partner, and get offered a good job afterwards, and have some kids...and it will never be the right time for you to take six months and hike until you're retired...if you live that long.

Working for, planning for, and executing a thru-hike will put you way ahead of most other freshmen in terms of self-sufficiency and maturity. The more mature you are when you're in college, the more successful your college experience will be. Speaking as a parent of one kid with a masters degree and two more working on their undergraduate degrees: College is too d****d expensive to spend your time partying. Not to mention that those incompletes and Ds and Fs will drag down your transcript forever. Have a great time, but take care of business first.

Those long periods of being alone with your thoughts while you're hiking may also give you some insight into the direction you should take with the rest of your life, which translates into choosing a major and other practical considerations, so you won't waste valuable time in college doing this thing and then that and then the other.

Marta

[MOWGLI]

I have been thinking about trying to thru hike the AT for some time. .....if not I probabaly plan on going on a monthlong trail crew thing with the svc or othe groups, as well as hiking the long trail. I would apreciate opinions

Good question! I'll part company with the rest of the herd and suggest you do the service project. In fact, why not delay college and join Americorps or the Student Conservation Association for a year? The Florida Trail uses SCA Crews. Those folks have a blast - working out on the trail.

Anyone can hike the trail. It takes a special person to give back. A year in Americorps or SCA will provide lasting friendships, great memories, and money for college too. Think about it!

http://www.thesca.org/
http://www.americorps.org/

[max patch]

Whats more important....your education which will prepare you for your career or a kick ass vacation?

Get your education. The trail isn't going anyplace. It'll still be there when you're ready to hike.