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  1. #1

    Default Thru Hike When I Retire

    I should be end to end thru hiking the AT in 2032. I’ll be newly retired and 57 years old. Anyone else planning to thru in 2032?

    Between now and then I have 14 years to hike the short trails, the close trails, and lock down a system that won’t let me down. I just did the math and while a lot can happen between now and then, I’m stoked!

    I can’t afford the long stuff right now but easy to enjoy much shorter hikes with my kids until I can seems like a good alternative.

  2. #2

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    My plan is to retire at 55 or 56 in 2020 or 2021. I hope to thru hike then but have one or two personal matters that might get in the way. But it's mostly a go.

    In the meantime I've probably read half the memoirs out there, plus a few how-to-hike-the-AT books. Plus some hiking of course .

  3. #3

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    I met a retired guy this winter, while camping in Ocala National forest, who has thru hiked the AT three times since his retirement. He loves it. He is getting ready to start thru-hike #4 as I post.

  4. #4
    Registered User Mikerfixit's Avatar
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    I will have to work until I am 70 before I can retire. I hope to do a through hike as well but worry that I may have too many health issues by that time. Still, 20 years is a long time and its hard to know what the trail might be like by that time. Like you I plan on hiking shorter sections and get my gear dialed in. I just have to stay healthy.

  5. #5

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    I guess it good to have goals. Good luck in 20 years
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  6. #6
    NOBO Mar '21 BowGal's Avatar
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    Saw an interview with a Lithuanian man who is hiking the AT again...at age 87. He is a triple crowner.

    Think the interview was with two women who go by “Wheezie and Duck”
    We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.
    - Finis Mitchell


    https://lighterpack.com/r/6yyu2j

  7. #7
    imscotty's Avatar
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    I'm just trying to figure out how people retire at 57 years old. Clearly I'm doing it wrong
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


    John Greenleaf Whittier

  8. #8

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    Sorry, the trail is full for 2032. Maybe you can try for 2033

  9. #9
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    Default Thru Hike When I Retire

    2032 - that's a long way off. When I was late 20s, early 30s, living in Atlanta, I dreamed about hiking the AT when I retired...
    over the years, a lot of things changed. we moved out west , and, while at first that didn't change the dream, but as I became aware of the PCT, that eventually became my new long-trail priority. over time, I began to notice some physical things... little injuries or muscle aches and pains don't heal up as quickly as they used to. Balance isn't quite as easy as it once was. Nothing serious, but now, instead of, say, scurrying quickly across a stream on a log, I have to take my time and be prepared that I might fall in anyway... Gotta pay more attention to the knees, too...
    But the biggest thing I didn't think about, all those years while I was working and dreaming about hiking that long trail when I retired -- the grandkids came along! That's was a whole new experience. I'm a fortunate man, in that most folks I know have kids and grandkids that live somewhere else. Mine are just a few miles down the road, so I see em all the time. Yeah, it never occurred to me, all those years dreaming about the long hike that I'd have these little youngsters I couldn't stand to be away from anywhere near long enough for a long hike.
    And, I'm good with that. Life has a way of changing your priorities. Anyway, I figure, for now I'll enjoy time with the family, and once the kids turn into teenagers -- that might be the time for me to start on my triple! Or double triple! ?

  10. #10

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    Well, I'm 59.5.....and am sort of being forced to retire. I have worked in IT for 38 years. My current "companies".....well, I've worked there 15 years...and FOUR different names on the paycheck. I was informed a few weeks ago, I am being "benched"...(replaced by young, offshore people). SO.....I HOPE to hike in 2019. I'm caring for two parents right now, taking 3 days a week. Which is where I am needed now. When I called my wife with "the news we've been expecting for 4 years", she replied "it's a blessing".

    How are we? Our financial plan has me fully retired/never work again at 62. So we are "almost" there. In the last few years, we put 6 figures into savings. We've saved the max in our 401K's for 35 years or more. NEVER took any of that out, not even those "loans". We lived well under our means. In retirement, with 5 401K's, two small retirements, two social securities.....have had no debt for 5 years now......we "could" actually get a RAISE when we retire. It takes long term planning and commitment. Start when you are in your early 20's. Keep the long term goal in your mind. Live under your income. Pay off the house early, drive cars for 10 years (my truck is 20 years old...my daily driver is 10....).

    So....here's hoping for 2019 (depends on family).
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  11. #11
    Registered User Kaptainkriz's Avatar
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    I'm in the same pattern for 2030.
    Quote Originally Posted by chknfngrs View Post
    I should be end to end thru hiking the AT in 2032. I’ll be newly retired and 57 years old. Anyone else planning to thru in 2032?

    Between now and then I have 14 years to hike the short trails, the close trails, and lock down a system that won’t let me down. I just did the math and while a lot can happen between now and then, I’m stoked!

    I can’t afford the long stuff right now but easy to enjoy much shorter hikes with my kids until I can seems like a good alternative.
    Plaid is fast! Ticks suck, literally... It’s ok, bologna hoses off…
    Follow my hiking adventures: https://www.youtube.com/user/KrizAkoni
    Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphagalhikes/

  12. #12
    Registered User kolokolo's Avatar
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    I'm thinking about the possibility of an AT thru when I retire in 5-7 years, but like many have already said, lots can happen between now and then. I don't know for certain what my health will be like, and my wife as well.

    So I've been sectioning for about 10 years now, and I probably will have just about completed the AT in sections when I retire. At that point I can decide on the Thru, and not fell to bad about it if it's not feasible.

    Section hiking is very different from thru hiking, I have come to realize, but I have learned a lot about my equipment, my needs, and my capabilities by section hiking.
    Formerly uhfox

    Springer to Bear Mountain Inn, NY
    N Adams, MA to Clarendon VT
    Franconia Notch to Crawford Notch

  13. #13
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by imscotty View Post
    I'm just trying to figure out how people retire at 57 years old. Clearly I'm doing it wrong
    1) The problem I’ve realized is that retiring at 50 is extremely simple to do, unfortunately the most reliable way to do so is to start preparing for it in your early twenties.”

    2) Of course you’re doing it wrong, you’re hanging out with us
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by rhjanes View Post
    Well, I'm 59.5.....and am sort of being forced to retire. I have worked in IT for 38 years. My current "companies".....well, I've worked there 15 years...and FOUR different names on the paycheck. I was informed a few weeks ago, I am being "benched"...(replaced by young, offshore people). SO.....I HOPE to hike in 2019. I'm caring for two parents right now, taking 3 days a week. Which is where I am needed now. When I called my wife with "the news we've been expecting for 4 years", she replied "it's a blessing".

    How are we? Our financial plan has me fully retired/never work again at 62. So we are "almost" there. In the last few years, we put 6 figures into savings. We've saved the max in our 401K's for 35 years or more. NEVER took any of that out, not even those "loans". We lived well under our means. In retirement, with 5 401K's, two small retirements, two social securities.....have had no debt for 5 years now......we "could" actually get a RAISE when we retire. It takes long term planning and commitment. Start when you are in your early 20's. Keep the long term goal in your mind. Live under your income. Pay off the house early, drive cars for 10 years (my truck is 20 years old...my daily driver is 10....).

    So....here's hoping for 2019 (depends on family).
    I was in a similar situation, but a little closer to retirement. I knew a few years ahead - when my company started migrating to new technology - that I'd be out in a couple years, 2012, at the age of 66.
    I didn't want to touch me social till I hit 70, and I think that's one of the best decisions I ever made! I had to find a way to get the those 4 years, tho. I'm sure the way I did it wasn't the best - but it worked.
    Good luck!

  15. #15
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    I am projecting 2028 for us to retire and start long distance trips. AT is on the top of our list


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Let me go

  16. #16

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    I'm getting close, planning to retire and thru-hike in 2020. I haven't decided if it will be PCT or AT yet, probably let the snow decide for me.

    Best way to prepare for a thru-hike is to hike,

  17. #17
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    I was going to work a few more years, but retired at 56 specifically to hike the AT (yikes, 5 years ago now!). Excellent decision. Yeah, money is tighter now, but we get by. Small house, older vehicles, thrifty habits, except for gear, of course.

    Younger folks have more time than money, generally, while us older folks have more money than time! Generally. One has to ask one's self: At what age is your crossover point for what's more important, money or time?

    Decades ago I saw a plot of expected age of death vs. at what age you retire, working as an engineer. It was probably made up, but it affected me. IIRC, the graph showed that if one retires at 55, one lives on average to 80. But if one retires at 65, one lives on average to..... 66 ! This graph was for a male in a technical job for a corporation, you know, those institutions that suck the life right out of you.....

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    I was going to work a few more years, but retired at 56 specifically to hike the AT (yikes, 5 years ago now!). Excellent decision. Yeah, money is tighter now, but we get by. Small house, older vehicles, thrifty habits, except for gear, of course.

    Younger folks have more time than money, generally, while us older folks have more money than time! Generally. One has to ask one's self: At what age is your crossover point for what's more important, money or time?

    Decades ago I saw a plot of expected age of death vs. at what age you retire, working as an engineer. It was probably made up, but it affected me. IIRC, the graph showed that if one retires at 55, one lives on average to 80. But if one retires at 65, one lives on average to..... 66 ! This graph was for a male in a technical job for a corporation, you know, those institutions that suck the life right out of you.....

    65 -> 66! I’d better hurry up and get on the trail. 9 April on the approach trail.
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
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  19. #19

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    As I've told people for years
    I'd rather be retired and live in a trailer, then go to work everyday
    It's all a matter of perspective
    I want and need very little. I'm somewhat of a minimalist.
    A minimalist with a bunch of stuff, that he realizes is suffocating him.

    My wife on the other hand doesn't does not want to live a minimalist lifestyle.

    If i didnt' have a wife or kids in grad school I'd retired today
    Life's too short to work it away. And walking trails ain't that expensive.

    By the time my youngest is out of med school, I hope to be able to work contract part of the year only. Looks like six or seven more years. If I can do that for a number of years I'll be content to work till I'm 65. I expect I'll be forced to retire at 55 that seems to be the trend.

  20. #20
    Registered User Grampie's Avatar
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    I thru-hiked when I retired at age 65. It took me two try’s but I did succeed. It was a great adventure and I’m so glad I did it. My advice would be, don’t put it off any longer than you can.
    Grampie-N->2001

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