Hi;
I'm 47 and tired of my job and where I live (northern NJ).
I have always been a hiker, although not all that many backpacking trips (mostly day hikes).
I have considered leaving it all to hike the AT for several years, but never as serious as I am getting now.
If I were to thru-hike the AT, I would start in GA in early March 2004.
I would be quitting my job and leaving my apartment here in NJ.
I have some money saved so I think I can swing it financially.
My plan is to find a job up in New England when I'm done.
Many would say that I'm crazy, but being single and with no family to support, it's a lot easier to think about this at any age.
I have been in electronics as a sr. technician for a long time, but now trying to get into IT, and am studying at home for MCSE.
I am planning to continue those studies until I start my trail bid, and to pick it up again when I get done.
But of course I will need a place to live, and thus a job.
With the economy in the dumps and finding nothing at all in a NH paper I picked up last weekend while hiking Mt. Washington for Seek the Peak (Mt. Washington Observatory fund raising event) I do not have high hopes of finding anything good when I get off the trail.
However, being that it would be September when that happens, maybe places would be hiring for Xmas. I could work at Radio Shack for example. And study the MCSE at the same time.
I guess my biggest fear is that I might start out my hike feeling the freedom of not having an 8-5 to go to every day, and getting away from the congestion of the NYC suburb I live in. But as I get closer to a glorious finish at Katahdin I might also lose some of that joy thinking that I will have to be looking for a job in a few days, and become depressed.
It will be difficult to give up the relative security of a full-time job and a warm dry place to live for the uncertainty of the trail.
But then others have done it. I'm just not sure whether it's the right thing for me right now. I have about 7 months to make that decision.
I know such a life change would be a lot easier if I were a lot younger and not so accustomed to making a decent living.
But being so unhappy where I am, I am beginning to feel that I have nothing to lose but my unhappiness.
If you have or know someone who has taken this route at about my age, I would really appreciate the input.
Thanks
Frank