from one end of the spectrum to the other

[rob123ufl]

if any of you recall, i posted around thanksgiving telling of the trepidation my family had in regards to my thru-hiking.

i arrived home on saturday night to find that all members of my family were now donating members of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and a profile map is now hanging in the living room. aah good people. also, pop was too excited to wait until christmas, so i got myself a nice handheld gps!

[rafe]

Excellent! Getting the family on board is always a good thing.

[BigStu]

That's cool

You're a lucky fella

[Mad Hatter 08]

I am glad your family finally came around. Usually it just takes a little time.

[SGT Rock]

Send 'em some post cards.

[Blissful]

That happened to me - my dad was the last one to get on board. He was so angry when I decided to do it. But eventually he accepted it as I was going to do it anyway. And he was very supportive, sending mail pkgs etc along the way. And I called him regularly too along the trail to let him know what was happening so he could be involved.

[SGT Rock]

Your 44, your dad had issues?

[Montego]

Just jealous of his son maybe?

[River Runner]

Your 44, your dad had issues?

Most dads never stop worrying about their daughters, and I would guess Blissful's dad was just worried about her being in a position she would be relying on strangers for things like rides to town, and worried about the possibility of her being hurt by someone or something on the trail.

I'm 50, and I know my parents would be.

[Montego]

My apologies Blissful. Got your gender wrong.

[Hurley]

It took some time to get my parents on board. When I was home for Christmas my dad and I talked for a couple of hours and he seemed really into the idea of me going. I left him 3 issues of Backpacker to read as well. I also sent them a bunch of links to all the whiteblaze articles.

[max patch]

I also sent them a bunch of links to all the whiteblaze articles.

If they register for the politics forum you're screwed.

[Kerosene]

Hey, I'm 50 and my parents still give me grief for going solo. Some things never change.

[Kirby]

My dad went from being completely opposed to practically kicking me out the door.

Snow day!
Kirby

[Miu]

I think my folks still think I'm a nut....but they're not trying to stop me, and Santa brought me AT related gifts. It was much appreciated.

[Roots]

That's great that your parents came around and are supporting you. Parental support is important no matter what the age, IMO.

These comments are all encouraging. I am only doing 163 miles and I can't seem to get my parents to acknowledge it. They even change the subject when I mention it. I think it is because this is the first trip I have done without the hubby.

Good luck! Hope to see you on the trail!!

[DawnTreader]

My mom was dead set against me hiking solo. My parents didn't understand why I was so into hiking until they picked me up from my last section. We took the autoroad up Washington. On the way down my mom was planning meeting spots and asking about my hiker friends. She has been my #1 supporter and has been helping plan for my thru attempt. Now I just need to get my girlfriend on board.. She's having a rough time with the idea.

[Jack Tarlin]

Just read Kirby's post where he said his dad has gone from opposing his trip to practically kicking him out the door.

Having spent a good part of a weekend with Kirby a month ago, I can well believe this.

Note to Rob123: Very glad to see your folks have come around, family support on a long hike is a great thing. Suggestion: Go to www.appalachiantrail.org, click on the "Ultimate Trail Store" section, and get a bunch of the long strip maps of the entire A.T. Then buy a couple of boxes of push pins. These are great gifts for friends and family members and it will help them keep track of your progress.

[Bob S]

Your hike may be a solo, but the experience doesn’t have to be. Come up with a way to have them be part of the experience. Send postcards so they can track you on the map (have the map mounted on cardboard so they can track you with a pin.) Also give someone the job of sending out mail drop packages.

If you have a small community newspaper and are willing to keep a journal of some type, your family could send this info to the paper. Most small papers love human interest things like this. I’m sure your family would be proud to see a story about your hike in the paper.

I’m sure there are other things you could have them do.