Encouragement needed!!!

[bullseye]

Hey everyone,

I probably won't be able to Thru hike now seeing as i still don't have my sleeping bag (was planning on getting that this week after having had to return my original bag when my ex got my car impounded over the summer.)

So, all details aside, is the bag the only thing keeping you from your Thru? If that's the case I have a loaner, but if you have a bag for a 3 month trip the same bag would certainly do a thru. Sounds like there might be a little more, maybe pre-hike jitters? Fear of the unknown? Get out there and go for it. Nursing school will be here before you know it and then life takes over.

[warraghiyagey]

I got my zero degree bag from Dick's for 40ish bucks. Never cold - plenty of padding in summer and only 3lbs. Love it.

[River Runner]

Here's hoping some good luck comes your way liz. Sometimes there is a reason things work out the way they do, so if it doesn't work out that you can finish the thru, there may be a higher plan for something better to come your way.

In the meantime, in addition to the ideas already given, might I suggest having a big yard sale & selling off anything you absolutely do not need to keep. That might give you some ready cash & result in less storage fees. Is there a possibility if you get your possessions down in size a family member or friend would have extra space in a basement or garage that you could store it without having to pay a monthly storage fee?

Just a suggestion here, but if you are able to finish your thru you may find you need less 'stuff' as many other thru hikers have & be happy to already have less possessions to deal with when you come back. And, sometimes perfectly good furniture, kitchenware, etc. can be found very cheap at yard sales or thrift stores when you are ready to replace them. (Or sometimes friends and family have items they will be happy to get rid of by giving them to you.)

[stranger]

Where there is a will there is a way...it's only money, you can find more, you will most likely spend the rest of your life in debt so you should start now.

Reapply for credit cards, try a personal loan, ask 5 good friends for $200 each, ask for help from Whiteblaze. Pride gets you nowhere in life.

[DuctTape]

What's your start date? Push it back until May 1. Or wait until mid-summer, and go southbound, unless your heart is set on going north.

I agree with forgetting about the car until you get home, or why not just junk the car altogether, and get some cash for it? After your hike, you probably won't mind being auto-less for a little while - perspectives change.

[DuctTape]

Oh and with trailjournals you need a minimun of three(?) entries for your journal to show up publicly, if that's possibly the case.

[Mad Hatter 08]

So, all details aside, is the bag the only thing keeping you from your Thru? If that's the case I have a loaner, but if you have a bag for a 3 month trip the same bag would certainly do a thru. Sounds like there might be a little more, maybe pre-hike jitters? Fear of the unknown? Get out there and go for it. Nursing school will be here before you know it and then life takes over.

no the bag is not the reason i wouldn't be able to thru, money is. I still had my storage rental to pay and the sleeping bag and a few smaller bills that my last two checks plus the rest of my current check (which is what i was going to use to buy the bag with.) would be covering with just enough money to eat and get gas with until i leave. so now i'm a paycheck down and will need to use a good chunk of my tax return for the last supplies and my storage fee. I am thinking of going in there and seeing what i can sell. I have a ton of clothes that have been there almost a year that i haven't worn so i may take them to a thrift store to see how much i can get. I am still planning to go to GA and see how far i can get I just may end up sectioning it into two seasons one now one after graduation.

[bfitz]

Where there is a will there is a way...it's only money, you can find more, you will most likely spend the rest of your life in debt so you should start now.

Reapply for credit cards, try a personal loan, ask 5 good friends for $200 each, ask for help from Whiteblaze. Pride gets you nowhere in life.

That's lame. You don't borrow money from friends for a vacation (except parents or the bank for a loan...). Sell the car, your musical instruments, computer, heirloom or whatever, maybe have a yard sale...give up luxuries, eating out, starbuck's, movies, ice cream, the bar, cigarettes etc., start shopping smart with coupons etc. maybe leave a few bills unpaid till you return. A creative budget will yield some extra cash if you put the squeeze on. Look for a way to earn extra cash like babysitting for friends, or running errands for the elderly (they might tip well if they know your story...) Search craigslist for jobs walking dogs and things like that. Maybe put an ad on craigslist offering to do such things.

[Mad Hatter 08]

the main problem with having to get the car fixed is that i live in a city that doesn't have public transpo and i work about 20 miles away (which would be fine to walk esp after the trail if i didn't have to be there at 530 in the morning. the good thing storage rental wise is that my grandparents are letting me keep my car at their house so i don't have to store that. I have already had my parents lend me the 1200 for my wisdom teeth which i do not have to start repaying until i come home again. my mom told me a little while ago that she and my dad would help me some with my car.

This is really what i needed everyone, to vent my frustrations and feelings, get some wonderful replys of encouragement and some really good ideas. Thanks everyone you helped make my day end really well and I truly appreciate it.

[Glo-Worm]

It sounds like you have the right attitude. Do everything you can to make your thru-hike possible and if thats still no enough? So what. Have a long section hike and the time of your life. Not to sound too preachy, but a sucessful thru-hike doesn't have to end at Katahdin. I wish you the very best.

Glo-Worm

[Mrs Baggins]

If you can stand another story.......two weeks before we were to leave on our thru-hike last year, just before we returned to Maryland from Montreal, our son had a series of car problems. First his windshield developed a large crack right down the center; then, when pulling out of the parking lot of his tech school, his exhaust system fell off the of car; the next day, as he was pulling out of the parking lot again, a tire went flat and his spare was a half rotted oldie that he managed to crawl the 40 miles home on. We had left our van with him so he took it to school - came out of class to go home and found someone had clipped the passenger side rear view mirror and nearly took it off. It was a very expensive power remote mirror. AND then a tiny crack in the van's windshield exploded into a full bore crack clear across. So we spent much of our two weeks of "trail prep time" in various auto repair shops pouring money out.

As for things happening for a reason..........we ended up having to leave the trail after just a few days for physical reasons and returned to Maryland - just in time for our son's car's transmission to freeze. He normally would have used our van but we were already packing it up for a long road trip. A friend's car that he had occasionally borrowed had developed too many problems and no longer ran. We had to arrange a rental car for him (he was only 20 - try getting a rental car at 20, let alone when you don't have a credit card) and then spend days pushing AAMCO to get the car repaired as the rental was costing us far more for having an under 25 driver. If we had not left the trail our son would have had no way to school (40 miles each way) and the tech school's very strict attendance policy would have meant he'd be dropped for missing classes - regardless of the reason - with no refund of the tuition fees already paid in advance. We often had to ask ourselves "what if we hadn't come home?"

[nitewalker]

If you can stand another story.......two weeks before we were to leave on our thru-hike last year, just before we returned to Maryland from Montreal, our son had a series of car problems. First his windshield developed a large crack right down the center; then, when pulling out of the parking lot of his tech school, his exhaust system fell off the of car; the next day, as he was pulling out of the parking lot again, a tire went flat and his spare was a half rotted oldie that he managed to crawl the 40 miles home on. We had left our van with him so he took it to school - came out of class to go home and found someone had clipped the passenger side rear view mirror and nearly took it off. It was a very expensive power remote mirror. AND then a tiny crack in the van's windshield exploded into a full bore crack clear across. So we spent much of our two weeks of "trail prep time" in various auto repair shops pouring money out.

As for things happening for a reason..........we ended up having to leave the trail after just a few days for physical reasons and returned to Maryland - just in time for our son's car's transmission to freeze. He normally would have used our van but we were already packing it up for a long road trip. A friend's car that he had occasionally borrowed had developed too many problems and no longer ran. We had to arrange a rental car for him (he was only 20 - try getting a rental car at 20, let alone when you don't have a credit card) and then spend days pushing AAMCO to get the car repaired as the rental was costing us far more for having an under 25 driver. If we had not left the trail our son would have had no way to school (40 miles each way) and the tech school's very strict attendance policy would have meant he'd be dropped for missing classes - regardless of the reason - with no refund of the tuition fees already paid in advance. We often had to ask ourselves "what if we hadn't come home?"

gee it sounds to me that your kid needs to learn how to operate a car the correct way..cant you see the common link with all the cars breaking down etc...the boy

[nitewalker]

the main problem with having to get the car fixed is that i live in a city that doesn't have public transpo and i work about 20 miles away (which would be fine to walk esp after the trail if i didn't have to be there at 530 in the morning. the good thing storage rental wise is that my grandparents are letting me keep my car at their house so i don't have to store that. I have already had my parents lend me the 1200 for my wisdom teeth which i do not have to start repaying until i come home again. my mom told me a little while ago that she and my dad would help me some with my car.

This is really what i needed everyone, to vent my frustrations and feelings, get some wonderful replys of encouragement and some really good ideas. Thanks everyone you helped make my day end really well and I truly appreciate it.

screw the car and buy a bike or borrow one from somebody. it will be good training before your hike. heck your in socal it must be great bike riding out there this time of year... i may be around springer on the 1st of march just not 100% sure yet... if im in that area and you are loking for someoe to keep you company for a week or two while hiking i can offer my services. i only have till the 7th or 14th of march until i have to head back home. i have to get ready for the upcoming camp season......i will try and update my plan as the time nears...good luck with your car problems..

[superman]

I met a woman thru hiker in 03. She was a school teacher who was married with children. She hiked about half the AT and ran out of money. So she continued hiking putting it on her credit card. When she finished the AT she decided that she'd hike it again the next year. Hubby wasn't going along with that so she got a divorce. Because her goal was to hike, hubby got custody of the kids. She re-hiked the AT again and put the whole cost on her credit card. She could only get substitute teaching jobs because it left her free to hike. The last time I saw her she was talking about another thru-hike and she only made minimum payments on her cards so she could run them up higher.
The point is that it's just a hike. It's an addition to your life...not a substitute for it. Enjoy it...your life that is. If a thru hike fits into it that's great. If it doesn't...it's just a hike.

[rafe]

I met a woman thru hiker in 03. She was a school teacher who was married with children. She hiked about half the AT and ran out of money. So she continued hiking putting it on her credit card.

Live on credit. It's the American Way.

[Shiloh]

Liz - I truly hope that you don't give up on your dream of hiking the AT without a fight. You CAN find a way to make this happen if you really want to.

I have come across many of your WB & TP posts over the past few weeks. Your excitement, your detailed planning, and your thrill of the anticipation of starting this great adventure came through loud and clear in your messages. At times they were even an inspiration for me (and probably other Class of 2008'ers) to help keep moving forward with my planning and preparations. Please don't throw it all away for reasons that will seem very trivial years from now when you are kicking yourself for not doing the trail when you had the chance.

I too have had moments of doubt about stepping out of my comfort zone and trekking into the great unknown. I just keep reminding myself that thru-hiking the AT has been my dream (passion) for many, many years. Like you - I'm at a transition point where I have an opportunity to follow my dream before starting the next chapter of my life. I don't care how near or far up the trail I get - this is an adventure of a life-time that I am NOT going to let pass by. I sincerely hope that you do the same.

Remember, thru-hiking the AT is as much (or more) of a mental exercise as it is physical. Don't let the mental gremlin's defeat you before you even start. Nobody can do this for you - its up to you to make it happen. Once on the trail there will be a lot of friendly people to help guide you on your journey. Your life in California will be right there where you left it when you get back.

I can't help you with your car or computer problems - but I can offer this:

IF you decide to stick with your plans for a March 1st NOBO - I would be happy to give you (and others) a ride from the Atlanta airport to Springer and buy you a hot meal to get you started on the trail.

I am going up to Amicalola Falls State Park for the Backpacking Clinic & Appalachian Trail Celebration taking place March 1st and 2nd. AFSP is the start of the approach trail to Springer Mtn. I am only 20 minutes from the Atlanta airport so it wouldn't be a problem to pick you up there on my way to Amicalola.

Liz, I hope this helps, and I hope you stay on as a member of the AT Class of 2008.

~Shiloh~

My AT adventure begins March 10th at Springer.

[jesse]

liz, I don't get this thru-hike or nothing mentality. You are young. Get your gear, and have fun doing trails close to home, enjoy the moment you are in. Give yourself time to get your finances in order. One area where a lot of money is wasted is eating out. Cook all your meals from scratch at home. If you get a handle on your money, you greatly increase the chances of completing your hike. Good luck with school. The AT will be there when you are ready.

[Lone Wolf]

I am currently planning for 3months on trail then I'll see were i stand financially and how much farther i can make it. It's just so discouraging to know that i won't be able to finish it this year not bcuz I just can't physically do it but bcuz of finances. So thanks for letting me pour my heart out to all of you maybe in the morning I'll be happier (at least until I see the final bill for the car!) Please tell me things will get better???

you might not make it a week. if you do make it 3 months, then good. go home and earn more then come back the next year

[Pony]

Do you have any experience waiting tables or bartending? I work two jobs right now, one "real" job, and one bartending/serving. I'm quitting my 9-5 job about a month before my hike. The next three weeks I will spend picking up every serving/bartending shift I can, there are ALWAYS lazy people in restaurants willing to give their shifts away. You would be surprised how much money there is to be made in a restaurant if you are willing to bust your @$$. I pushed my start date back a couple of weeks so that I could do this, and anticipate pocketing an additional $1500, on top of what I have already saved, right before my hike. Just something to think about.

[Blissful]

Hope everything works out, Liz, but if all you can do is a few days, weeks or a few months, it will be a time you'll never forget. Take care.