Stuck with a tough call...

[d'shadow]

[quote=skinny minnie;755024]So I've read a few posts on here where people have asked about money and budgets, or about walking away from a job in order to hike. It's been interesting seeing the different answers while tryng to decide the same issue for myself. I've been planning a thru-hike for '09. But for the past few months, I've finally started looking at what happens after my hike. If I hike now, I won't have the money I need to go back to school and change careers. If I wait one more year, I will have the money to achieve all of my goals: thru-hiking, changing careers, continuing education and staying debt-free while supporting myself.
I'm not going to lie: thinking about postponing makes me miserable. I still keep hoping something will change, that my job will give me a leave of absence, etc. but I'm starting accept that maybe, given the economy and my goals... I need to suck it up and be more responsible for one more year first. It stinks that higher education costs so much.


Only you can answer the question of when you hike. However, many people have to drop off the trail because they run out of money. And money worries may detract from your enjoyment of this new adventure.
Waiting a year is not a long time, and it may be worth the wait, if, you will be able to save the money you need for a thru-hike. Go over your budget, step back and take a look at your choices and you will make the right decision for you. good luck!

[Tudor]

Here is the experience of another 25 year old. I attempted a SOBO in '04 that ended in Monson due to a badly sprained ankle. I re-attempted a SOBO in '06 and had the pleasure of getting my ID stolen and my bank account drained to a HUGE negative amount. Found out in NH. I am doing a NOBO this year as many things have happened all at once. I lost a $55k/year job in November last year b/c of the economy. My fiancee went Splits-ville with the safety net gone. I've been given some lemons, but here is my lemonade. I have 2 single friends who can rent my house, and share the cost of my other bills while I am away, and possibly longer. I have half the gear I had when I hiked in '06, so my gear cost is gonna be much lower. I have a huge tax-refund that I can use as a buffer, as I am gonna need it as I get back to 'Reality'. I also know that I will never be the same until I can thru-hike this D@mn Trail! lol My disadvantages are in fact my advantages, so to speak.

This is in no way to influence you one way or the other, but just an example from your own demographic. Oh yeah, haven't been to college yet either! lol Says something in and of itself now.

[weary]

My vote is to get an education leading to work you love. I bounced around too many years. I finally gained the beginning skills for a job I loved. I rarely took a sick day -- none in the last decade before retiring -- I so loved what I was doing each day. The trail is special. I loved every day of that also.

But I would get my life together first, and make the trail a transition from school to a lifetime of constructive employment.

Weary

[Kanati]

SkiMin-
You sound like an intelligent person who puts a lot of thought into what you want to do and when you want to do it. That is good. But I also notice that you have trouble coming to a decision and ask others to help.

What you're going to learn from the trail experience is self reliance and decision making. By the time you finish you won't need anybody in that department.

As for when to do it. I put it off for at least 20 years because I had so many responsibilities, but I don't actually regret it. During that time I kept in great physical shape and when I finally retired and hit the trail last March I didn't have to worry about whether I could make it or not. My biggest hang up was a non-supportive wife. That added weight to my pack. But I learned a long time ago to be self-reliant, so except for having to cheer her up every time we talked it really wasn't a big problem. I left the trail in ME with only 268 miles to go but it was because I was tired of hiking and my interest had changed. I am however, looking forward to returning and finishing this summer.

Happy hiking.

[stranger]

There is always a reason, and I do mean always a reason, to put something off. The easiest thing to do in this world is to "not do something".

First off, there is no guarantee that you will complete a thru-hike.

Second, many hikers go through a large transformation during their hike, regardless of how long they are out there, and are likely to be more confused when they get off the trail.

Third, you could get hit by a bus in 6 months and never hike again.

Why wait? What good ever comes out of putting things off? The only reason why I would put off the hike is if you don't have enough money NOW to complete a thru-hike, then I think it makes sense. Too many hikers run out of money and have money problems along the way.

But if you have 5 grand now - you don't know what you're missing!

[Jim Adams]

Job is low pay and you really don't care that much for it???!!!
No brainer...HIKE! If the pay is low, get a job doing anything that you can for the same low pay when you return.
Did you watch 20/20 last week? Story was about college being the biggest rip-off in America currently. People are graduating with major debt and never making good money in the field of study that they schooled for OR can't get a job in their field at all. Answer according to 20/20 financial advisors was to attend trade schools for a better life and future.
Hike now!

geek

[skinewmexico]

Successful people can delay gratification. It's no big deal to wait. You can do lots of little trips in the interim.

[DuctTape]

Just go hike. Imagine how much better you'll feel after you commit to that final decision.

If you make that final decision and it doesn't make you feel better, well, then, don't hike this year.

[nitewalker]

So I've read a few posts on here where people have asked about money and budgets, or about walking away from a job in order to hike. It's been interesting seeing the different answers while tryng to decide the same issue for myself. I've been planning a thru-hike for '09. But for the past few months, I've finally started looking at what happens after my hike. If I hike now, I won't have the money I need to go back to school and change careers. If I wait one more year, I will have the money to achieve all of my goals: thru-hiking, changing careers, continuing education and staying debt-free while supporting myself.

I'm not going to lie: thinking about postponing makes me miserable. I still keep hoping something will change, that my job will give me a leave of absence, etc. but I'm starting accept that maybe, given the economy and my goals... I need to suck it up and be more responsible for one more year first. It stinks that higher education costs so much.

I just saw a post on another thread where someone shared how they put off their hike for a year to save more and it made me feel a lot better. It's been really tough even starting to accept this decision. A part of me still wants to just hike this year and see what happens.

If you feel like weighing in and sharing your opinion, I'd be interested in hearing it.

stay at your job and make some loot. try section hiking for this year then figure out where you are at in your life. once spring fades away you will lose some of the springer fever itch, only some....

[chicote]

I'd save save save and hike in 2010. We saved for two years when we finally quit our jobs. It was nice not having to worry too much about finances on the trail or getting back into the scene after the trail. But the money goes fast when you are "looking" for work. It's only one year to wait – it'll go in the blink of an eye. And when you finally get out there... you'll be so happy you waited.

[Rockhound]

"Run rabbit run...dig that hole. Forget the sun....When at last your work is done, don't sit down. It's time to dig another one."

[Mercy]

Its interesting to read people supporting each decision.

I think whatever you decide, you need to do it whole-heartedly, and without regretting it. Don't decide to do one, and then wonder for the rest of your life how it would have been if you had made the other decision.

[pahiker013]

i think you are already ahead of the game, you have a degree, it might not be the one you think you need, but you have one, when will you ever get the opportunity to do the hike again? I am 38 and think about how i can do it everyday! I will find a way, soon i hope! But, you need to follow your gut, you have a education, and you will find a job when you get back! Who knows, you might change your mind over the course of the hike of which type of job you want when you are ready!! Hike!

[weary]

There is always a reason, and I do mean always a reason, to put something off. The easiest thing to do in this world is to "not do something"......

Well, I absolutely agree with that. But occasionally, just occasionally, there are also reasons for "putting things off."

Weary

[warren doyle]

"One most know the end, to be convinced that one must reach the end."

If you are not sure, I'd advise that you neither take the first step northward from Springer nor the first step southward from Katahdin.

[stranger]

Fair enough, there are reasons to put things off, but only if they are "put off" and not something that's simply never done.

[prain4u]

As you consider putting off your thru hike until next year, please consider these quotations:

“Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage.”-- Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby


The best way to get something done is to begin. ~Author Unknown

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” --Lord Chesterfield


To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing. ~Eva Young

Don't fool yourself that important things can be put off till tomorrow; they can be put off forever, or not at all. ~Mignon McLaughlin

"You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step" Martin Luther King Jr.

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. ~Spanish Proverb

One of these days is none of these days. ~Attributed to both Henri Tubach and H.G. Bohn

A year from now you may wish you had started today. ~Karen Lamb

[Gaiter]

do your pros and cons list

also, i know u mentioned not liking your job to much, but have you had asked about a potential leave of absence, sometimes you will be surprised if you just ask (show that you are a very hard worker for a couple weeks before asking)

if the answer is yes then can you afford to do the hike this year if you ahve the job to come back to before starting school again

if the answer is no, then i'd say wait, get the grad school thing out of the way, but don't worry the trail is still going to be there

[superman]

Hiking the AT is just an addition to your life. It's not the meat of your life...it's the dessert. Take care of your responsibilities first. If your parents are offering to pay for your education, you should not disappoint them. The doors of opportunities open and close. As you move through life, you should watch for those doors to open and take advantage of them. They don't stay open. The trail will still be there when or if the time gets right for you. You've put this out on a hiking site so the answers are fairly predictable. In the words of a man who knows “it’s just walking.”

[Lone Wolf]

Hiking the AT is just an addition to your life. It's not the meat of your life...it's the desert.

the AT ain't hot and dry