Military retirement transition hike

[4Whatitis]

Hello all, I was wondering if some of you could give me and possibly others advice on ways to make a retirement hike a reality. I am a military member and still have a handful of years left. As the time ticks away I find myself uneasy and with lots of unanswered questions.

Do I, find a job and hope the next employer will understand the far off start date?

Do I, live with the unknown, wait on the job and support the family with just the modest retirement check?

Should I be safe, make a solid transition to the next career and hike in my 50’s, at peace with the world?

Although my transition involves “Uncle Sam” this advice could be helpful to anyone approaching retirement or unemployment and have some lead time.

[juma]

make a solid transistion and hike in your 50s, at peace with the world.

[TD55]

Only you can decide, but IMO you should take the friggin hike. You've earned it. There are already to many people waiting around for 20 years to fullfill thier dream.

[veteran]

Ask Sgt. Rock, he recently retired. His Website

[Furlough]

4Whatitis,
After 23 years, I retired from the Army a bit over a year ago, so I can certainly relate. This decision falls into that age old advice of hike your own hike. What you decide will be determined in the long run by what your current situation will allow. I decided to put my thru hike off. I have 2 kids in college and a Northern Va. mortgage. Luckily for me I am only a couple hours away from the AT and Shenandoah National Park, so I do get out frequently for weekend or longer trips. Good luck with your decision and your eventual retirement.

Furlough

[Doughnut]

I am also retired Military,

FURLOUGH is a smart man, take his advice, Personaly, I section when I can where I can and enjoy it, I plann to thru when I hit 50.

DoughNut

[xnav]

I retired in Dec 1993, however, only started hiking about 3 years ago. My committments did not end when I retired, they became more demanding. I established my priorities and held to them. First, family is number one. Second, second a stable and adequate income is number two. And finally, my interests and needs are last. The mountains have been there for millions of years and are not going anywhere. Hike as much as your priorities and and health allow, never compromise on the things you deem important.

[Spokes]

You know, looking back on all my "life decisions" none of them ever ended up wrong. Fate is a funny thing. Good luck.

[Patrickjd9]

Only you can decide, but IMO you should take the friggin hike. You've earned it. There are already to many people waiting around for 20 years to fullfill thier dream.

I'd take six months at retirement if you can see your way to it. If you put it off, in addition to the obvious risk of never getting to the age that would allow you to hike, there's always the risk of disability or poor conditioning you can't recover from. Been around enough military folks to see that the rate of body wear and tear is often high.

I've never been in the service, so my advice is only but so specific. But it scares the crap out of me that with mortgage, tuition, and parent care, the earliest I'll be able to take a long hike is 59.

[rsmall]

I first hiked the AT in the mid-70's when I was stationed at Fort Benning, GA. I vowed that when I retired from active duty that I would do a thru. When the time came I realized that I needed more than a military retirement check for my family. When I retired from my second career, I did my hike at age 61. I think it was more meaningful because it had been postponed. Each person has unique circumstances, but I found waiting can be a plus in many ways.

[4Whatitis]

Thanks to all that have written so far, hearing voices outside ones head "so to speak" makes me think that I am doing ok. I see this is just something in life that we have to find a balance we can live with. I have a lovely wife and 9 yo son and 5 years from now have to make the choice of leaving the life of an AF firefighter behind or hanging around past 20yrs. The economy will be a big factor in this and the strength of the job market in SC where I own a chunk of land.
I am finding that my better half was more supportive when she didn't think I was serious. She is a good wife and loves having me around so I can't blame her for not wanting me to self deploy. As the opportunities present themselves I will give each a fair shake and see what feels right.

Thanks again for the sounding board. It seems I am in good company.

[BrianLe]

I didn't retire from the military, did one tour during the cold war and decided to either mentally commit to 20 years or get out at first opportunity --- I did the latter.
But I was a bit surprised how little potential employers seemed to understand or appreciate what it meant to be an Army officer, nor were they impressed or really even interested in seeing OERs or anything like that. It seemed like "in the military" was to them a really vague thing that they checked off without considering it to be very relevant to what I might do for them.

So my reaction is similar to what seems to be the consensus here, get employed at something you'll like if you can do that, go to school to add or upgrade skills if necessary. If it's really tough getting a job and the issue feels to be less skills than "the current economy", maybe consider hiking then, but afterwards you will have have two things to try to sell to potentially uncaring employers --- what your military experience is worth, and what a thru-hike is worth.

Doing a long trail in your 50's can be a great experience, or at least my first one was for me.

[FritztheCat]

I will be retiring after 20 years in October of next year. I've been planning for my retirement for the last 10 years so have been putting money away so that in the event I couldn't find employment in a short time-frame, I would still be able to live a comfortable lifestyle for at least a couple of years.

When the hiking bug caught me, I realized that a post-retirement thru-hike would be exactly what I needed. I think the 5 or 6 months it will take to do the thru will be great for me. I'll be able to clear the cobwebs and search deep inside myself for the next stage of life.

I spoke at length to this with my wife and she completely understands and is very supportive of my thru-hike desire. She figures she did enough 6 month deployments with me through the years that another 6 months won't be something new. She also figures that me being home will start to drive her crazy so a break will be good.

There has been a lot of great advice on this thread. I think the best is that you should do what you feel like you need to do. After 20 years of service to others, it's time to think about you and what makes *you* happy. If going on the hike will do the trick, then go for it. If you are at a point where going on a hike may make your family suffer financially, then wait until you are more financially stable to make the hike.

I figure that right now, I'll be in much better shape to handle the thru-hike then later, so I'm hiking.

Thank you for your service!

[dilligas]

Congrats on you upcoming retirement!!!!
All of us have different situations and responsibilities.
If you can stay retired at least 6-10 months I would recommend it and then you can see how it works for you. There are lots of PT jobs available and some are even enjoyable.
As a friend who retired after 20 years and is now a campground host says
show me a tombstone that has I WISH I HAD WORKED A FEW MORE YEARS on it and I will go back to work.

[Symbol]

Tough decision as you are young and take it you have a young family?

The only thought I can leave you with is if thru hiking is your dream it might be best to do it now. You never know where health and life will take you later.

[A-Train]

Insight into the military aside, how old are your kids? If they are under 18 when you go hike, well, to me, that's your answer right there. To each their own.

[chiefduffy]

I've been retired for 3 years now, after a 22 year Navy career. I spent my terminal leave visiting relatives all over the country with my wife. Was the road trip of a lifetime. When things settled down (around mid-April of '07) I started at Springer after a lovely weekend with the wife at Amicalola. About a month into the thru there was a family situation at home that required my presence. I could have stayed on the trail - my family had become very self sufficient and independent with me being deployed so often while on active duty. I spent a week or more thinking it over, and decided it was time for dad to come home, maybe for good. I now go back and do long sections every year. Maybe some day I'll attempt a thru again, but my retirement has been everything my military career wasn't. I just don't really want to deploy again, even on the AT. It is very good to be home.
Best of luck on the trail, and in retirement - and thanks for your service to our country.

- Duffy

[double d]

I notice your age is only 36, so when you do retire in the next few years (maybe 5-7 years?), you will have retired from the military at a younger age and time might be on your side (and you have certainly earned it with your military service). I would suggest taking a longer then average section hike, such as a 3-5 week hiking trip on the AT, maybe cover about 6-12 miles a day or so. I think you will get a good feel for how you like hiking every day for a few weeks and if a thru hike is for you. I met a guy this past summer in Vermont who was thru hiking after he retired from his business (he was 57 years old and from Florida) and he said he really missed his family, friends and home, but he was really enjoying his hike as well, so I think those emotions ring true for most thru hikers I have met (I'm not a thru hiker myself, I section hike the AT each summer). Good luck as you have put yourself in a great position with your upcoming retirment and starting your second career.

[sbhikes]

You've still got a few years left before you can retire. I would think that makes it hard to make a definite decision. It doesn't take years and years to plan to do a long hike. I quit my job and planned my hike in only 6 weeks. I was actually all ready to go in 4 weeks.

The hardest part is coming back. Will you be employable when you return? Will there be a job market? Neither of these was the case for me. I can't get a real job for both those reasons.

[4Whatitis]

I am definitely going to take all of your advice into consideration as the time gets closer. Also I will get out and do the Wonderland trail the last week of Sept 2010. I figure it will be wet cold and with over 90 miles and 2500 feet of elevation gain and loss a day. If I try for 11.5 miles a day then it would be 8 long days of natural wonder and physical challenge. This hike would be a good gear shake down and a reality check for me. If it goes well i could take the family on some sections of the PCT as that is also nearby. Thank you all and for all of you retired thank you for your hard work, enjoy life.

It is nice that I can wake up and really say I enjoy what i do. It is my pleasure to serve in our military.