General Thru-Hike Question

[Raul Perez]

I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

[bigcranky]

Many hikers are at a transition point -- post college, post military, post retirement, divorce, etc.

If you have a lot of responsibilities (mortgage, kid in college, etc.), then it's tough to thru-hike. That's my current situation.

If not, if all you have is a job, then you have to decide for yourself. There are very few "secure jobs" anymore. Quit. Hike. Get another job when you get back. A good CPA is always employable.

[Lilred]

I teach, so I have my summers free to hike

[Spirit Walker]

I quit my jobs and started over each time. I worked retail and then was an administrative assistant. My husband was an astrospace engineer. He also just quit each time and started over again afterwards. Not always easy. It's a good idea to have a cushion of savings if that's what you're going to do as it may take a while to get a new job after your hike.

[Raul Perez]

Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

[rickb]

Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

How about working 100 hours a week during tax season. Then start your hike in May.

[Raul Perez]

Im not a tax accountat per se contrary to the popular belief of what a CPA does. My area of expertise is running audits for local governments and not-for-profit corporations. I'm usually busy year round due to the different fiscal year endings of the entities. My slowest times are Nov-Dec and May-June.

[Hyway]

I don't know if I am allowed to post links to trail journals, but I am a Civil Engineer with a wife and kids at home and I am quiting my job to thruhike. I explain my reasoning/rationalization (take your pick) in the first entry of my journal. http://www.trailjournals.com/hyway

[Roughin' It]

I am single, 22, work construction, taking a break from college, and my future is 100% undiscovered. might as well walk 2200 miles and get away from this crazy place we call "real life".

[malowitz]

I'm an environmental engineer w/a good, steady job. I'm looking at taking a 6-month leave of absence. Call it a sabbatical. I don’t have full approval yet, but I’m working on it.

I’m hoping to pull off a thru-hike but keep the house and job in case I end up like the 80% or so who don’t finish.

[Miner]

I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

Who needs a job?

Actually I was an engineer with normally 2weeks of vacation a year +10holidays. I consider being laid off in a bad economy a time to celebrate as I now have a valid excuse to be out of work for several months on my resume. Its happened twice and I use the time to take several months to do those long dreamed about trips such as the PCT, Europe, etc.

I hiked with a woman who is a CPA and use to be a manager at a company. She decided to sell her house and go part time (ie. Tax Season) and hike/travel the rest of the year for the past 3 years. You make your choices and you live with them. If you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to do it.

[hikingRN]

I have never thru hiked but am planning a week-long trip in May. Thru hiking is also something I would love to do but it is something that I know is not possible at this particular stage of my life. I do have to agree with other members though if you don't have any heavy responsibilities (children, mortage, etc) then I say go for it. I know that times are tough right now, but you can always find another job. A job is something that eveyone will have in their life but being out there in nature hiking for 2000 miles is something that only a few people ever get to experience.

[healthymom]

I'm a doula. When I have clients, I'm on call 24/7 for up to 5 weeks for each mom. When I don't have anyone due, I'm out in the woods with my son.
I have an amazing (non-hiking) husband who works full time. Two of our 3 vehicles are paid off. The 3rd will be paid off by mid summer. We have less than $15K left on our mortgage.
My children have known since they were small that they would have to finance thier own college. I am homeschooling both of them now.
I will be graduating the oldest in May. The youngest hikes with me and the AT will be his senior project.
I am spending this year paying all the bills ahead and teaching my husband how to live frugally. I have been saving for years for this. I have a dedicated AT account which currently has enough in it for us to finish our hike without having to scrimp. I have been outfitting my son and myself from sales and with good-quality used gear.
I have been letting my clients know for the last 2 years that if they wanted to use me for their next baby, don't get pregnant between June & Dec of this year. Many of my clients use me for 2, 3 or 4 babies.
This was on my life list before I knew what a life list was. I been dreaming of doing this since I found out the trail existed in about 1975. I set the year of departure in 1999. I have been training since 2006. I have been collecting equipment for 2 years. I have learned to dehydrate food. I have read probably 30-40 memoirs of the trail and how-to hiking books. We will be completely ready for our thru starting Mar '11.
In short, if you have a dream, you can make it happen with careful planning and prep.
Do it!
Dee
healthymom

[wudhipy]

Left the rat race years ago, declared the rats winners. Cashed in the 401k, paid everything off,discovered the difference between rent and mortage ( land lord more likely to work with ya than a bank) The econony got me a long time ago,so the stars are aligned for this to happen. There was a time I needed to be an income generating machine to provide the material trappings for those in my life who depended on it. Now they are firmly in the grasp of the commercial rat race for themselves, and old dad is free to down size to the level of a monk. Fortunate to have an understanding spouse that wants me to persue my dream of a thru hike. Wow...and she likes living like a monk too...as long as the Sports channels are available on satellite.

[The_Saint]

I noticed there are a lot of people here who have thru hiked or are preparing to thru hike. Personally I would LOVE to thru hike but being a CPA my work keeps me busy year round. Plus I would NOT have a job when I returned if I took off more than 3 weeks at a time.

Just wondering what kind of jobs do the thru-hikers have to allow them to hike 3 months or longer and still come back to a job.

I quit a great paying job to do the trail and haven't taken another job yet. I've been home for 2 months and am just starting to really look around. You will not regret the decision to THRU. It's the time of your life.

[max patch]

Well I do have a family, rent, car payments, etc.

I might have to just be content with section hiking for the time being.

Quitting my job right now is not an option as I am the primary bread winner since my significant other cant seem to get a job due to the economy.

I'm a CPA (Industry) and I quit my job to thru. ( I asked for a LOA but was denied.) Of course, I had an employed wife, didn't like my job and was looking to leave anyway, and I had no doubts that I would get a job upon my return.

For you to quit a job for an awesome vacation given your current circumstances and the state of the economy would not be the smart decision to make. Keep sectioning until the time is right for your sabatical.
It'll come.

[JokerJersey]

I'm personally in the group who has no real responsibilities other than to myself. I'm divorced, ex-military, have no debt, no mortgage, and was looking at quitting my job next year to do a thru-hike. Then, in July, I got laid off. As it stands right now, I cashed out my 401k, took the $7k I had built up in it, and started collecting unemployment to cover my living expenses. If I find a job between now and then, I'd still quit and leave this year. My plans had me leaving in 2011. As it turns out, I'm leaving a full year earlier than I had planned. Sometimes, it just works out that way.

I agree though with what people are saying about responsibilities. If I had children, was married, and had accumulated debt...I wouldn't be going now. Then again, I also believe if you want something bad enough...you'll figure out a way to do it. Good luck to ya!

[Dogwood]

I'm a landscape architect who owned his own business for several yrs. Sold it, during the busiest time of the yr, to hike. Landscape design is also my calling and passion. For many yrs., during the height of the landscaping season in the northeast, I would work 70 + hrs per wk. I still do some projects by myself but I also work for other companies at times. Now, I live frugally on a more limited income because I've chosen not to buy into all that I've been led to buy into so I find I can take off large chunks of time to hike rather than make money to buy those things or live that way!

Quit. Hike. Get another job when you get back. A good CPA is always employable.- BigCranky

I took this route. I think, as with most people, this initially scared the shish out of me, but I made it work out, and I also got to hike, which is another one of my passions! In the process, I've learned a lot about myself and others, how to live more simply, less wastefully, healthier and less selfishly. Personally, I wouldn't trade my trail experiences for any flat screen TV, cell phone, white picket fence, SUV, or security at a well paying job. But, I have managed to hike and still retain some of those things!

Raul, whatever your responsibilities and situation, there is a solution for you if you really want to thru-hike. But, only you can fully figure that out! You have to find a way and finding that way doesn't mean you have to avoid responsibility!

On my thru-hikes I've met a couple of practicing lawyers, several active MDs(one a brain surgeon), several engineers, one Fortune 500 CEO, many who worked govt jobs, at least three with the military, one notable actor, a couple of notable professional musicians, an owner of a professional baseball team, those between jobs, those who owned their own companies, in the process of divorces, college students, homeless people, society dropouts/wanderers, newly recovering drug addicts, another landscape architect, one 14 yr old, one elderly great grandmother completing her second thru-hike, and probably lots of others who slip my mind, all on thru-hikes. Some married w/ children and not empty nesters. Some w/ money. Some dirt broke. Some care free and footloose. Some w/ life/death responsibilites. Some woman. Some men. Heck, Bill Erwin found a way to hike the AT and he was blind!

How much do you want it? What will you do to prioritize your goals in life to get it? You have already done this in other areas of your life! Now, apply that same ability/processs/attitude/philosophy/thinking/behaving to making your desire of thru-hiking a reality!

[drifters quest]

I working on a Ranch, we work cattle in the Winter (calving season starts February) and farming in the Summer. My boss is great, I can choose hours, days off, and despite leaving for my trip he would be cool with me coming back and working for a bit afterwards. He even offered a place to stay the next two months so I don't need to spend money on rent.

[Dogwood]

One more thing. Cease trying to find some other thru-hiker who is or was in the exact same current situation as you described. You are probably not going to find that. That is not what determines if YOU can manage a thru-hike! YOU have to find A WAY that is RIGHT FOR YOU!