General Thru-Hike Question

[Spokes]

[QUOTE=bigcranky;943386]Many hikers are at a transition point -- post college, post military, post retirement, divorce, etc....

QUOTE]

I agree with Bigcranky. When thru hikers are asked why they're hiking the trail the 3 most common responses are:

1- Retirement
2- Divorce
3- Just graduated college.

[jersey joe]

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

Great story Hyway, good luck with your thru!

Raul Perez, life is all about choosing one thing over another, it's that simple.

[AggieAl]

I talked my department head into allowing a one semester leave of absence. I teach at a New Mexico State University.
You might consider sub contract out your work for 6 months, it that would be feasible. Or start in February and finish in late September. You could sub part out and leave the trail for a week or two at a time. Not an ideal way.

[Raul Perez]

Thanks for the replies so far. So basically the consensus is those that have done or are planning to do a thru hike quit their jobs or are in a transition stage in their life (divorce, school, military).

Personally I dont see myself quitting my job anytime soon. But if I hit a transition period with my relationship that might give me an opportunity to think about doing a thru hike.

Right now I'm content with section hiking and I can't see myself being away 3-5 months from my family.

This thread was merely out of curiosity to see how people managed to get away from their work to go on a thru hike. I understand that if I want it I have to find a way and I wasnt looking to see how people of similar circumstances got it done.

[prain4u]

I am not aiming my comments at anyone in particular. So please, everyone, do not take my remarks personally. My comments are not necessarily even in response to anything on this particular thread. My remarks are of a GENERAL nature!

From time-to-time, some (rare) posters on WhiteBlaze seem to imply that anyone who does not go on an (annual?) thru hike "doesn't want it badly enough" or "hasn't set their priorites in the proper order" or "has become a slave of the great corporate machine". I would disagree with such individuals.

For most of us, life is not that simple. Going on a thru hike (particularly annually) is far more complicated than just "wanting it badly enough" or "rearranging our priorities".

True, any of us COULD technically drop everything tomorrow and begin a thru hike. However, the possiblity of jail time, divorce, bankruptcy or child abandonment charges are simply not a price that many of us are willing to pay! I don't think that makes us any less committed to hiking--or makes us "sellouts", "wimps" or somehow inferior to those individuals who are fortunate enough to participate in multiple long-distance hikes. Sometimes, being able to go on a thru hike all comes down to the "lottery of life"!

Society REALLY frowns upon people who "abandon" a terminally ill parent, spouse or child. Judges get pretty angry when you stop paying court-ordered child support payments. Assets tend to get confiscated if you don't fulfill leases or other contractual obligations. The IRS wants their payments in a timely fashion. Military officials get just a tad upset when military personnel take an unauthorized six month leave of absence! Postponing certain medical procedures for six months can leave some people permanently disabled or even dead.

I think the majority of the people find themselves in one of the above situations--or in a similar situation. The person who can drop everything "right now" and go on a thru hike--is actually a pretty rare individual.

Thus, I am somewhat offended when someone seriously implies that going on a thru hike is simply just a matter of "wanting it badly enough".

Remember, it won't be a completed thru hike if the authorities have already arrested you by the time that you reach Harper's Ferry! It is also pretty difficult to pay for food in a trail town if a judge has frozen all of your accounts and assets!

[sbhikes]

I was a web developer for a prestigious company making a very good salary. I have no children, no debt and live somewhat simply. I saved up lots of money over 10 years of my career without even trying. One day I thought, what should I do with all this money? I quit my job to hike the PCT. My boss begged me to take a leave of absence, but I turned that down. I didn't want to come back.

I hiked the trail for 3 months and then had to get off the trail. I struggled with what to do next and managed to push that question aside with a relatively well-paying part-time job (compared to flipping burgers.) That job paid my rent for winter and spring and I decided to go back and finish the trail the following summer.

Now I'm home, and having learned I could pay my rent with a part-time job, I went and got another part-time job. It's in web development so it, too, is relatively well-paying. I'll take some classes, too, to build up my skills again. It's hard to keep up in something like web development. Eventually I'll be ready to go back to the machine, but in my heart I know I will never go back. I won't do annual thru-hikes, but I won't allow my free-spirit to ever be as crushed as it was working at that prestigious company.

I envy people who are nurses or accountants or similar things where there is high demand and you can work anywhere. You could quit any job, hike, then move anywhere in the country and get a good job right away.

The trick is not to have debt or too many expenses. I think that's the thing that keeps people feeling like they have no options. It really doesn't take a whole lot of money to live. But it does if you buy all the crap they want you to think you have to have.

[Petr]

[QUOTE=Spokes;944008]

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

QUOTE]

I agree with Bigcranky. When thru hikers are asked why they're hiking the trail the 3 most common responses are:

1- Retirement
2- Divorce
3- Just graduated college.

2 + 3 for me, and maybe 1 many years down the line.

[Caveman of Ohio]

I quit my job and was rehired a year later.

[jnanagardener]

Great, great thread, especially for those of us who, if we could, would take off today! Until I get the chance for the "big one", I make the most of every hike. Just went back to teaching today after the winter break, buzzing over the eight hikes I crammed in those two weeks. Between hikes I check White Blaze to remind myself I'm not the only one who gets it! :-) I appreciate the discussion...

[4shot]

For most of us, life is not that simple. Going on a thru hike (particularly annually) is far more complicated than just "wanting it badly enough" or "rearranging our priorities".

True, any of us COULD technically drop everything tomorrow and begin a thru hike.

I think the majority of the people find themselves in one of the above situations--or in a similar situation. The person who can drop everything "right now" and go on a thru hike--is actually a pretty rare individual.

Thus, I am somewhat offended when someone seriously implies that going on a thru hike is simply just a matter of "wanting it badly enough".

are ready. I was in the shoes of alot of posters here, mortgage, kids and wife, good job,etc. Would have loved to have gone but didn't want to walk out on those who depended on me. So I did what I had to do (as the "take the path of least resistance" did not appeal to me either) and grateful that I did , as you seem to be doing.Then one day, I woke up and the kids are grown, the bosses kept getting worse and the mortgage decreased. the 'new' boss (aka "meet the new boss, same as the old boss") tells me one day that "X" will happen. However, I was lucid enough to tell him that "X" would not happen, instead "Y" was going to happen. The short story, I don't have a job but am blessed with a great spouse and small savings. After this year's hike starting at Springer, and I do not have the gumption to say a thru-hike because I realize that many others before me who were better experienced or better equipped did not make it through no fault of their own, I will come home to maybe no savings and have to go back to some sort of "real job".

So, to paraphrase a term that is used here often, live your own life. Don't worry about when others go or what they say.Hope that you get to go one day.

[Guy]

In my case, I work for a corporation that has a leave of absence policy which is fairly standard. Most mid to large sized corporations have a leave of absence policy. It's boiler plate stuff that appears in most employee handbooks. I'm just using the policy in a non-typical way by using it for a hike.

The catch is that it's also boiler plate stuff in these policies that state that they can choose to not take you back at the end of the absence.

I've weighed the consequences and am willing to take the risk of not having a job when I get done. I'd prefer to be all sorted out for employment when I finish, but if I'm not, I'll have some pretty useful skills for being homeless.

[Hyway]

4shot, I am taking the opposite approach by calling it a THRUHIKE rather than an attempt at a thruhike. I don't intend to quit unless the dice of fate forces me off do to injury. I gave up a great job with a good salary and benefits and will be putting a lot of load on my wife and daughters for me to do this. It would be a disservice to them if I did not put it all on the line and get it done. Starting out with anything less than 100 % commitment would not be wise. I don't care why anyone else got off the trail. I am me and they are them, and what will be, will be. As long as I am still walking the trail I will be on a thruhike. I won't consider it a failed thruhike until I am back home again making excuses why I didn't make it. Until then, it costs me nothing to exude confidence in my ability to make it to Maine. The trail will do its best to break my confidense, I don't need to give it any help .

I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but its how I am looking at it.

[4shot]

4shot, I am taking the opposite approach by calling it a THRUHIKE rather than an attempt at a thruhike. I don't intend to quit unless the dice of fate forces me off do to injury. I gave up a great job with a good salary and benefits and will be putting a lot of load on my wife and daughters for me to do this. It would be a disservice to them if I did not put it all on the line and get it done. Starting out with anything less than 100 % commitment would not be wise. I don't care why anyone else got off the trail. I am me and they are them, and what will be, will be. As long as I am still walking the trail I will be on a thruhike. I won't consider it a failed thruhike until I am back home again making excuses why I didn't make it. Until then, it costs me nothing to exude confidence in my ability to make it to Maine. The trail will do its best to break my confidense, I don't need to give it any help .

I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but its how I am looking at it.

and also the same sense of sacrifice. notice that I did not use the phrase "attempted thru-hike".I am just going out for a long walk starting at Springer and I aspire to reach Maine in 5 or 6 months. I just understand that others before me have suffered sickness or injury through no fault of their own and did not get to finish.It is out of respect for these folks that I do not use terms like "failed thruhike' because I don't believe that they (or you or I if heaven forbid something similar happen to us) "failed". If my choice of wording implies lack of confidence or will,I am comfortable to say that it would take something of this nature to prevent me from completing this hike.best of luck to you, hope to see you out there.

[Red Beard]

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'm currently the Senior Systems admin at a major accounting firm. I'm well aware of how much accountants work. Remember, your Sys Admin has to work whenever you do. In 8 weeks I'm saying bye bye, and I have no job lined up for when I get back. In fact, I may leave the IT field altogether. If hiking the AT is something you want to do, reach out and grab it. No sense in wondering "what if" 20 years from now.

[sarahgirl]

I'm a nurse. Great job to have if you're flighty
Although, I must say my roth account isnt looking that great and I have no 401k built up at the moment. I agree though with what someone else said, jobs will come and go, opportunities for thru-hikes won't always be there.

[Graywolf]

I am a chef for a Horse track and have about 4 to 5 months off a year, (not in a row) due to between, off, seasons..I do some private chef work on the off seasons, but I do get out for hikes...I will be doing another in August and if things go right, I plan my first thru attempt in 2011.. I am single, no kids no mortage no car payments, so I can pretty much go where I want when I want...

The EXE. Chef said if I wanted to take a full season off to hike, then go for it,I'll still have a job when I get back...But then, I may not come back..

Graywolf

[Nean]

Working construction or the restaurant biz and living simply I discovered I could work 5-7 months and hike 5-7 months.
Doesn't really take a lot of skill or $.

Since I live like a king - people think I'm rich!

Considering I measure success in free time, instead of $$$ & stuff

I'd agree!

[cheeks]

A bad day on the trail is better than a good day at work.

[jombo22]

Working construction or the restaurant biz and living simply I discovered I could work 5-7 months and hike 5-7 months.
Doesn't really take a lot of skill or $.

Since I live like a king - people think I'm rich!

Considering I measure success in free time, instead of $$$ & stuff

I'd agree!

My sentiments exactly. Wealth is determined by how much you want, not how much you have.

[stranger]

I'm able to do a decent hike (2-3 months) atleast every other year, and could probably do this every year if I wanted to, however I don't live in the US anymore. In New Zealand and Australia, every single working person gets between 4-6 weeks vacation per year, paid, and in Australia we get leave loading...meaning when you go on leave you do not get paid your typical salary, but your typical salary plus 25%.

On top of that, taking 2-3 months unpaid leave is another right I can exercise if I choose to.