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  1. #1
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    Default I have to do this!! Am I crazy??

    Im glad I found this site. I am sure others have posted the same story Im about to post but this one is mine and would really like some feedback.

    Im 33 and recently left a very unhappy job. I started back to school this month. I have been searching for "something" for my whole life I guess. I come from a Broken family, etc..etc...etc.. and it seems no matter what I do I just can't find it. Even having started school I just feel like Im crawling out of my skin. School is important to me but I have spent so much time f-ing my life up I just feel like I want to spend some time away from the craziness of it all. Im single, no kids...really nothing to keep me away from the trail. For a long time I just felt like i didn't have permission to do anything that was out of the "norm". Then I watched "into the Wild". Yes I know that movie ended with death and I don't wish that on anyone but I fell in love with Alexanders passion for life and also with his rebellious spirit.

    I'm not sure where I'm going with this other then to say I HAVE to do something. I have to walk, I have to prove something to myself. I have to start somewhere!!. I have to get away from the madness. I have to just be with myself, and with other kindred spirits.
    I feel very unprepared because basically I am. Would doing maybe a section of the trail this summer be a smart thing? I live in NC so getting to the trail is just a few hours. I almost feel like not doing something is much more dangerous then doing it. Sounds crazy but it's how I feel.
    Can any of you relate to my babbling? If so let me know if I just need to up my prozac...lol...or if you think Im not really crazy at all. Thanks!!

  2. #2

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    I have to do this!! Am I crazy??
    You are asking the wrong people. Of course you are crazy and so are we!
    Would doing maybe a section of the trail this summer be a smart thing?
    It's always a smart thing to go hiking! Also, if you are asking if it would be smarter for inexperienced you to hike a small section instead of the whole thing, why not just set out and see how far you get? Lots of people set out to do a section and then just keep on going.
    Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
    I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.

  3. #3
    Registered User hobbs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by davenc View Post
    Im glad I found this site. I am sure others have posted the same story Im about to post but this one is mine and would really like some feedback.

    Im 33 and recently left a very unhappy job. I started back to school this month. I have been searching for "something" for my whole life I guess. I come from a Broken family, etc..etc...etc.. and it seems no matter what I do I just can't find it. Even having started school I just feel like Im crawling out of my skin. School is important to me but I have spent so much time f-ing my life up I just feel like I want to spend some time away from the craziness of it all. Im single, no kids...really nothing to keep me away from the trail. For a long time I just felt like i didn't have permission to do anything that was out of the "norm". Then I watched "into the Wild". Yes I know that movie ended with death and I don't wish that on anyone but I fell in love with Alexanders passion for life and also with his rebellious spirit.

    I'm not sure where I'm going with this other then to say I HAVE to do something. I have to walk, I have to prove something to myself. I have to start somewhere!!. I have to get away from the madness. I have to just be with myself, and with other kindred spirits.
    I feel very unprepared because basically I am. Would doing maybe a section of the trail this summer be a smart thing? I live in NC so getting to the trail is just a few hours. I almost feel like not doing something is much more dangerous then doing it. Sounds crazy but it's how I feel.
    Can any of you relate to my babbling? If so let me know if I just need to up my prozac...lol...or if you think Im not really crazy at all. Thanks!!
    No your not crazy many people have different reasons for hikeing..But a section sounds like a good idea in the sense it would make you more at ease and comfertble..It will also give you an understanding of learning about yourself.IMO
    My love for life is quit simple .i get uo in the moring and then i go to bed at night. What I do inbween is to occupy my time. Cary Grant

  4. #4
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    You are crazy. Nothing will likely change that. You might as well go for a hike and have some fun.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by sbhikes View Post
    You are asking the wrong people. Of course you are crazy and so are we!

    It's always a smart thing to go hiking! Also, if you are asking if it would be smarter for inexperienced you to hike a small section instead of the whole thing, why not just set out and see how far you get? Lots of people set out to do a section and then just keep on going.
    Ok good to know we are all crazy here...and in a good way it seems.

  6. #6
    Registered User Sickmont's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4eyedbuzzard View Post
    You are crazy. Nothing will likely change that. You might as well go for a hike and have some fun.
    Yeah, like Buzzard said. Go play in the woods and be crazy.
    Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright

  7. #7

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    You're not crazy unless you eat the wild potatoes!

  8. #8
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    So what about family that thinks I'm crazy? how do I answer all of the questions??

  9. #9
    Registered User Sickmont's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by davenc View Post
    So what about family that thinks I'm crazy? how do I answer all of the questions??
    So let them think it. They wont bother you too often ever again if they think youre divergent.
    Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright

  10. #10
    Registered User hobbs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by davenc View Post
    So what about family that thinks I'm crazy? how do I answer all of the questions??
    Do what I did tell them...Show them the National geographic AT Trail video. Have them call The ATC and speak with someone as well.... Your not crazy....I told my family and my mother is 73 and one brother said do it while you can.... So thats what I got for a responce.One brother said i should do it all in sections. Nope was mine and he said ok...But my sister her view is negative, I really dont care what she thinks anyway..To be honest,
    My love for life is quit simple .i get uo in the moring and then i go to bed at night. What I do inbween is to occupy my time. Cary Grant

  11. #11

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    Your familys probably right. welcome to the club.

  12. #12

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    And would you prefer to be "normal"? pretty boring.

  13. #13
    Registered User tawa's Avatar
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    Yep----your crazy all right!!** But relax ---you could be normal ---work a stressful job in a cubicle from 9-5 each day, drive in heavy freeway traffic for an hour each day, live in a suburbia USA on a culdasack with fifty other look alike homes, go to Walmart three-four times a week, have and use several technological gadgets which make you totally accessible and unplugged from the mainstream and be hooked on watching CNN news and ESPN sports several hours a day ---all while seldom exercising and hiking away from the couch and remote to either go to the refrigerator or bathroom!!** lol
    Sure glad were crazy! Sure glad we took the other fork in the road and choose to travel the path less travelled. Actually hope we can keep it a secret because the mainstream would find a way to screw it up and for the government to either own or control it!
    Just keep on hiking.

  14. #14

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    Going out hiking isn't going to solve any of your problems, but it could make you feel better and make it easier to deal with them.

    Go to vist some thrift stores and get some basic camping/backpacking gear to start, do some short trips, say a weekend and if you enjoy it, start upgrading the gear and go out for longer trips.

    Good luck!
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  15. #15
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    I'm with slo go...it seems to me that many of the folk I have spoken with feel they should have had some self realization/revelation/epiphany while doing a long distance hike. i personally have never has one. i have met some that claim they have but not many.

    In short you will likely enjoy your time on the trail but I would advise against expecting to meet yourself on the trail.
    Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!

  16. #16
    1,630 miles and counting earlyriser26's Avatar
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    A section hike is a must. You may be looking for "something", but it may not be the trail. It is not for everyone.
    There are so many miles and so many mountains between here and there that it is hardly worth thinking about

  17. #17

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    I agree with both of the above or as Mr Brady said"Wherever you go,there you are". But a bit of solitude away from all the distractions of everyday "life", it becomes kind of a walking meditation, giving you more clarity to deal with whatever issues you might be facing.

  18. #18
    Fat Guy Lemni Skate's Avatar
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    You've got nothing to tie you down. Get to Springer this spring. Start hiking north. Think of the first 30 miles as a section hike. Then when you get to Neels Gap, let them do a pack shakedown with you. You'll be ready to go the rest of the way.

    I don't know how your set financially, but if you've got the money do it all now while you can!
    Lemni Skate away

    The trail will save my life

  19. #19
    So many trails... so little time. Many Walks's Avatar
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    As noted, the trail won't solve your problems, but I'll add hiking it will give you plenty of time to think about them and hopefully spur some ideas of what direction you might want to take in your life. You will also be tempted in the trail towns to party a lot and blow your money on new found “friends” who have none, which generally ends in failure. If you can maintain your commitment to hiking the trail you will learn to take care of yourself, manage the logistics of resupply, put in the miles, determine the route and distance each day to the next stop, manage and maintain your gear, and a bunch of other basic skills that will increase your confidence to decide what challenges you want to tackle next. It's a very long and challenging walk, but the journey is extremely rewarding and a great feeling to go to the end. Remember, the trail doesn't care if your make it or not. It's totally up to you.
    That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. Henry David Thoreau

  20. #20
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    “Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
    Mark Twain

    “Insanity: a perfectly rational response to an insane world.”

    My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you’re ugly too.
    Rodney Dangerfield

    “There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”
    Oscar Levant

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