Are you nervous yet?

[vtgorilla]

Whenever I consider the huge undertaking that I’m planning for, I get filled with anxiety. Most of it is just a fear of the unknown, but it can be truly terrifying to consider that I will be leaving everything I know for 5 or 6 months.

There are so many loose ends that will need to be tied before leaving that it boggles the mind. I have to terminate employment, my apartment, and find a storage unit/solution. Do I keep my car insurance? health insurance? defer my student loans? Will it take me a long time to find a job when I get back? …maybe I should start looking now. Will I even want a job when I get back?

Then I consider that none of these are even decisions directly related to completing the trail. There’s gear questions, travel arrangements, and communications with family and friends...

I kind of trailed off on a tangent here, but it seems crazy that I’m nervous so far in advance. I’m sure I can figure out all these problems in due time. Maybe the nerves are just because I know I’ll pull the trigger if it’s at all feasible.

Do you guys get nervous when you think about it?

[hikerboy57]

the less you worry, the more everything falls into place.if this is what you want to do, everything will work out.just like the hike itself, take it one step at a time.make a list of things that need to be done before you leave, and then just start checking em off

[mumbls]

Ever since I've made the mental commitment and started conditioning / planning / etc, I've been having the most intense, strange dreams.. I don't know if this counts as nervousness

[Butterfly58]

Yes, very nervous, anxious whatever WHEN I think about it all. But it's hard not to think about it when there are so many decisions to be made. I too am having strange dreams about it, lol. But like hikerboy says I believe it will all work out. One day at a time, one step at a time.

[Andrew Ferk]

I'm in a hotel, ready to board a flight to Boston at 7am and arrive at Millinocket around 9pm. I start my SOBO on the 5th. Everything you described is dead on with how I've been feeling. It was surreal today packing the next five months of my life into a backpack and leaving everything behind. I'm so nervous, but once I think once I start hiking, things will be fine.

[Mountain Mike]

Trail life is about simplicity. It's living day to day & until your next re-supply. Once on the trail you will quickly fall into a routine.

[scooterdogma]

Don't forget to do your taxes! I saw to many hikers scrambling to find a computer and muttering, " I can't believe I forgot the &*^^& taxes!" LOL

[LionDog]

Ever since I've made the mental commitment and started conditioning / planning / etc, I've been having the most intense, strange dreams.. I don't know if this counts as nervousness

I had a dream the other day that I was standing before the approach trail at springer.

I don't even have plans to hike the dam thing!

[Trevor Lord]

The money is the most stressful part for me. I am quitting my job to do this next year and leaving my poor wife alone but she is behind me 100%

[Dogwood]

it can be truly terrifying to consider that I will be leaving everything I know for 5 or 6 months.

Are you married and have kids? It's the same thing. This time it's only for 5 0r 6 months though. You should be overjoyed.

[Dogwood]

REEELAAAAX! Take a deep breathe. Hold. Exhale deeply. Breathe deeply. Hold. Exhale. I said exhale. Exhale. You're getting blue in the face. Exhale. Ok. Good. I didn't say don't do what you feel you must though. No need to pass out.

You are right. Most of it is a fear of the unknown. But, I'll tell you. You got to get used to that somewhat if you're going to do a AT thru-hike - embracing unknowns. No matter how much you plan, and most should do a fair amt of planning for a 5-6 month hike, events/situations etc are going to occur on a thru-hike JUST AS IN NON-HIKING LIFE! Notice, I didn't say avoid responsibility either?

With all that you're doing pre-hike realize it's still largely a matter of steps, JUST LIKE THRU-HIKING. Your mind is boggled because you're looking at all the decisions you need to make in their entirety. Chunk it down to smaller bites/steps when hiking and non hiking, whether it's going 3500 + miles on a hike or 35 ft to the fridge at home, whether it's finishing up a job or finishing up a long distance hike, whether it's putting stuff in storage or packing up a backpack in prep for a 6 month hike. There are many similarities. Don't let yourself get into overwhelm. What are the most MOST Important things to do first. Prioritize. And, don't be afraid to ask questions about one thing like gear while working on something else in the same day/wk/month or even hr. GREAT things, LASTING things are so often accomplished precept upon precept, line upon line, step after step. You already know that and do that. Continue doing what you know to be doing.

[trinzushi]

The only real anxiety I feel is money! Every time I feel like I am making progress to saving it.... I have to dump it on things! IE.. CAR.. :-( Other than that, i'm sure that once I am on the trail my true anxieties about the woods and the unknown will melt away. I'm going to take the waiting period like I take nature. Nothing is truly unknown, so I will go with the flow and prepare the absolute best I can. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. I'm more excited than anything.. Can't wait to go on more shakedown trips to finish playing with my gear! I truly believe that the trail has it's own mysteries and ways of letting things just... fall in place. If you want to make it a reality, you will. And hopefully, at the end of your hike you will realize it wasn't worth as much anxiety as you gave it. :-)

[Double Wide]

I still have about eight months to go, so the anxiety isn't quite there yet. I'm sure it'll kick in right after the holidays. I've got the money for the trip itself, the only thing I'm slightly stressed about it keeping up the car payments and basic insurance for six months while I'm gone, and I still haven't figured out exactly where I'm going to keep it parked until I get back. Saving for car payments isn't nearly as fun as saving for a thru-hike...

On the other hand, I'm about 99.9% geared up (might still replace my sleeping bag and still need a silk liner, but otherwise, I've got everything else), and now I'm starting to think about whether I want to do any kind of bounce box and what kind, if any, of food drops to do and where to send them. I'm sure I'll resupply on the way, but I definitely want to send food to Fontana and Monson. Maybe a couple more places, but honestly, I'll deal with that in a couple of months.

I also haven't thought about my return trip, or exactly what I'm going to do when I get back. That's the Great Unknown I want to figure out when I'm walking. I know I don't want to go back to my current job, and I'm not sure if I even want to come back and live in Nashville again. I may just start over doing something new in a completely new place. I just don't know, but I'm hoping that while I'm out there I have some sort of epiphany and I figuratively find a new path for my life when it's all over.

In the meantime, I'm just gonna do my get-in-shape dayhikes and keep arm-chair thru-hiking here and on Trail Journals. This thing's gonna happen regardless of how much I worry about it, so all I can do is just prepare as much as I can. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, yadda yadda yadda...

See y'all on the Trail!

[Sara]

I'm still nine months out (starting April 12th) but I feel like I'm ready to hike tomorrow.
I usually don't get nervous until a few days before a big trip. Until then it doesn't feel "real".

The hardest part for me is over... waiting for the Human Resources department verdict on my five month leave of absence request. I did not sleep well!

[Cyngbaeld]

Mostly anxious about letting someone else take care of my 30y/o disabled daughter. I really need a break though. I expect when it gets right down to the wire, it will all be ok. Getting my gear together. Been a while since I camped and hiked so having to replace nearly everything. I feel like a kid at Christmas every time a package arrives by mail, UPS or FedEx! This is cool!

[trinzushi]

Mostly anxious about letting someone else take care of my 30y/o disabled daughter. I really need a break though. I expect when it gets right down to the wire, it will all be ok. Getting my gear together. Been a while since I camped and hiked so having to replace nearly everything. I feel like a kid at Christmas every time a package arrives by mail, UPS or FedEx! This is cool!

It's SO much fun! I am new to backpacking and I thought I had all of my gear settled (sad day when I picked up the last item I needed), but alas after a tutorial hike/shakedown hike I realized there are a lot of gear changes I need to make before my thru-hike... Totally exciting in a weird way cause I get more packages!!! And new gear to get excited over! I am on vacation and couldn't hold back buying my new sleeping bag (Well.. my excuse is I'm going on a one nighter with my bf after vacation.. so I kinda needed it sooner ) Though, I think it was one of the bigger highlights on my vacation when I saw the arrival confirmation on my UPS tracker! Christmas all year round!

[capehiker]

I'm worried I'll be 10 days into the hike and I'll suffer an injury that takes me off the trail for the season. I have waited 15 years to Thru hike between career transitions. I'll be devastated if I can't give it a honest go and get taken out due to injury (the added stressor is I partially tore my LCL last winter and am fearful of another knee injury).

Financially, I already have my hike fund tucked away in savings. I replaced all my gear and could step onto the trail today. Mentally, I know it's going to be tough. I have no illusions of perfect weather every day and casual hills singing with the sounds of birds. I love that I'm finally at the point where I'm getting into planning the nitty gritty details. So yeah...injury. Scares the beejesus out of me.

[Kdoiron]

Im more worried that once i get on the trail i wont ever want to leave it. the idea of going back to a 9-5 work week sends chills down my spine. Already eyeballing the rest of the triple crown.

[Fredt4]

My theory is: You're Gonna Die! No Matter What You Do!

So, now that that concern is out of the way, enjoy the trip.

[Hey-Man]

My biggest concern is that I've become a narcissist. Family and friends having any conversation unrelated to anything AT or hiking and I zone out. Research and gear purchase/return/purchase/return has been my life for months now.
I am experiencing equal parts thrill and anxiety. None of the folks that know me give me 1:100 chance of success. Fifty percent of the time I can't wait to prove them wrong and 50% of the time I wonder if they know something I don't. This is a new endeavor for me. But, so was college at age 52 and I got a BSN and then an MSN, so there you go. Sure don't want to be in the 25% of folks who quit by Neel Gap, that's for daggum sure! Don't want to quit at all. I want to experience this as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it is: a transformative six-month date with nature.