So there's this life….

[Coffee]

I agree with Damn Yankee - you can always sell your house later if your plans warrant that. For now, since you aren't sure what you'd do after your hike, it would be better to rent it out while you're gone. Perhaps your parents would act as your agents in this.

If the OP can afford to not sell her house and keep it vacant during the attempted thru, that could ease a lot of anxiety. I got pretty far along the path of renting out my condo prior to my PCT hike this year but it was costing me sleep at night and making me nervous that I would be displaced if, for some reason, I cannot complete my hike due to injury or other issues. Now I don't have that concern anymore since I'm leaving my condo vacant. I can afford to do so but it is a pretty big expense. Worth it for me for peace of mind. Probably very worthwhile for someone brand new to hiking attempting a thru hike imo...

[Bronk]

I quit a good job, threw just about everything I owned in a trash dumpster and hiked on the AT for four months. Sometimes you just gotta check out for awhile.

[LilBit]

I quit a good job, threw just about everything I owned in a trash dumpster and hiked on the AT for four months. Sometimes you just gotta check out for awhile.

I agree…I don't know if I'll ever be able to change careers because I feel as I was called to it…but maybe a long break from it will help me appreciate it more.

[FlyFishNut]

Lil Bit -
I think you need a change of venue. I have to admit that I am a bit jealous - I don't have the freedom to pick up and go, but as soon as my daughter is off to college I am going to ditch the rat race and move out west or the Caribbean - somewhere!

Sell your house - do the thru hike and soul search. I suggest afterward, if it hasn't become evident what you want to do that you move to a larger city or a suburb to a more "alive" place. You need to kick the small town dirt off of your boots and relocate. You say you feel a calling to your vocation - perhaps you need a new place to live, new things to do, new people to meet.

Don't wait too long - DO IT!

Regarding the hiking - do some overnighters. Get comfy hiking / sleeping outdoors. If anyone tries to dissuade you from your "new start" then reach out and I will be the little devil on your other shoulder telling you to DO IT. I'm sure you won't have a deficit of support from the derelicts here!

Keep us posted.

[saltysack]

That video is great!


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[PilotB]

First flight lesson was Sept 1, 1998 (my 30th birthday)

With 2 kids and a very supportive wife I changed careers and made a barely livable wage for 8 years. I would be completely miserable if I had never jumped off that cliff and went for it. I encourage you to do that same....so worth it.




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[goldbug]

A few years ago, I quit my job, got out of my lease, put my stuff in storage, and did a month on the trail. It was all I had savings for, really. While I was sitting on a bald near Carvers Gap, I realized I wanted to be a freelance writer. So I came home, got a part time job to pay the bills, and started building my new career. It can be stressful sometimes when money is tight, but I am content in ways I never dreamed of.

Make sure you have savings to fall back on, and take the plunge. It worked for me!

[wdanner]

Sabbaticals don't get as much praise as they should. Taking some time to consider where you are in life and what you want to do in the future is only natural. However, don't get caught up in viewing the completion of a thru hike as THE catalyst for a change in your life. Many people have to get off the trail for a variety of reasons. The time away is great for reflection and thinking in general (what else can you do when walking miles and miles) but make sure finishing doesn't become the only way you would consider that time spent "recharging" a success.

[Spirit Walker]

When I was 27 I began hiking. At 30 I took my first backpacking trip. At 31 I quit my job to hike the AT. So, like you, I didn't have a lot of experience before I hit the AT. When I finished the trail, I went back to my previous job briefly to get some funds, then moved to San Francisco, which was a move I had long contemplated. Family issues and inertia had kept me from doing what I really wanted to do, until I decided to do the hike. I went on to do other long distance hikes, because I really love the LD hiking lifestyle. But most important, I gave myself permission to live the life I wanted.

For you, I'd recommend getting out and doing as much hiking and backpacking as you can over the next year. Figure out whether this is something that you really want. As a runner, you're used to getting out, working really hard, and then going home to a hot shower and good meal. Find out how you cope with day after day of rain or cold or heat and being dirty for days at a time.

At the same time, think about some of the things you want for your life long term. What would your ideal life be? I have thruhiking friends who went on to travel to Asia, or work in Antarctica, or bicycle across the country. Some became perennial hikers. Many went back to school to get a degree in a field that really interests them. At 31, you have a whole world of opportunity.

[dangerdave]

I just retired from 28 years as a career firefighter/paramedic for a small city (pop. 23k) in southern Ohio. Being part of the "broken" EMS system was always frustrating. Watching people die was always depressing.

Rule #1: People die.
Rule #2: You can't change rule #1.

What kept me going all those years was the service (however that may be defined) I gave to my home town. I was given the skills to save lives with my bare hands, and I did it very well. The pride in my retirement is knowing that there are now generations of certain families that I have touched, who would not be alive today if it were not for these two hands. Children I saved twenty years ago who now have children of their own, and who will get to see their grandchildren grow. All because of little old me and the people I worked with. Thinking of that always makes me smile.

Even the crappiest days are fraught with marvels!