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  1. #1
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    Default Justification to Thru Hike

    I will admit that I may be the only one struggling with this, but I highly suspect others out there are experiencing the same concerns.
    I feel the need to justify to myself that taking off from life for 6 months to thru hike the AT is an acceptable choice. Every day I alternate between two extremes of "This is happening. It's now or never." and "This is a poor decision. Maybe you should wait a couple more years."

    So, I guess my main question : How do you justify quitting your job and/or responsibilities to take half a year to thru hike the AT?

  2. #2
    Registered User Old Hiker's Avatar
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    Don't need to justify a thing. You either do it or live with the regret of NOT doing it. Me: I regret DOING it to the extent that I'm still sore, beat up and stiff 2 months AFTER I completed my thru.

    Still, glad I did it.
    Old Hiker
    AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
    AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
    Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
    Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?

  3. #3

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    [QUOTE=Old Hiker;2109398]Don't need to justify a thing. You either do it or live with the regret of NOT doing it. Me: I regret DOING it to the extent that I'm still sore, beat up and stiff 2 months AFTER I completed my thru.


    Me too. Feet finally look like pretrail feet

  4. #4
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    Wow! Quick responses. Thank you!
    I guess you're right, Old Hiker. You either do or you don't. I suppose there exists the possibility of regret one way or another.

  5. #5
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    You aren't the only one struggling with that question. Every single individual who has thru-hiked, or even attempted, has asked themselves that question. First, there are two "big categories" of AT thru-hikers.

    1. Recent graduates (college or even high school)
    2. Recent retirees

    Most of the rest are section hikers, or day hikers. And as reality and perhaps marginal sanity would suggest, those are the crowds for which the AT was envisioned and built. What nut would even think of attempting to hike the whole thing in one enormous gulp? Well, Earl Shaffer, Emma Gatewood, and tens of thousands of others, as history has told and continues to tell. The trail is as popular as it has ever been in it's history.

    But to your question: How can I justify taking the time off, perhaps even quitting your job, to hike the trail?

    It's a balance. Everyone is different. Some have no spouses or children to consider. Some of those who do have those relationships, also have understanding spouses and children. David Miller (AWOL) talks about this sporadically in his book "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail." Gary Sizer (Where's the Next Shelter) and his girlfriend also had a relationship in which neither of them told the other what they could or couldn't do, but tried instead to accommodate each other's dreams and help them to make their dreams a reality. I would suggest that it is a combination of factors. It will either work for you or it won't. Your "why" is either big enough, or it isn't. All of this presupposes that you won't have a hike ending injury or illness.

    For those on the margins of being thru-ready, maybe it's how you sell it. If you haven't thought about it enough to even have the pitch, maybe you're not ready, or maybe the thru isn't for you right now. Maybe the circumstance aren't right. That's ok. If you have the "why" and the opportunity, and the money, and the support, my question to you would be "why in the hell aren't you on the trail, or starting in April or May of next year?

    Personally, my why is strong enough and I have the support, but I don't yet have the resources or the time off to thru. I know that I will within the next seven years, probably within the next two. So that's when I've placed my start date on trailjournals.com

    If you have the money and the support, and haven't yet started college, or haven't yet started your first job after college, and your "why" is big enough, hike the trail.

    If you're retiring, hike the trail.

    If you have the money set aside and your major relationships (the ones whose opinions you value) say do it, hike the trail. You'll find another job, and even if you don't, this is America. You'll be ok.

    If you don't have a big enough "why", your major relationships don't support you, you don't have the money, and can't afford the time off...don't hike the trail.

    Or maybe say feck it and hike the trail anyways.

    It really doesn't matter, and even if it did, would you care? Life goes on.

    Just my opinion.

    Presumptive Class of '20 but hiking every weekend in prep,

    ~Greenlight (trail-named at Mount Collins Shelter, April 2015)




  6. #6

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    We give meaning to decisions, make decisions, often based on knowing the pros and cons of the options very well or understanding them before hand. Here you may not fully know either until you experience them.

  7. #7

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    Its up to you how to spend your life.

    Why do you need to justify it? And to whom?

    Can you justify loving someone? Having kids? Having pets?

    We do some things because they make our lives richer.

    Thats all the justification necessary.

    No one ever dies with the thought that they wished they worked more, made more money, had a nicer house, etc. Life is about people and experiences.

    If you have opportunity, and desire, and financial means ....go for it.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 12-04-2016 at 22:52.

  8. #8
    Registered User Engine's Avatar
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    I spent most of my adult life dreaming of the day when I would be able to free enough time to hike the trail. After 26 years of working an honest 60-70 hours a week, I retired early and 2017 will finally be the year.

    If your current job isn't something you see yourself sticking with in the long term, I would say go; if you are serious about thru-hiking and it's very important to you, make it happen. There is no telling what could happen and you might never get another opportunity.
    “He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates

  9. #9
    Registered User TylerJ76's Avatar
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Greenlight View Post
    You aren't the only one struggling with that question. Every single individual who has thru-hiked, or even attempted, has asked themselves that question. First, there are two "big categories" of AT thru-hikers.

    1. Recent graduates (college or even high school)
    2. Recent retirees

    Most of the rest are section hikers, or day hikers. And as reality and perhaps marginal sanity would suggest, those are the crowds for which the AT was envisioned and built. What nut would even think of attempting to hike the whole thing in one enormous gulp? Well, Earl Shaffer, Emma Gatewood, and tens of thousands of others, as history has told and continues to tell. The trail is as popular as it has ever been in it's history.

    But to your question: How can I justify taking the time off, perhaps even quitting your job, to hike the trail?

    It's a balance. Everyone is different. Some have no spouses or children to consider. Some of those who do have those relationships, also have understanding spouses and children. David Miller (AWOL) talks about this sporadically in his book "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail." Gary Sizer (Where's the Next Shelter) and his girlfriend also had a relationship in which neither of them told the other what they could or couldn't do, but tried instead to accommodate each other's dreams and help them to make their dreams a reality. I would suggest that it is a combination of factors. It will either work for you or it won't. Your "why" is either big enough, or it isn't. All of this presupposes that you won't have a hike ending injury or illness.

    For those on the margins of being thru-ready, maybe it's how you sell it. If you haven't thought about it enough to even have the pitch, maybe you're not ready, or maybe the thru isn't for you right now. Maybe the circumstance aren't right. That's ok. If you have the "why" and the opportunity, and the money, and the support, my question to you would be "why in the hell aren't you on the trail, or starting in April or May of next year?

    Personally, my why is strong enough and I have the support, but I don't yet have the resources or the time off to thru. I know that I will within the next seven years, probably within the next two. So that's when I've placed my start date on trailjournals.com

    If you have the money and the support, and haven't yet started college, or haven't yet started your first job after college, and your "why" is big enough, hike the trail.

    If you're retiring, hike the trail.

    If you have the money set aside and your major relationships (the ones whose opinions you value) say do it, hike the trail. You'll find another job, and even if you don't, this is America. You'll be ok.

    If you don't have a big enough "why", your major relationships don't support you, you don't have the money, and can't afford the time off...don't hike the trail.

    Or maybe say feck it and hike the trail anyways.

    It really doesn't matter, and even if it did, would you care? Life goes on.

    Just my opinion.

    Presumptive Class of '20 but hiking every weekend in prep,

    ~Greenlight (trail-named at Mount Collins Shelter, April 2015)
    Great Post.
    **2020 NOBO**

  10. #10
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    Default

    To face a challenge, fulfill a dream, and if nothing else, to get over myself.
    humor is the gadfly on the corpse of tragedy

  11. #11
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    Default

    I like this very much.

    Quote Originally Posted by greensleep View Post
    To face a challenge, fulfill a dream, and if nothing else, to get over myself.




  12. #12
    Registered User DavidNH's Avatar
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    Default

    justification: you have the resources to do it, you've always wanted to do it, thus you do it.

  13. #13
    Leonidas
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    Personally, anything I have to justify to myself, 99% of the time it isn't something I came out better for on the other side.

    To hack Yoda... Do or Do not, there is no justify.
    AT: 695.7 mi
    Benton MacKaye Trail '20
    Pinhoti Trail '18-19'
    @leonidasonthetrail https://www.youtube.com/c/LeonidasontheTrail

  14. #14
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    Default

    This is one of those questions... where I don't quite see the point of asking strangers on a forum. For a hundred hikers, there will be a thousand answers.

    Everyone's got their own situations, motivations, rationales and justifications. A thru hike isn't for everyone. It's not a terribly rational thing to do. You can just as well walk the AT as a series of section hikes. Or walk as little or as much as you like, as often as you like, or just the parts you like.

    Five months of your life spent grunting up and down rocky trails all day, far from home, and sleeping mostly in the woods, in all kinds of weather... you have to really want it and enjoy it.

  15. #15
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    Others have said it, but as a responsible adult,


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by jgillam View Post
    Others have said it, but as a responsible adult,


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sorry, I bumped the send button early. Anyway....

    Others have said it but, I cannot be flippant about this. As a responsible adult with a decent State job, a busy wife and kids, in order for me to take on something of this magnitude, I do feel as though I have to justify it. Mostly because I need my families full support and for my job to allow me the time off.

    Hiking the AT is something that has burned in me for over a decade now and I am finally starting to see where most everything will come together to the extent that I will finally be able attempt it (in 2020) with a clear mind, mostly free of the worries of adult life. The kids are getting bigger, finances are solid, my mortgage will be paid off (15 years early..yay!!) and my in-laws are in a position where they can help my wife out as needed.

    While I feel like I have earned this, I still have to justify it but, everyone is in a different position.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  17. #17

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    Lions don't waste time worrying about what sheep think. Which one are you?

  18. #18
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    Asking for a justification to do a thru-hike is like asking for justification to vacation at Disney World.

    There's no need to justify it.

    If you have the means, the time, and the desire, and the trip will not usurp some responsibility you have, then just go do it.
    But if such a trip is going to conflict with a responsibility, then I would say that you need to postpone any trip until you've dealt with your responsibilities.

  19. #19
    Registered User Christoph's Avatar
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    Timing was one of the main factors in my decision to try to go for it. Recently retired from the Air Force and this was my dream. Now, I'm working but still planning a re-attempt. Regrets? Not this guy, I was glad to have had the opportunity to try and actually have another opportunity(s) in the near future. I think if you're questioning it and don't have a plan for those at home (financially, things always break when you're gone, etc), might want to give it another year. Nothing wrong with that. But, if you're one of the lucky ones that have a chance to take up to 6 months off, then plan for these things and go for it.
    - Trail name: Thumper

  20. #20
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    Justification?

    I ain't gonna live forever,
    I just wanna live while I'm alive...
    It's......MY.......life.

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