Originally Posted by
Greenlight
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)