What size batteries do those take?Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl
This is some of the most inspirational advice/information that I could ever hope to find right now. I am a college student that can't find a satisfying major and a person who is sick of material things and society's "plan" (go to college, get a job that you'll never actually enjoy, and settling for being simply content - not happy) owning my life.
I now know for sure that there are a large amount of people out there who think kinda like me, which is reassuring to say the least. I just wanted to thank everyone for their input and be sure that not one word is going unread.
March '10 thru-hike, here I come..
If you're able to, I recommend applying to grad school. After hiking, you'll find it much easier to live off a TA salary. But the best thing is, you'll have a "job" to come back to after you hike. The negative is that you'll have a deadline for finishing, but if you're comfortable enough about getting accepted, then you can quit your job early to ensure you'll have enough time to finish. And on your resume, it will say "worked at XYZ till 2010" then "Grad school 2010- ?" and there's no large gap. Re-entry into the job market after graduation is much simpler, albeit delayed by a couple of years (not a problem especially if you want to take more time off and hike more in the summer or a fall semester.)
Depending on your house it might not sell but you may be able to rent it out and still cover the mortgage. Consider getting roommates on your return if grad school won't make the payments. Your stuff can go in storage and you can probably find a friend willing to buy your car and sell it back to you 6 months later for the same price.
My lease will be up by the time I leave and I had no intention of renewing it anyway. I'll probably have to quite my job and my brother wants to by my car from me. Not giving up anything really, because I want to remove myself from them.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting Her seniority."
E.B white
*quit : )
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting Her seniority."
E.B white
my accounting job and watching the red sox.
Working in a box, living and sleeping in a box, and going from point A to point B in a box with an engine and wheels
Aggravation, asphalt, and strip malls.
I am 46 right now. In 2 1/2 years I will be that much older. I am giving up alot of free time to save up a huge chunk of money so that in the spring of 2012 I can finally do what I've dreamed of doing since I did my first AT thruhike.
To realize this dream I know there is much I am sacrificing. But every time I find myself outside and just "being", it makes the 1093 days til I take that first trail step that much easier to bear.
I the time draws nearer and I am certain that my plans will bear fruit, I will post here to let everyone know what I'll be doing and where I'll be going.
Just turned 52 and have a great high stress job with the leading Aerospace firm in the world. Good position, pay, benefits, time away, etc. Have enough leave time I could walk the trail if I could get them to let me take it all at once.
Most wouldn't understand why someone would give up 32 yrs on the job to put on boots and eat out of a bag everyday, sleep under the stars and walk in the rain and snow. It's not a concept you can often get others to understand, much less support. It's something I do yearn more and more to do before I get to where I can't .
The quiet solitude of the trees and the trail, and folks you meet on the trail w/o agenda's is a stark contrast to the hussle and tussle of corporate life. It took me a whole two days to totally disconnect from work a few weeks back when I went to Glacier and Yellowstone for 10 days....I havent' been able to connect back yet in two weeks...I would much rather be out walking somewhere, rather than listening to folks whine and gripe about how bad life treats them, and how far they have to walk from the parking lot each day, or listen to them gripe about who they have to sit next to....these folks don't have a clue how good you feel after walking 13-15 miles non stop just to find a place to sleep at night, learning to live off the land with just what you have in your back pack, and getting to see some really absolutely cool stuff like a momma bear and two cubs scurrying across the highway and run up a tree; or coming up on a bull moose while taking a quick bath in a river; or walking across a glacier only to find a hidden lake that was pretty much still frozen solid on July 4; or seeing the sun rise in the Grand Canyon in the pitch black still of the night
My dad always encouraged me to "walk with the trees" when I had the chance. My dad was a smart guy, even though he wasn't rich by monetary standards, he knew the value of walking with the trees every chance he got.
Take the walk when you have the chance.
In hindsight, I probably should have hiked right out of college. But I had no money... none. I was on my last $100 before I finally found a job. Because I was in the fortunate position of not being in debt and living rather frugally, I have been able to save up a healthy amount to thru-hike in 2010.
I'd rather enjoy a thru-hike experience now than in 10-20 years from now while I have my good health, nothing really tying me back, and no immediate family obligations. I'd like to tackle this hike before I have a family to take care of, a mortgage to pay, etc. I am giving up a good amount, but it's such a no-brainer to me.
Check out my blog: greggoodson.com
Friend me on Facebook: facebook.com/greggoodson
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/greggoodson
Everything, selling all the "stuff", quitting the job, and hoping to have enough to carry me through - either way, its at the top of my bucket list and im going.
-my family
-my business
- comfort, food, the Felice Brothers!
But I hope to be redeemed much greater than I can imagine.
I am hiking for hungry people and hope to raise money by getting sponsors and other hikers to hike for us. We are working with Feeding America, The Harry Chapin Foundation and the Safe Haven Project.
Please contact me if you are interested in hiking for hunger !
Thank You All!
This is one of the best threads I've seen on these boards! My wife and I have recently to "give it all up" and just do it. We're doing the Trail in 2012. The house is already on the market and we're ready, mentally, now. We have no major comitment and both hate our corporate jobs and will be quiting with big smiles on our faces! We'll probally sell a lot of our other stuff including one of the cars. So what are we giving up? Really, nothing. We only see it as gaining our freedom. What will we do when we get back? I guess only time will tell.
I hope everyone here is able to follow their dreams and hike the Trail or do whatever it is you are set on doing!
I'm giving up the feeling of being suffocated by a boring, conventional life while wanderlust overwhelms me.
im kinda in the same boat i get out of the marines just got divorced have a paid off car and no plans to do anything but hike, wereever my feet take me. i have no plans to an end either
I say go for it. As has been pointed out, we don't always take our own advice. Security and "the norm" are very powerful chains that most of us succumb to. Right now, I've been struggling to break free again. I did it when I was much younger, but in the years since I have bought a home, been vested in a retirement plan, put down roots so to speak. That in no way means that I made a conscious decision to get myself in this situation. In fact, when I bought the house, I recognized that this was where I was heading, but I told myself "it's just as easy to sign the papers to sell the house as it is to sign them to buy it". This is true, but the general economy is now a larger factor than I anticipated back then.
Still, I am seriously considering dumping everything. I've told myself in my internal arguments, "Wait until you retire, it will be easier then". This may be true, but who can guarantee that I will still be physically able to hike then?
Today is my birthday, I am 56 now. Not old, but getting there. My sister passed away unexpectedly this past January - the day after her 61st birthday, and only 2 years after she retired. There are NO guarantees that our lives will follow the plan we make for them!
It was pointed out earlier in this thread that most of us giving this type of advice were doing so from our computers, sitting in our house, with a car in the driveway. Fair enough, and most likely true. Just because we aren't doing the things we espouse, doesn't necessarily mean we don't know what we should be doing, and encouraging anyone who is tempted to follow his/her dreams to do so. Many people who smoke, know they shouldn't. Are they wrong to try to tell that to their kids?
Go for it!! Be a model for others to follow.
i would be leaving my girlfriend, who gets upset when i leave for a week. my job, i am a registered nurse. my apartment, car (payment 552 a month), nice furniture, TV, a whole baseball season...........would also be giving up countless hours spen sitting in front of TV, the hour or so i spend in my expensive SUV on the ROAD driving to work, and apartment that feels more like a jail cell..........so the only thing really is the fear or missing my girlfriend so much i couldnt stand it
i would be leaving my girlfriend, who gets upset when i leave for a week. my job, i am a registered nurse. my apartment, car (payment 552 a month), nice furniture, TV, a whole baseball season...........would also be giving up countless hours spen sitting in front of TV, the hour or so i spend in my expensive SUV on the ROAD driving to work, and apartment that feels more like a jail cell..........so the only thing really is the fear or missing my girlfriend so much i couldnt stand it
The Red Sox. Working shows in a ****ty theatre. Working in a kitchen full of mexicans. Drinkin obscene amounts of lager on wednesdays. Good mountain biking weather. Hopefully if the sox are in the series, ill be home by then!
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