AT Thru-Hike

“I may soon get a unique opportunity. My plant (formerly known as Saturn Corp.) will shutdown next spring for 12-18 months. We are scheduled for a new product but I can't say what it is yet, as the details are still being worked out. I am selling my house (not because of the layoff, we just need a smaller house) and I need to get my kids thru college.
But what would you do if you had this opportunity and always wanted to thru hike the AT???
I have talked about it with my wife and really need her support to even begin. Of course she thinks I'm crazy but thats why she married me anyway, LOL.
I do have a couple of people interested in joining me. One is a neighbor and former GM employee named Louis. He has just retired and runs marathons. He has ran a marathon in every state, but is in remission for luekemia and just restarted running marathons again. The other one interested is my best friend and former neighbor, co-worker. Toomey and I went on our first backpacking trip about 10 years ago at Savage Gulf. He does have a bad leg from childhood polio. I don't know how far he could make it but he is trully interested. Maybe he could section hike with me. I dunno.
I know I have alot of questions about whether or not I could go, but I want to at least try. I may not ever get a chance like this. I have 8 years before I retire and may not be healthy enough by then. I know that I will get lots of chiding from this forum, but I will also get lots of support and I have hiked with many of you and I really do respect your views, either positive or negative. I do hope to lose some wieght before I begin and need to get in better hiking shape, but the trail will get me my hiking legs soon enough. There I said it now let the fun begin....
last edited: 6/27/06 11:01:07 AM”

“Go for it - take the opportunities when they are presented. Life doesn't usually give things up twice.”

“Assuming that your family supports you on this decision, I say go for it.”

“I would kill for that opportunity.

Ask yourself this. When will it ever come again?”

“If the finances and family can handle you doing the hike then by all means go for it.

My best advice is to be sure to fully communicate to whomever wants to hike with you what your expectations for the hike are so you can avoid any possible personality issues later on down the trail.

Looks like you have a great opportunity to do something (thru-hike or otherwise), make it count.”

“if you have your wife and family's support i'd say the question is why not do it...it's a rare thing to get a spouse to buy into a long distance hike...i'd jump at it...does she work?”

“go for it Karo, you may not get another chance.”

“If mama says it's ok, don't look back!”

“I will post gear lists and let ya'll pick thru them. I do have a Granite Gear Vapor Trail pack and just got an Alps Mountaineering one man tent that weighs 3 pounds. I can use my 8x10 sil-nylon tarp (the one that got stepped on by a deer at Sipsey) that was successfully repaired. It has sentimental value if anything else! It weighs one pound, at least before the repair it did. I still use an alcohol stove and have a titanium cookset. I may split the cookset up with a co-hiker. It has a 1 liter pot and a .85 liter pot and a common lid for both. I do have a hammock but may only take it after the weather warms up. I have a Thermarest Prolite 4 mattress and the chair kit for it. I can store my tent poles in the chair kit and they go in an outside pocket of my Vapor Trail. I have been reading on Whiteblaze about how some people have been storing their tent in the center straps on the outside of the Vapor Trail. I gotta try this next trip. I will try to talk to some thru hikers and get other hints and help about the trip. I do need to get some winter gear and clothing for a late March, early April start.
more later...”

“ditch the cook set and get yourself a $2.99 grease pot”

“She hasn't said anything yet, we have alot of other things on our mind right now, with the house and all. I recieved hail damage on my house and my Blazer in April. The insurance company is paying for a new roof and it is going on this weekend. Donna just got back from a mission trip to Albania and is now at Tims Ford lake for a church staff retreat. She has a very important job at church as the Pre-school children's pastor. I will seek the support of my church as it is important to me. I need all the help I can get and appreciate the positive remarks so far. Sometimes you just gotta go for it!”

“Finances and fam are the battles and it sounds like you have them in good shape. Go for it. The timing sounds perfect since you'll have about 9 months to plan and then the shutdown occurs just when you need to leave.”

“just speaking for me here but i think it'd be pretty tough to be away from my wife that long...i'd have to/need to have frequent visits”

“PS. Not sure I'd worry about hiking partners unless that's an issue to make your wife feel safe. You'll meet plenty of folks to hike with, especially as personable as you are.”

“I will only use one pot from the cookset, and since it is so light and was a gift from my family anyway, it will not be a burden. I can use the .85 pot and a lid from a pie plate to get the weight down. I do need to get a postal scale asap and start weighing everything.”

“Thanks for the encouragement everyone, esp dayhiker. I will miss my wife most of all and need to have all my t's crosssed and i's dotted before I go. Things like who is going to mow my yard??? among other things. She could meet me at trail towns for catching up and just talking about home and family. I also have one grandmother that I worry about. She ain't getting any younger either and is having some health problems. As far as hiking partners, I don't really need any, just had a couple of people interested in joining me. Louis may go right past me on the trail and I know I would have to wait on Toomey (Too Much is his trail name/nickname, I gave it to him).”

“Headed to work right now, last week before 2 week shutdown (annual not the big one) and then go to day shift. I will hate to loose my dayshift job. What am I saying, I will have a day job, hiking, every day! I am really looking forward to this. Later, Karo”

“Be sure to check in with Crash Bang. He did the 'walk' recently.”

“Yeah I thought about him, and another guy who thru hiked about 10 years ago lives nearby.”

“go for it karo! Its the chance of a lifetime!”

“Good for you,

I hope you can pull it off? I had a hiking partner tell me his AT thru hike only cost hike $2500.00 bucks. Pretty cheap for 5-6 months of living?

Hopefully,

I'll start AT section hiking next year? I may start out with Grayson Highlands from Fox creek TH to Damascus?

I'll probably only have a week at my disposal? So, I won't being doing more that 40-50 miles a section, being that, I'll need to use 1-1/2 days for driving as well?

Good Luck!!!”

“nimblefoot also did it last year”

“Just based on the information you have given, you are making a choice that is not going to be one you will enjoy. I think you should forget it. Plan on finding another job, continue to support you wife like you have, or even better. Even if you are around the house, thats were you belong. It just sounds like a bad investment of your time to be away, don't do it.”

“karo, does your wife have a TT screen name ;)”

“consider making a compromise and do a large section of the trail, for example, the new englang section. at about 740 miles, its the best two months youll spend on the AT. that might be easier for wife and family to swallow, also.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Take 1 pot. Tarp .
20 oz plastic soda bottles for fluid. Ditch the chair and take closed cell foam. Corstarch. Duct tape and moleskin. Ibuprofen. Lightweight umbrella. As far as stove, two words...........
.........white gas. Have fun!”

“umbrella shmumbrella”

“I can't get another job or I forfeit my pay. I will only lose about 60-70 bucks a week. If I stay at home I'll go bananas, which ain't far away, just ask anybody that knows me. I want to start with the thru hikers and see how far I get. That is my plan and I hope I see it happen.”

“Karo - it sounds like a great trip!”

“thriftyhiker
No my wife doesn't have a screen name. She can't physically hike because of leg pain. (I tell everyone its from kicking me, LOL) She does know how much hiking means to me and enjoyed it when she could go. I plan on letting her read more esp. an article I read on Whiteblaze about spouses and the trail. She does alot for our church and has been on 2-3 mission trips out of the U.S. for the past 5 years. That is her thing and I encourage her all I can. I may plan on a mission trip also as this would be a great opportunity for that also. If we are down for more than a year, I would also still have a chance to hike in 2008. But I need to keep my goal to thru hike it in 2007. Who knows I may even do a flip flop, it is MY hike and I have the determination to go for it!

rewright:
You can stay home, I'm goin' hikin'!!!”

“I'd not worry about the partner thing. I had none in the beginning or the end, but hiked with a wide variety of personalities in between, No doubt it was this that made the experience that much richer. This wasn't by design, but by virtue of me being that much slower than almost everyone else.”

“flip-flop ??? hummm not sure but the way you mentioned it made me think that you were really talking about a yo-yo

for those that don't know the difference:

flip-flop - start hiking from one end then jump ahead to other end and hike back to where one did the jump

yo-yo - start hiking from one end, hike all the way to the other end, turn around and hike back to the beginning”

“So, whattsa' Yo-flop?”

“same thing as a flip-yo”

“I dunno fo sho what I'll do, probably be doing good to make it to Damascus. From what I have seen on here thru pics and from what I've heard, the party at Trail Days may be my undoing!”

“All I know for sure is that GM is gonna pay us 95% of our base pay for the entire length of the layoff which could go for up to 18 months. We will have full insurance coverage also during that time. I know this sounds like alot to some people, but it is our UAW negotiated benefits. We gave up alot to get those benefits. Almost all of the employees that came to Saturn in the late 80's and 90's were laid-off or had been at one time. This is the longest period of time for all of us to be continuously working. I'm gonna take this oppuntunity while I can. I have told everyone at work and all of them support me and think I'll go thru with it. Theoretically I might have the time to yo-yo, but I will probably come back home. If I did not make it the first year (by October 15, 2007) I would have time to pick it up the next year. With my seniority I probably will not be off too long and be the first one to go back. Or else they will say they need me the entire time and I won't even be laid off at all. That would be a bummer!
last edited: 6/28/06 8:30:55 AM”

“Well I just talked to Toomey last night and he said he didn't know what he was saying about Thru hiking.
He did just retire yesterday, but is in no condition to attempt a thru hike. He says he will support me on mine tho. I hope to look for some trail magic from him. His youngest son lives near Knoxville and may section hike with me. My son says no way. He has a enzyme deficiency in his blood and does good to work the long hours he puts in. Not to mention being a full time college student. I will talk to Louis tomorrow and see what his plans are.”

“It's okay to start solo. You will pick up with lots of folks along the way, to the point you'll wish for solitude.”

“way, way more people start alone than start with a partner”

“way way.”

“thats what i said”

“that's what he said (way way).”

“thats what i said bunny bread””

“ewker, u r sew qt”

“I just found out that one of our scouts who made eagle several years ago has decided to take some time off from school and thru-hike next year. Awesome!

Of course, realizing today's date, I really hope it's not a joke.
last edited: 4/01/09 8:25:33 AM”

“I'm only 3/8ths mile from the end of the Trail Talk Tail.”

“Go for it. and on another note, I did not get to go on my thru hike as some of you know. My daughter had a little girl 2 years ago St. Patrick's Day and she is my little hiking buddy now. And now Kayley is having a boy, due in August. Now I will have a little hunting buddy also!”

“So this is the time of year when I get the fever. Every year, for the last 10 years, I find myself planning a thru-hike of the AT. I pull out the calendar to determine a start date, plan an end date, read every thread on whiteblaze.net, tweak my gear choices and calculate finances. This year I need to determine if I should trade in my dumbphone for one of those smartphone thingys. And then every year life gets in the way. March goes by, then April passes, and soon the thru-hiker class is half way north…and I am not hiking with them….again.

But things are different this year. My children are grown, college educated, employed and happy. Other than my house, I don’t have much debt. My health is very good and the breast cancer scare is behind me. I could stand to lose another 10 pounds, but I am, overall, in decent physical shape. At 51, I am still young enough to complete thru hike. My divorce has been final for some time now and I can finally say that I am at peace and I am content. Very content.

But things are different…very different this year. I love Brian and being away from him for long periods of time is going to be really difficult. I think I would have a hard time keeping my head in the game when my heart is at home with him. I also really like my job and giving up this job is not going to be easy. Crap, I wish I didn’t like either one of them! I wish they would do something to really piss me off. Then I could start down the trail in a huff and never look back!

But alas, I am not getting any younger. I don’t want to wait until I retire at age 67 to start my journey. I want to go now.”

“I hear ya CD, I kick it around about this time every year too. I just ordered pack built for that purpose. Whatever you decide I'm pulling for ya! Let me know if you want me to dehydrate some stuff for you, I'd be happy to. :)”

“LOL...I'm glad I'm not the only one!

If I go, maybe I will hit you up for some jerky. :)”