Seriously considering doing a thru-hike, starting next spring. I am a college freshman right now and am probably going to take my spring semester off next year (2006). Has anyone else done this before? Was it easy to go from a thru-hike back to acedemic life?
Also, how do I drop this bomb on my parents, the ones paying for my education? What is the first thing I should do in planning my thru-hike, besides saving up money?
Thanx!
Conch Shell
We have several hiking friend that did what you’re planning. The parents weren’t keen on it but hey, what choice do they have. Tell them you need to discover yourself. Funny though, I remember one girl’s mom saying no because the trail was one of those places kids go to have se#. “No mom, that’s called college”.
You need to plan your time so you hit the trail right after the quarter ends and plan to be back by the fall quarter. Plenty of time. Cue up your light weight gear and hit the dirt. As far as re-entry goes; good luck, we never assimilate again. Resistance if futile.
Bushwhack
conch shell, i feel ya, i am a college freshman as well and the trail is tearing at me as well, i’m certain after hiking the trail i would not want to go back to school, so we’ll see what happens, good luck man
clong
clong
buy and read and highlight and make notes on every book you can about hiking and the appalachian trail. When you ‘drop the bomb’ on your parents at least you’ll have some decent knowledge of what you’re doing.
Other then that, just get out there and HIKE! the rest of the world can wait. Like Bushwhack said, “Resistance is futile”
Flowcefus
I recently graduated from Penn State (well, one of the satellite campuses, but the degree says PSU), this is the first year I don’t have spring classes, so it happens to be the year (for me) that I decided to finally hit the trail. It was college that ironically enough inspired me to hit the trail in the first place. I met my friend Zak (Kramer GA-ME 99 or 00, I forget) who told me about his thru-hike and got me thinking about one. My college’s OutDoor Adventure Club sponsored weekend, spring break, and end-of-semester trips, and I went on every one I could, those are my most treasured memories from college, without comparison.
If you’re thinking of taking a semester off, I absolutely recommend it. I always said one of my big regrets was not taking a year off after high-school, fortunately I realized in my sophomore year that I wasn’t ready to be “all grown up” in 2 more years, so I took part time (9-12 credit) semesters, had a good time, and graduated in 5 years with my AS and BS. There’s a lot of pressure from the “hurry-up” world out there to graduate in 4 yrs and chain yourself to a house, a family, 100K in debt, and a deskjob. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but for me, well, I’d rather live a little first.
If you do take the semester and hike the trail, GIVE BACK when you return to school. Become part of the outdoor club, or start your own. You’d be amazed how easily a school will throw money at a club if you know how to ask. I know we scored free gas for almost all of our trips, along with a ton of supplies, food, and a major stipend to the local climbing gym so students could climb dirt cheap. I know Zak (kramer) sharing his experiences inspired me to hit the trail, and to respect nature with a greater sense than before, and I’m sure we can all have the same effect.
Wyatt (as yet trailnameless)
Wyatt - what branch campus did you graduate from, if you don’t mind disclosing?
I am currently enrolled at PSU Mont Alto, down here in So. Central PA
I live extremely close to Hosack Run Shelter and Tumbling Run Shelters
Conch Shell
Wow, shocking to see that Penn State students all want to take a semester off. I am a sophomore at Penn State (University Park) and I posted a little while back with a question almost the same as yours. One thing I would suggest, before officially taking the semester off, is to spend a summer, or a month, or however long you can take off, hiking. A friend and I hiked the Colorado Trail this summer and it was the greatest thing I could have done. I didn’t have to miss any school and I reassured myself that I definitely want to thru-hike more. I am in the same boat with my mom and taking a semester off, but there is a point in life when only you can decide what is best for yourself. Unless your parents have the same passion as you, they won’t understand. If you read my post and the responses everyone gave you’ll get some confidence about it.
Since you’re at PSU, I can’t help but recommending a program called Esact adventures (http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/EsactAdventures/). You get three gym credits and go hiking in the Whites or in the Alps. I went to the Alps last summer and it is easily the best three credits you will ever earn.
Mike
Charlie Brown (Mike)
I hate to be an old fuddy-duddy, but if your parents are paying for your education, they do get to be a part of the decisions that affect your college career.
One way to broach the subject may be to offer to pay for part of your college costs as well as your trip. In other words, if you can save for the AT you can also save for the boring stuff like books. It was not easy, but I paid for college entirely by myself. When people asked me, “What did your parents say about (insert non-traditional choice here)?” My response was always, “I don’t know. I never had to ask.”
If you want the total freedom of adulthood you also get all of the responsibilities.
Just my $.02
jaywalke
Hey
I was in this predicament 2 years ago. No need to fret! I hiked the trail, went back to school and I’m almost done now. My mom was really apprehensive about me leaving school, going into the woods without a partner and the AT in general. She thought I was never going to return to school and become some sort of a bum, but once I was out there she was really proud of me and bragging to other folks (so I’ve heard).
Since your folks ARE paying for your education (mine were too) you have to do your best to prove to them that this is a worthy thing for you to be doing and that you are committed to returning to school (if you really are). One reason my folks respected my plan so much was because it was incredibly well thought-out, planned and researched. As Flowcefus said do all you can, read all you can, and know all you can. I read every AT book, watched all the movies and spent a lot of time on these forums (and reading journals) to know exactly what I was getting myself into. Your folks aren’t gonna wanna get a call from you in Georgia saying “this wasn;t what I expected” after having left school.
There is nothing wrong with taking time off, so long as it’s used wisely (I think of nothing better than an AT hike) and well planned. If you can impress your folks, know how much money you will need, make some or all of it yourself (that helps tremendously) and have everything thought out (insurance, maildrops, classes when returning etc) than you should be in good hands. I would recommend talking to your school advisor or a counselor or dean or professor about taking time off and how you will go about finishing classes, your major etc. Its good to know.
Lastly, know it IS a difficult transistion after trail. I built time so I had a month at home to relax and re-adjust before starting school. I woulnd’t recommend returning to school after having summited K 3 days earlier. At first it seemed like I had never left but it certainly took a toll on me socially and I was in a very different place than most college students. I wanted to live and get to know folks as well as I did on the trail, not just superficially over a drunken conversation.
Anyway, I’ll spare you the details, but feel free to drop me a line should you have any concerns or questions and good luck with it all, it’ll work out!
A-Train
As a parent of college students and a thru hiker (GA-ME 02), I’ll give you advice from this perspective. Though you parents may not realize it now, they will ultimately far prefer that if your heart isn’t in school right now that you not waste money with a half hearted effort. Tell them you want to hike the trail and will pay for it. Sure there will be some anxiety that you are not following the normal route but it beats paying for five, six, seven years without any real results. Besides, I’ll bet that when you get back, you’ll be that much better a student.
steamboat
I took a year off from college last year to hike the trail myself, so it’s certainly doable. You just have to decide what is right for you. Yes, college is important, but it is hard to study if you mind is in once place and your heart in another. I found myself in this predicament and I decided that the trail was far more important - that I stood to learn a lot more about myself, about nature, and about humanity than I could ever learn in a classroom.
Telling the parents is certainly an interesting part of the adventure. Both my parents had biked across america when they graduated college, so they understood my desire for adventure. Maybe there is something your parents did that you could relate your adventure to in order to warm them up to the idea. Your parents must understand that this may be your best or only chance to hike the trail, and that when you finish the trail, you’re still going back to school. You’ll still end up with a degree, only you’ll finish school a semester later. I would have been graduating this year if I hadn’t taken a year off; now I’ll graduate next year - not really a big deal since I am immensely grateful for all the wonderful experiences I had while on the trail.
If your serious about this, careful planning is key. I did a thru-hike of the Long Trail in Vermont the summer before my thru-hike on the AT and I learned a lot of things that I believe helped make my AT journey successful. I tested my gear, and talked to former thru-hikers, planned maildrops, etc. Make sure thru-hiking the AT is really what you want to do - it is a huge commitment in time and energy, but it certainly is a very rewarding trip, and a life changing experience.
I finished the trail with ten days before school started again - it was really wierd going back. All of sudden, instead of being outdoors all the time, you’re in a crampped little dorm room. You’re surrounded by all you can eat dining halls, and you’re appreciative of things like daily showers and running water, and few will understand what you just went through. You go from the bare essentials to an overload of excess all around you. But the incredible experience I had on the trail far outweighed the effects of the reprogramming back into society. In short, if you have the chance to hike the trail now, I would take it. I would say 80% of all the thru-hikers I met on the trail were either college graduates or students taking a semester off (I met a lot of students doing this, your not alone) or hikers who are retired. The AT is a great experience, so I wish you the best of luck with your decision. The trail will still be there though, regardless if you decide to hike it next year or several years from now… good luck!
First Light
If I might venture off topic for a moment, I would just like to commend Bushwhack for: #1- Making a sex joke. #2- Following the sex joke up with, “As far as re-entry goes,” #3- Using the alias “Bushwhack.” Well done, punny one. Clearly, that is the sly wit that I failed to aquire during my college years.
SpaceMonkey
Wow, I missed the mark on that third one completely. Good catch. I got mine after being dropped on my head…never mind.
Hey Conch…great with butter by the way and frittered, have your folks read some journals! That will do wonders on the conversion play. Pick one with pictures so they can see stuff and really get into it. Xena’s would be cool.
Bushwhack
Tell your parents it’ll be educational. List all the ways it’ll help you prepare for the real world. Tell them it’s an incredible way to see a huge swath of our country and it’s people up close. Tell them it will be the experience of a lifetime, that it is a fitting counterpart to your academic endeavors at college. You will learn all kinds of things you just can’t get out of a book. The sense of accomplishment you will take with you - whether or not you thru hike - comes from pushing yourself past your limits. And that will be something that will serve you well the rest of your life.
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