"Michael, have you lost your fucking marbles?"
"Please tell me this is a joke."
"You're going to die."
Just a smattering sample of the encouraging words of my family when I told them that I quit my job and I'm going to hike the Appalachian Trail. Now, not all of the responses I received were negative. Many of my family and friends have been understanding and encouraging, but surprised, nonetheless.
So why am I doing this and why so suddenly? Honestly there's no easy answer. I've been looking into shorter trips to explore some of the natural monuments of the country for a little while now. I've looked into Mt. Whitney in California, The Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, some of the mountains in Colorado and several other places as opportunities for taking on something that's a much smaller scale.
Somewhere along the way I started reading about some of the grander hiking trails around the United States. Like the Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and of course the Appalachian Trail. Initially I blew those off as incomprehensible. How could I possibly take that much time off from my job? It would be irresponsible and crazy. It's a good thing I'm not any of those things.
Speaking of my job, which I decided about 30 seconds before walking through the office doors that I was going to quit on the day that I did. I was in an office, in front of a computer screen for more than half of my waking hours and performing tasks that I tried, but couldn't stay enthusiastic or engaged in. The only thing that was keeping me balanced was martial arts training in boxing and judo, but the creeping longer hours in front of the screen was making it difficult to even participate in that. A lot of people would probably kill to have been in that position with a steady paycheck and you'd think I would, especially considering less than two years ago I was a homeless college dropout.
People may say suck it up! It's a job! This is the real world! Well, I felt stagnant and depressed in this job that only asked to take from me the best hours of my day, to be sitting down in a chair most of those hours during the height of my physical prime and to go further down a career path I wasn't thrilled about. There will be other opportunites to explore, trading my time isn't worth the paycheck. Real wealth and success isn't measured by the size of your bank account or acquisition of shiny things. In my opinion, real wealth is measured by how we use our most valuable and always fleeting resource, time. We can use our time for ourselves, the people closest to us and make our own dreams and desires come true or we can fall into the usual societal traps of over consumption with a big house we don't need, a car with a payment that's double some guys rent and a cell phone that jerks you off. This leads many to become entrapped in using our time to make someone else's dreams and desires come true because we are overburdened by things and addicted to this false sense of security provided by a job that's "safe" and pays the bills. But hey, if you're happy with that state of things, more power to you, it's not for me.
Unattached and unburdened by anything, I am free to tackle any challange I wish to take on. I was looking for a physical and mental challenge and the Appalachian Trail provides just that in my view. The AT is approximately 2,200 miles of marked wilderness trail that runs through fourteen states and by the end of it I'll have taken many shits in the woods. I will be traveling from the southern terminus in Springer Mountain Georgia, all the way to the northern terminus in Katahdin Maine. I'll have to carry a backpack that will contain my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, food, change of clothes, stove and a great deal of other miscellaneous items. Along the way I'll reach supply points every few days or so in various towns or off trail markets and I'll also have access to a number of water sources and privies that I can utilize with a water filter for access to clean water.
I've only known about the trail myself for a short 2 months actually. Some guy I met in passing joked that he was going to quit his job and live on the Appalachian Trail. It was a silly joke and then I started actually reading about the trail and thought, eh, why not? About 2,000 people a year attempt to thru-hike the AT, but most will drop out for one reason or another and maybe 300 of those people will make it in the end. I mean sure on the trail there's all sorts of dangers like bears, poisonous snakes, all sorts of strange diseases, some of which have no cure, possible chance of encounters with genetically and morally challenged mountain people and exposure to the elements. There have been murders on the trail. In one particularly gruesome instance, two young women were found with their hands bound and throats cut in their tent. The assailant was never found. Just in the last week's a man was killed by a tree falling on top of him. There are dangerous possibilities, but really, your chances of death on the trail from freak accidents and murder are probably as good as an other place in America. On the flip side the AT will also reward me with some beautiful natural sights, solitude and a chance to be away for a little while from the usual routine of things in normal modern life. And hey, I better go see these natural beauties while they're still around. The AT is the host to a number of endangered trees, plants and wildlife and there are a number of these species that were here 60 years ago or so that are now extinct for one reason or another. Mostly because of us humans. So before the AT becomes a parking lot and strip mall like the rest of America, I damn well better go see it!
So why am I going on the AT? Because it's there. Because it'll be a challenge. Because people talk about wanting to travel, to break routine, to do something spontanous and never actually
do it. Because we're all going to die, very soon in the grand scale of things and perhaps sooner than that, so you'd better make the most of what you have left. Because I'm some dumb ass that hasn't even been camping since the boy scouts. Because I read a lot of blogs on the internet and so I'm a wilderness survival expert now. Because I don't mind the idea of going up 15-20 miles of mountain a day, through rain, wet and shivering cold at night. Because I think it may be a worthwhile and beautiful experience. Because I fucking can.
"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
