[pct-l] (Guest Post) Re: Affording a thru hike

[Steven.Setzer at Colorado.EDU (Steve Setzer)]

Work for a university.  I'm able to save up enough for a thru hike from
Oct - May.  Then I can take 5 mo. leave.  Most people don't have that
luxury so I think I'm in a rare situation to be able to do this.  I'm not
a seasonal worker, I'm an engineer. But I don't think I could pull this
off if I worked for a private firm.

Steve


On Thu, 18 Sep 2003, Hayduke wrote:

> Lately I have been trying to figure out how to create for myself a reliable
> source of revenue that I can be away from for 4-5 months at a time. My goal
> isn't to have the income continue while hiking. I just want to be able to
> come back to "society" and start it back up.
>
> The perspective I have taken is that I need an income that is high enough to
> earn enough money in 6-7 months to cover my entire expenses for a 12 month
> period. For example if I owned a home, I would need to make enough to pay
> mortages and taxes for the months I am on the trail. I also save about
> 15-20% of my income into a retirement account. When I examine options, I try
> to make sure I can maintain an equivalent amount annually. That's the part
> that makes it really tough. There are plenty of ways to work 6-7 months and
> be able to afford to hike the other months every year, but the nature of
> "seasonal" work doesn't often pay well enough to allow me to save for
> retirement AND the next long hike.
>
> Anyone have ideas for good income during the winter months?