[pct-l] affording a thru-hike

[jjolson at uwyo.edu (Jeffrey J. Olson)]

> Tom Griffin writes:
>
> But can anyone tell me what
> Scott does when he is not hiking? How can he afford to take six months off
> every year to try to yo-yo the PCT? I can hardly find the time to do a
> measly section hike."
> -------------------------------
Yogi said:

> I don't know what Scott does, but for me it's all about choices.  If you
> want to hike every year, then you work full-time (sometimes two full time
> jobs) during the off-season.  You save your money and stay away from
> expensive entertainment and impulse purchases.  You drive a 10-year old
car.
>   You eat spaghetti for dinner.  You sacrifice a lot, but the thru-hike is
> always worth it.

A bit of perspective from someone who lived on the margins most of my life,
and finally, only in my mid-40s, did I decide to do the career thing.  Yogi
is right.  Except you drive a 20 year old car and learn how to fix it
yourself!  :0)

The main thing is to stay out of debt.  I now have $50K in student loans,
which are worth it.  They bought me a PhD and a job I love.

However, it only took me five years to get to the point where if I cashed
everything in, I'd have enough for a through-hike and six months or more of
living on the margins...

A short story...  In the pacific northwest, on the olympic peninsula, around
Port Townsend, live a breed of men in their 40s and 50s the locals call
"Shed Boys."  Shed boys essentially tuned in, turned on, and dropped out in
the late 60s and early 70s.  Rather than get straight jobs, they find
seasonal work, enough for beans and rice and getting high.  They found old
sheds in the forest and converted them into small living spaces, running
electric cords through the trees, etc.  Shed boys apparently don't last long
in relationships - too much commitment.

There are lifestyles that support whatever you want to do.  You just have to
choose to live them and have the self-discipline to live within your means.
Self-discipline is the key.  I think it's harder to live on the margins than
 it is to get a straight job and do the nine to five thing.

Jeff Olson
Laramie WY