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[pct-l] affording a thru-hike
I have been giving the academic life a lot of thought
these days! I have an M.A. and recently sent out for
information on PhD programs from several schools, with
the possible intention of starting on my doctorate
after our PCT thru-hike.
It's a tough decision, though. Right now I have a
cushy professional 9-to-5 job where I'm bored out of
my mind but get a nice paycheck and benefits.
Sheltowee and I are putting away $$$ every paycheck to
save for a 2006 thru-hike (and time afterward to look
for jobs), so the cushy, boring job is affording me
both (1) the funds to save, and (2) an increased
desire to escape Cubicle Land and hit the trail for a
good five months. Whenever Dan or I get frustrated
with work and certain aspects the non-hiking life
(including being broke all the time because we're
putting so much away each month), we just remind
ourselves that we're paying our dues and will be in
the PCT before long. I guess it is all about balance.
In addition to driving old cars, we rarely buy new
clothes and rarely eat out or go to movies. Every
little bit counts.
Luckily, Dan's job is a three-year commitment, and
it'll end in March of '06. I guess we'll figure out
what else we'll do for a living when we get back from
hiking. :-)
--- Chris Willett <CWillett@pierce.ctc.edu> wrote:
> You don't have to live in a shack without
> electricity oreat canned pasta every night to go
> thruhiking every summer. Academics get most of the
> summer and a month of the winter off. At the
> university, I had nearly 4 months off during the
> summer (3.5 months spent thruhiking the PCT).
> Now, at the college level, I've got a few days less.
> This winter will be spent on a 250 mile trek in
> Death Valley. Next summer, well, who knows? Of
> course, you need to go to school for a while, and
> you need to like what you do. But, to suggest that
> a certain life style is closed off to those who have
> a stable job is, I suggest, untrue.
>
> Suge
>
> ---------------------------
> Christopher Willett
> cwillett@pierce.ctc.edu
> www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett
> Pierce College
> 9401 Farwest Drive SW.
> Lakewood, WA. 98498-1999
>
> > ----------
> > From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net on
> behalf of David Dalbey
> > Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 6:47 PM
> > To: Pct-L@Backcountry. Net; Jeffrey J. Olson
> > Subject: RE: [pct-l] affording a thru-hike
> >
> > Also around that same area are some really amazing
> sea kayakers doing
> > the sea-kayak equivilent of thru-hikes, (actually
> on a grander scale).
> > Chris Duff has paddled around Ireland, Iceland,
> and New Zealand's south
> > Island. He supported himself as a carpenter and
> lives in a straw bale
> > cabin. Leon Somme and Shawna Franklin, with whom
> Chris did the Iceland
> > expedition, live in a 12' x 12' cabin with no
> electricity on Orcas
> > Island. During a presentation on their Iceland
> trip they explained that
> > what they do, not what they own is what makes
> their life rich! That's a
> > gem of advise!
> >
> > David
> > david@dalbey.org
> >
> >
> > :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
> > :
> > :_______________________________________________
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> > :pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> > :unsubscribe or change options:
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> > :
> >
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=====
My Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0881505986/qid=1085490127/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4279170-1300733?v=glance&s=books
Sheltowee's Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972903801/qid=1085490159/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4279170-1300733?v=glance&s=books
Sheltowee's Web Site: http://www.sheltoweehikes.com
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