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ALTHOUGH THERE IS still some debate as to whether or not the world is still in a deep recession, unemployment rates are holding high. With uncertain futures and few jobs available, some recently unemployed are viewing the hit as a time for personal growth and taking to the trails.
Up 200 hikers from 2008, 1,425 hikers started the Appalachian Trail in Springer Mountain, Georgia in 2009, with 343 finishing the trail in its entirety on Mount Katahdin in Maine. A recent article in Backpacker Magazine provides anecdotal evidence that the recent spike in thru-hikers is largely due to unemployed hikers with plenty of time on their hands.
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A recently laid off Rusty Towery tells NPR “I have no major responsibilities yet in life, so might as well do something like this while I can,” he says.
The majority of hikers on the Appalachian Trail are usually recent college graduates and retired folk. “The rest were either people who were able to creatively get lots of time off from full-time jobs, people who work seasonal jobs (that’s me and a few others here, I think), teachers or folks with school related jobs (summers off), or recently laid-off/quit/etc,” Ryan Linn explains on the Backpacking Light forum.
A typical thru hike of the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail takes an average of 6-months and costs the hiker anywhere from $3000 to $5000 not including the cost of gear and other bills they must keep up with while out on the trail.
Photo: Compass Points Media
Hikers can reduce their costs further by resisting the lure of hotel beds and restaurant food when resupplying food and gear in towns along the way.
Still, $3000 is not bad for 6-months of lodging, food, and entertainment, and might even be a good way to stretch your dollar during tough economic times.
Although considered a poor move by unemployment counselors, taking six months off from the job search–and society in general–could actually be a resume builder. Time on the trail definitely builds character, and you never know what potential contacts and employers or collaborators you will meet on the trail.
Perhaps hikers leave the trail more empowered by turning their job loss into an opportunity to fulfill their dreams, thus warding off the “Someday Syndrome” and the return home with greater insight into their next move.
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Matador’s Austin Chu turned unemployment into an opportunity, traveling the country to film a documentary about the recession. See The Recess Ends on Matador TV.
Been there, done that? Check out Where to Hike After You’ve Finished the Appalachian Trail for more extreme options.
Amiee Maxwell
Amiee Maxwell is based out of Salt Lake City and spends as much time as possible living out of her Subaru in the Utah and Nevada desert. She recently left her day job to try her hand at full-time wandering. Follow her journeys on her site.
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I think that people are also hiking the Appalachian Trail because it’s a cheap alternative to other kinds of outdoor adventure travel right now. Like you mentioned, it’s $3000-$5000, which is significantly less expensive for those who can just drive to the trail and use what they’ve got versus buying a plane ticket and passport, piling up on vaccinations and possibly having to pay a tour guide for a similar type of adventure in another place.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by candicewalsh: RT @matadornetwork Thru-Hiking the Recession on the Appalachian Trail http://is.gd/a846y (via @DirtbagWriter) #hiking…
I so so love and miss the Trail…wonder if there’s room in my life for a repeat hike…maybe this season? hmmmm….will report back.
I was one of those 343 that thru-hiked the AT last year! I can definitely attest to there being lots of folks who were hiking because of the recession. When I finished the trail I thought I was done with long distance hiking forever. But after a few months I really started to miss trail life. There is something so nice about having to worry about nothing but walking, eating, and where I’ll sleep that night…. But don’t be fooled, the AT was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But it was also the most incredible!
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