My Outrageous Post-Graduate Plan Vol. 1

As my graduation slowly/quickly approaches, I will undoubtedly keep thinking of ways to get rich quick, not work, or work minimally and make a lot of money. As these ideas pop into my head I'll share them with you, and you can give me some pointers, sway me one way or the other, or join in my delusions.

Volume 1: The Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail is approx. 2100 miles, stretches across fourteen states, and takes between 5-7 months to complete. In other words, the perfect thing to do after spending nine months in northern Wisconsin completing my education.
In all honesty I don't know what I want to do with my life. Do I want to grad school? Maybe. Do I want to go into the work force right away? Maybe.
Now let me be honest about something else. I love America. I love everything about it, but I especially love the history, and various nation parks that this country has, and I would like nothing more than to see it all.

The Rationale
Now why exactly would I want to go do this? There are a number of reason's the first being that once after I graduate would be the only time in my life where I would be able to take this trip. I wouldn't have a job to worry about, or bills to pay (kind of), or any other responsibilities that come with being a citizen of the real world. I wouldn't have a wife or children (fingers crossed) that I would feel guilty about leaving for six months just so I could go on a hike.

In addition since I don't know what I want to do with my life, I feel this would be a good opportunity to (as cliche as it sounds) find myself. I need to discover who I am when I am on my own. Ive always had people I can rely on, and I am extremely grateful for all the friends and family that have been there for me in good times and bad. However, there is a point where you need to see who you are away from those people, without their influence, without fearing about how you look in their eyes. This would be a good opportunity for self reflection, self discovery, and planning for the future.

The Plan
As I may have mentioned before, I love a good plan, and if I were to actually do this, there would be a lot of planning involved. First thing that would need to be planned is a budget. A rough estimate would put my expenses at about $5000. That's a significant chunk of change. The major expenses will be food as I travel from Maine down to Georgia, which I forgot to mention. See the trail runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Most people hike from South to North, but because of the length of the journey they start in April and follow the warm weather North. I would probably start in Maine and go south for two reasons. One, I would have to start at the earliest on Tuesday May 15th, and at the latest I would want to start on Wednesday May 16th. The Maine park is closed to thru-hikers (people who hike the trail the whole way through without interruption) after October 15, which means I would have exactly five months to hike the trail. As a first timer I don't think I could do it that quickly, plus it would hinder the enjoyment of the experience if I was working against a clock. In addition I'd want to be moving towards where the warm weather would be sticking around, not going to where it would be getting cold first. So, North to South it is.

Where was I?

Budget. Right.

So five thousand. I'd rather not spend that much, but a minimal cost looks like at least $4000. Why so much? Well first of all there's a travel expense, as much as I'd like to drive out to Maine and leave my car in some shady parking lot for six months, probably not a good idea. So I fly. From Green Bay, I can connect in Detroit and from there fly to Bangor, Maine for the lowlow price of $250 dollars. Then I don't need to worry about a return trip for another six months, that one probably from Atlanta. However, as close as Bangor is to my starting point, it is still a two hour drive away. So that'll be an expensive cab ride I'm sure.

Then there is the gear. I'll need a backpack, and a tent, and a sleeping bag, and food. I keep thinking I'll need two water bottles. I want to get some type of Swiss Army Knife, but there is also this survival gear in a sardine can which looks pretty neat. Then there is a $175 GPS thing that lets people know where you are, which I think would be handy, and KellyMarie would appreciate knowing where I am. Plus boots, I need a good pair of boots, and flashlight would be helpful, because it will most likely be dark at times.

Everything you could ever need

Now I said I would need a tent, but that's a case of better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it, BECAUSE the Appalachian Trail has wicked awesome lean-tos set up along the trail about a days hike from each other that are free to sleep in.

I mean, doesn't that just look fun?

I mean c'mon that's way better than a tent anyway. But still apparently people get tempted into going into to town and spending a night in a motel because of things like "running water", "flush toilets",  and "showers". But I am a man, and I will be a man in the wilderness, so that stuff wont bother me. But really, those are some serious questions I have. Like where will I shower/bathe/clean myself? And where can I do laundry along this trail? Because laundry I think will be the most serious problem. First of all I need to pay for the laundry, so chalk that up as another expense. Second I need to plan how many clothes I'm bringing along. One piece of info I read said plan on resupplying every 10-14 days. I can handle that. but will there be a laundry mat evenly spaced out every 10-14 days? and then do I need to bring 10-14 pairs of boxers, and 20-28 pairs of socks (because another thing I read advised wearing 2 pairs of socks while hiking to avoid blisters)? and then how big of a backpack am I gonna need? and I haven't even gotten to my shorts, shirts, a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to be safe. Which then brings me around to food, a sleeping bag and a tent. plus soap, toothpaste, and other luxuries. One of the things I read said your pack should be 25-40 lbs max, an obviously the lighter the better. I don't know about you, but to me it already sounds like I'm pushing it.

However, that's where my first two purchases come in, two books about planning a thru-hike totaling roughly $26 (start the running tally). They will come in the mail on Tuesday next week, I believe. I'll come back with an update on how helpful they are.

And speaking of mailing. There is an issue with changing seasons, meaning that while I'm hiking the seasons will change. This means a wardrobe change. Which means I'll need someone to send me a new wardrobe when the weather gets colder. It's very expensive to ship things. And apparently people are always sending themselves things along this trail that they pick up at the local post offices. This is another area I need to more thoroughly research. There are two ways to do it. One to send packages at different intervals of your trip. The other, to have a package called a "bounce box" where you simply have all the items you need in a box that you keep shipping ahead of you, switching out what you need from your pack as you go. An interesting idea, but again, pricing issue.

Also, contacting people is also a concern. I would debate weather or not to bring a cell phone along. I would assume there are many places that I would get no reception so having one would be pointless. I also don't know how I would charge the damn thing as I'm sure there are not an abundance of outlets on the trail. On the other hand, it's always good to have in case of emergencies, and when I did get to a place with reception it would be nice to be able to call people. I think maybe the best solution would be to get one of those pay as you go phones, but again I need to look into it more.

The Aftermath
This all being said, I would still need to find a job or go to grad school once this was over. That leads to two possible options. One, simply start grad school at the beginning of 2012 (although I need to see if that's a viable option). The other option is the job. This would mean returning home after my trip (which I'm sure KellyMarie and Walt would be thrilled about), and trying to get a retail job for the holiday season while I apply for "real jobs" that I can begin in 2012.

So there it is, my grand post-graduate plan. It's the first of many, maybe I'll throw up the other one next week, and after that I'll post them as they come to me.

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions? Outrageously uncalled for racist remark? Hit the comments, and while I said I was gonna do this solo, I'd welcome the company (I'm looking at you Ray) if anyone else is up for it. And to be honest it's never safe to travel alone.