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Post by wanderer on Aug 7, 2016 9:52:09 GMT -8
Thank you all for the advice! You've all contributed to my adventures in a most-important way; knowledge. I'll look into taking a weekend trip soon, but until then I will continue to save money and prepare my body for the adventures to come.
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Post by hangingtrekker on Aug 7, 2016 10:57:18 GMT -8
The good news is that when you are young, you can work, save up money and avoid debt, and then quit working and take off. As hangingtrekker notes, when you get a family and a regular job and a mortgage (or student loans) you get kind of stuck. Yep. Words from the wise: - Don't get a credit card - Don't finance a vehicle (new or used, more expensive and longer the term the worse you'll be) - Don't build your early adult life with a lot of "strings attached" + Do live simple. Keep possessions to a minimum. If you have a lot of hobbies this can be very hard, but will make your future travel plans a lot easier. + Do keep living expenses to an absolute minimum. My advice - live with your family as long as you can. Only you know the "dynamics" there. A lot of people will look down at that, and say it holds you back. For a lot of perspectives, yes, but if you have other goals - such as your traveling you want to accomplish - this will actually give you a head start and a better foundation (from simplicity of living to accruing expenses point of view). + Do work as good of a job as you can get. If you are well educated let your education and interests lead you in a direction. Your employer doesn't need to know your "plans". Start things off as anyone would - with the theory you will stay there for a long time. If your plans of long-term traveling are in the open that can easily hold you back from either getting a good job or advancing with that job. Financing things and credit cards can make obtaining some things possible, but you will be a lot better off financially without. Vehicles can be a strange scenario. My brother is a good example - he floats all over the place between LA and San Francisco, not really having a place to settle, working some odd jobs in his field - none have been "permanent". He has to have his car registered, obviously, doesn't have a permanent residence, and if he wants to come back home or come with us on vacation he has to store his car somewhere, plus all his belongings, and it is a real pain in the butt - and expensive. If you are at home, or otherwise have an easy way to store your belongings and vehicle (if you have one) with family and avoid the hassle of storage facilities and the expenses your life traveling will be a thousand times easier and less stressful. As far as apartment/condo/town house/house rental goes - some landlords are easy to work with (like mine, great guy - I've made some upgrades to my place and got a few new appliances from him), but the vast majority are not - they are all about contracts and having a place filled with a paying tenant. If you end up owning a condo/town house/house then you still have all the operational expenses/taxes whether you are there or not, and if you have someone looking after your place while you are gone then you better be able to trust them, first and foremost, and understand that you are still going to have to pay for maintenance while you're gone if something breaks (leaky pipes, storm damage, etc). Alas, the joys of being an adult. Though, in going back to a teenager I really don't know what I would do differently, aside from keeping expenses/finances down better. I never had any goals of long-distance/duration traveling. I have had the thought in the back of my mind of hiking the AT also. There are lots of other priorities in my life, though.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2016 11:24:00 GMT -8
During college some friends and I took a 5 day 70 odd mile misadventure down the River to River trail in Southern Illinois. It was a misadventure due to poorly-marked trail, weather, cheap gear (with all the failings), bad planning (that ranged across our crappy maps, our boy scout "expert" actually being a dipstick as far as map reading went, to our weight carried per meal, to our resupply and pick-up plans being reliant on someone's ditzy significant other who couldn't find our final meet-up point and was hours-into-the-night late).
It was amateur hour at its finest and I still remember it fondly, because: -It made me cautious, but more willing to go out solo if need be -Made me learn not to depend too much on other members of a team -Made me learn its not a bad thing to ask to check others work if I am worried about a detail -Got me to the point that I could learn from my mistakes and improvise some on the fly -Set me up to build on my skills better later on Did some fun trips with those doofs and others after that, but eventually work and life got in the way for a time. But now I am getting back. Latest distance that meets your criterion is ~17 miles in 2 days, though if you let me move my car a few miles to a new trailhead and grab a resupply in the process it jumps to around 35 over 3 days. However, if you asked me for my max dayhike distance its now around 25.
That aside, all the little trips are important. Take some time out to get out there. You need to fail some and have your gear fail some. At some point if you plan to be out there I think that you need to get cold, wet, miserable and recover. In other words get comfortable with some challenges before you go bigger than a few days.
If you are near the west Michigan dunes you have a great place to do some excellent conditioning. If you are both north and west, Sleeping Bear's dune climbs off the Scenic Drive and at Pyramid Point can be monsters if you don't use your hands and carry a pack. You also have another good practice resources out your direction, namely the North Country Trail. Some pretty long stretches of out-and-back that will let you get experience with rain, snow, etc., but not be too far from a road and rescue if need be.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Aug 7, 2016 18:55:32 GMT -8
Howdy! I also grew up in Michigan. First, I would start small. Do a few overnight and 2-3 night trips. The experience will serve you well as you start planning longer expeditions.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 9:56:39 GMT -8
my longest trip was 10 days/9 nights; in wyoming's fitzpatrick wilderness. it was between 50-60 miles.
it was amazing (and over 25 years ago!).
haven't made it back there, but sure hope to someday.
as the others have suggested, try to work in some weekend trips to work on your technique and evaluate gear.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 10:06:11 GMT -8
As hangingtrekker notes, when you get a family and a regular job and a mortgage (or student loans) you get kind of stuck. That's why it seems like most of the AT/PCT hikers are either young and unencumbered, or retired. (I missed the window for the first, so am looking towards the second). Describes me to a "tee".
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 8, 2016 10:06:36 GMT -8
Fellow michigander here. Mine was 11 days.. not sure on the mileage but close to 100. In a couple of months will be doing 76 miles over 6 or 7 days.
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Aug 8, 2016 12:12:41 GMT -8
Those of us with normal lives with careers can't afford to take significant amounts of time off work to do the kind of traveling you're talking about. If you save up and plan correctly it can be done. Most of us are in that position, but life gets in the way. Eventually you meet someone special, and you put aside some of your goals and priorities for that person, intending to get to them later. If the two of you decide, you have children. Then your whole life gets turned upside down. Any remaining goals and priorities get (willingly) tossed aside, because much more important things are now part of your life. As time passes the kids become adults and have lives of their own. You and your life partner now have the time, and hopefully the financial security, to finally pursue the goals you set aside earlier in life. Something unexpected happens -- those goals and priorities you had years ago are no longer important to you. New ones took their place. Old saying -- if you have the same values and priorities when you are fifty as when you were twenty you have wasted thirty years of your life. Life changes happen. Do not fear them -- embrace and rejoice in them.
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BlueBear
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Post by BlueBear on Aug 8, 2016 12:45:35 GMT -8
According to your criteria, wanderer , my longest "backpacking" trip has been about a month, although I've spent longer in remote field campaigns through work (but that's a different kinda trip). The longest stretch between resupply was 21 days solo in Alaska, which is a bear to carry all that food (starting pack weight was ~75 lbs with food and pack-rafting gear). For most of those trips I was either a school-teacher or a graduate-student, which provided various long stretches of paid or un-paid time off in summers. As rebeccad noted, sponsorship is possible, I've had some throughout the years, mostly for free gear and/or small sums of cash (a few hundred bucks at a time). To actually get sponsorship that'd pay bills you need to be well established, have a good track record of publicity and writing, and (most of all) be doing something particularly newsworthy, which is hard in a saturated "Red Bull" market of Go-Pro squirrel-suit-wearing adventurers. Literally thousands of people a year start long trails like the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail or Continental Divide Trail, so although it may be a grand adventure to hike down a trail for 6 months, that alone isn't likely to get you sponsored. I don't say all that to discourage you, I really don't, and if you think you're doing something worthy of sponsorship, by all means, contact companies and ask. Never hurts (it's what I used to do). Just know it's not easy money. In the meantime, collect your gear and as soon as you're ready (or a bit before) head out for some overnights or weekends. You'll learn quickly, and have fun! Ask questions around here when you have them, and we're glad to have you around! - Mike
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Post by hangingtrekker on Aug 8, 2016 12:50:16 GMT -8
Old saying -- if you have the same values and priorities when you are fifty as when you were twenty you have wasted thirty years of your life. Life changes happen. Do not fear tthem -- embrace and rejoice in them. Thanks for the words of wisdom whistlepunk. Interesting thoughts.
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Hungry Jack
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Living and dying in 3/4 time...
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Post by Hungry Jack on Aug 8, 2016 13:07:16 GMT -8
100 miles on the River to River Trail in southern Illinois. It took us 7 days. The full length was 160, but my friend twisted his knee and tore his meniscus, so we had to bail at the century mark.
We were both so ignorant back then. Our packs were around 50 pounds. Way too much gear.
About 10 years later we traversed Isle Royale in 6 days, covering 73 miles. Much easier that time. We have done a bunch of trips in the 40-50 mile range. Those are easy.
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Post by wanderer on Aug 8, 2016 19:35:19 GMT -8
Thank you all for the wisdom! I will be trying to get more gear, as now I make enough money to spend on stuff i'd actually like ( things that aren't gas, clothes, phone bills, food, car insurance that's over $250/month despite the fact i have no tickets or accidents ). And of course i practically live in the dunes! 1 mile this way or 3 miles that way and you're for ever captured in a state of awe by the magnificence of the hills.
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Post by ecocentric on Aug 8, 2016 23:40:33 GMT -8
The longest was from there to here and I'm still en route. Welcome to the forum, see ya down the trail.
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Aug 9, 2016 3:59:39 GMT -8
Fall is the perfect time to backpack in Michigan--ideal temps, few bugs, great colors, warm lakes.
The Manustee River loop is a great "starter" trip of about 22 miles up and down a river valley--ample water, good trail, easy camping, very scenic.
You might also check out Nordhouse Dunes for more open hiking. It connects with Ludington State Park, which has a good trail system.
South Manitou Island has great backpacking. There is a ferry from Leland.
Further north is the Jordan River loop.
These places are all within 3 hours of Grand Rapids.
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Post by mocamper on Aug 9, 2016 6:18:00 GMT -8
My longest occurred just three weeks ago: 2 days, 24 miles. How does this compare to others? It doesn't matter. Hike your own hike. What matters most is gaining self-awareness, reverence for nature and your place in it, self-sufficiency, and confidence then applying it to your everyday life to become a better person.
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