ogg
Trail Wise!
Posts: 139
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Post by ogg on Jan 2, 2017 10:06:07 GMT -8
I work a 4/10 but have to work Saturdays. I work at facility that operates 24/7/365, always has overtime available and pays compensation for working holidays. I have the option of taking overtime and holiday pay as "compensatory time off", so I always have some comp time banked for taking a long weekend. In the past, I never had any trouble taking time off when I needed it but I have a feeling the hammer is going to come down in 2017 due to so many unfilled vacancies where I work. With two children in school and a spouse that works a 6 day week, it can be hard to find time for hiking but somehow I manage,
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swmtnbackpacker
Trail Wise!
Back but probably posting soon under my real name ... Rico Sauve
Posts: 4,886
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Jan 2, 2017 10:08:14 GMT -8
Just put work (and other obligations) on a monthly calendar to find free dates. Unless one works other jobs there's usually time off from work. With other appointments, if there's still not enough time, ... maybe lighten up on them a bit. Harder to do with kids, and not advocating leaving a 5-yo at home alone with 3 pounds of candy for the weekend, ... just does every game or band rehearsal need to be attended?
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superhiker
New Member
Deleted member, long time BACKPACKER
Posts: 3
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Post by superhiker on Jan 2, 2017 10:13:33 GMT -8
Luckily, my S.O. is way into the wilderness, so it makes it easier for us to pack up Thursday nights, drive to a trailhead after work ends on Friday, hike in a couple miles and complete some great trips by Sunday afternoon. We do this 1-2 times a month September - May (not typically summer hikers east of the Mississippi). We also mix in 2-3 weeks of vacation on bigger trips out west or paddling in Canada. It's kind of a way of life for us and doing enough of it has made us good at packing quickly and having food, fuel, etc. ready. This way, we average about 50 nights a year. 2016 was slightly off at 47. Most of the weekend trips we take are within 3-5 hours of home.
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Post by cweston on Jan 2, 2017 11:03:23 GMT -8
During the semester, the spouse can't afford to take the whole weekend as a general rule, so we stick with biking or hiking on Saturdays so he can try to get some work done on Sundays. Yep--that's exactly my situation. Plus, there's nowhere less than 4-5 hours from my house where I'd want to backpack very badly, anyway. I walk to work daily and go on "urban hikes" frequently, which keeps me in shape and at least minimally satisfies my hiking itch during the academic year. Another complication is that my wife does not backpack. She enjoys having some time to herself when I'm gone, so it generally works out ok, but I can't use all of my time off for BPing, or she wouldn't be too happy about that. (She does enjoy dayhiking and the occasional car camping.)
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leafwalker
Trail Wise!
peace on earth and good will toward all - om shanti
Posts: 526
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Post by leafwalker on Jan 2, 2017 12:03:12 GMT -8
When I worked full time I always found time on both weekend days to hike. It might have been a pre dawn start or a night hike, but I did it. Snuck some in after work. Often had the kids with me ven when quite young. Most of time the is was a weekend thing because I usually worked long days as a teacher and coach which met working 8 to 6 on non game days and much longer on game days. But, through the years we averaged 3 hikes a week. Worked hiking around social committments, but made time. More hikng now that I am retired mostly.
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jan 3, 2017 8:35:32 GMT -8
So, for those of you who are living among us mere mortals who work 40 hour (or more) work weeks, how do you get your hiking/backpacking fix? First, thank you for carrying your own weight, an onerous tax burden, and generally greasing the wheels of a law-abiding capitalist republic. I just watched a video about a young guy who quit his job (said it was mindless and he wanted to do something "really great") to roam the country hiking and partying. I'm wondering who was working a "mindless" job to pay for that? More and more I feel like my sense of responsibility for myself and my family is being taken advantage of. But the answer is planning. Make plans to go backpacking and stick to them. And be ready to take advantage of the odd weekend without other obligations when it occurs. Do you work four 10's, with a three day weekend each week? Do you simply plan on a dayhike each Saturday or Sunday? Do you plan a weekend overnighter once a month? Or something else? Currently I work M-F and put in a 40 hour work week. There is some talk of moving me to a four 10's type of schedule, with Fri-Sun off, but that is just talk right now. I could work mostly 4-10's now but choose 8's because it gives me more time for afternoon runs on the beach or in the hills. The best schedule I worked for weekend trips was 9-hr days with every other Friday off - gave me 2 weeks to plan for the next long weekend. 4-10's makes it harder to get regular workouts and it's easy to waste the long weekends if you don't plan ahead. It's winter and I don't have the gear for winter camping. You don't really need winter gear if you aren't camping in the snow. There should be plenty of low elevation places in Oregon where you can use the same gear you'd use in the mountains during the summer. So do a bunch of research and make plans. Happy trails!
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Post by catonsvillebill on Jan 3, 2017 8:45:16 GMT -8
For any of you who, like me, work full time, how do you get your hiking fix? Mostly I do day hikes. When the weather turns even a little warmer, I am going to try some overnight trips. When you camp, I am guessing, you wake up and with a brief breakfast, you are right out on the trail. Now, if I go out on Saturday, I of course come home after the hike is over. Then Sunday morning I tend to procrastinate then have to drive another hour and a half from my apartment, sometimes to the same general area I had been on Saturday. If I can camp out Saturday I will eliminate the travel time, so more time for hiking.
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Post by trinity on Jan 3, 2017 10:36:35 GMT -8
Great thread. For me, as others have expressed here, planning is key. If I don't get it on the calendar, it won't happen. The other key is prioritization. I know myself well enough to know that I will totally lose my shit if I don't get off by myself on a pretty regular basis. My wife is the same way, so we are very good about making sure that the other is able to go off on a regular basis. We both work and we have a 7 year old son, so this is a challenge, but we make it happen, because we regard it as one of the non-negotiables in our lives. I work a pretty demanding, high-stress job, but I have 4 weeks of vacation time, which I try to use every year. Also, be creative. One of my great strokes of genius this past year was organizing an expedition with some friends of mine who are also fellow clergy. Eventually I realized that our trip could be considered a clergy retreat, so I was able to pay for the whole thing out of my continuing education budget, and didn't have to use any of my vacation time. We had an awesome 5 days in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, and will now be making this an annual event. This year we're planning to hit the Boundary Waters. I'm also getting better about squeezing in quick one and two night trips, which are a lot better than nothing.
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tarol
Trail Wise!
Redding, CA
Posts: 582
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Post by tarol on Jan 7, 2017 9:12:14 GMT -8
Currently I work 5-8's but with a maxi-flex schedule, so I can put in more hours one day and take more off another. I've also worked 4-10's and 5-4-9's in the past. Lots of weekend trips, and also plan them around 3-day holiday weekends and vacation time. I've always worked in or very near the mountains due to my job with the USFS and NPS so no worries about being on a trail quickly. And most of my life I've lived in CA so year-round backpacking ops exist
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