Comment by levolvel

Comment by levolvel a day ago

I worked in a high paying tech job for about 12 years and got burnt out from it in 2022. Decided to quit and thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 2023 which turned out to be life changing and very rewarding. My old job said I could return to it once I got back from the hike. When I got back they said they were doing cuts and my job was cut. Old me would have spiraled, new me decided to hike the Appalachian Trail. I got back from the AT and took my time finding a job. I was in no rush. After considering finding another field of work I decided to stick with my skills but rather than a cutting edge tech stack I found a job working with a University in their marketing and communications department where I manage their web properties. Its so much easier and a much slower pace. Its not as high paying as my past job, but I think with that pay cut, my responsibilities and stress level were also cut. Hiking those two trails and living in the forest for six months out of the year for two years opened my mind up to so many new things and found that you really don't need much to live a happy, rewarding life.

raddan a day ago

I sort of did the opposite of you. I hiked the AT before I started my career. The interesting thing is that it has always given me a reserve to draw on when I am feeling burned out or upset like the original poster. I can always say “you know what? I was my happiest when I was living in a tent.” It’s a reminder that I don’t actually need much to be happy, and that thought helps keep me centered on what goals I choose and whether my pursuits are worth it.

Like you, I was also massively burned out on tech after the pandemic. I had a very stressful work experience combined with some family medical crises. I ended up just taking some time off to do some woodworking. I understand that I was in a very privileged position to be able to do this. But after taking my mind off of daily tech worries and focusing on what I enjoyed doing, I found that my thoughts naturally gravitated back toward technology-related work. I have since come to understand that this is what burnout looks like. It’s a nice reminder that just because I hate my job right now does not mean that I want to throw in the towel forever.

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levolvel 3 hours ago

The trail provides! Its wild how much of the peace and calm I brought back from the trail into my regular life. I live in a major US city and traffic used to drive me insane. Now, I could care less. I just chill and roll with it. I'm more tolerant of people. I'm never in rush to get anything done or get anywhere quickly. I appreciate all that I have and all that I don't need. It really was just what I needed.
Like you said, definitely privileged to be able to do this, but I also found that a lot of people hiked both the PCT and AT on a shoestring budget and made things work. Maybe not stopping in every town or not going out to eat as often. If a person is dedicated and there to get the experience, money only made it easier, but the experiences were all very much the same I found.

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- raddan 3 hours ago
  
  > a lot of people hiked both the PCT and AT on a shoestring budget
  Agreed. I was one of those people. My budget for the entire trip, including a fair amount of equipment (I already owned boots), was $2000. This was in 2003. I worked a fairly low paid job (it was the best I could get) after college for two years in order to save up. I ended needing to dip into my credit card, which caused me a lot of stress, seeing as I did not have a job lined up after my return. The damage? $400. At the time that seemed like an unfathomable amount of debt, because I was living on very little.
  My partner and I took advantage of a lot of charity on the trail (trail angels, kind strangers, etc). I would love to do something like that again (I’ve always dreamed of hiking the PCT) without such severe financial constraints. Still, there was not a lot of worrying on the trail. The stress did eventually come back after living for a couple years in Boston though!
  
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  levolvel 2 hours ago
  
  Oh wow! Yea you did pull off a tight budget. I never expected to rely on strangers for hitches or trail angels for couch surfing, but those are some of my best memories. Its an incredible journey.
  You absolutely have to go for the PCT! They don't call it the "Goldilocks Trail" for nothing. It has it all! I live on the east coast, like you, so the AT was like hiking in my own backyard, but the PCT. Absolutely stunning! I can't recommend it enough. I hope to hike the CDT either in sections or as a thru-hike once I hit retirement age (but I have a good amount of time before that day arrives lol my memories will have to carry me until then).
  
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