I agree. I did it towards the end of 2019 and completely torpedoed my life.

Because of COVID I didn't even get to do much actual hiking or backpacking as I planned; I went out to the west coast and everything shut down basically as soon as I got settled in.

Then I had a couple of deaths in the family due to COVID. The nest egg I had built up for the trip would have been really helpful, but I essentially wasted it to sit in an apartment. Now I'm searching for jobs nowhere close to where I was at because my industry took a massive hit.

Life's a dice roll. Hedge your bets.

I must respect your karma, but I'd wager you'd find something you're not expecting if you addressed the social anxiety, addiction, and chatty mind you allude to here (I understand you will probably object to these characterizations).

Some people take the state of their mind as a given and structure their life around that. Others learn that you can change your mind.

My experience is that the latter leads to profound riches. But then, I failed at the former.

That seems like valuable perspective. You are not one who likes to be alone with their thoughts too much. What's the version of quit and go backpacking for someone like you?

My brother did the same thing and like you did not enjoy it. He thought it was too boring without another person. I havnt dont it but I'm very comfortable with really limited social contact and live in my own thoughts. If I had two good knees I'd likely take some type of break to try it out.

Agreed. I've travelled a lot with my wife (We've been to 24 countries). I enjoy travelling with someone. A few times, I travelled alone... it's kind of boring alone. There are lots of people who say positive words about travelling alone like "empowering", "liberating"... but I didn't find that at all.

I'm equally as content during my travels if I'm alone or with another person but I do find that going with someone else tends to create stronger memories.

I went to Europe with my father and brother and remember those trips much more than ones I've taken on my own.

Quit and keep busy? i.e. quit and volunteer.

there are a lot of ways to "not work so hard" other than "just quit and go backpacking". I share your utter lack of interest in backpacking. to me, "not work so hard" means picking a good job, but not the most ambitious one possible. it means closing my IDE at 5:30 and finishing that last bug the next day. this leaves me with more time and energy to spend on non-work-related people and activities that I value.

and in a way, I suspect that backpackers and intense travelers have traded one form of "working too hard" for another. "making the most of your youth" is a FOMO perspective. I prefer to focus on appreciating what I already have.