I had a buddy who disappeared for 6 months after our deployment, who we eventually found out was just hiking the Appalachian trail. It ended up being very helpful for him, and it’s something I’ve considered for myself on occasion.

Good luck out there.

A cousin of my was a multiple-tour forward observer for the U.S. Army in the Korean War. He spent a lot of time doing extended hiking after that.

I'm not sure if it was a result of his experience in Korea, but I get the impression he really wanted some extended alone time. I never asked because I didn't want to risk dragging him into some terrible memories.

It's a fairly popular activity for people in the military to get engaged in, for many reasons. Particularly people who were deployed in the field.

The back country is an environment where one is able to apply physical skills and tools, earned over years of experience, and to which most civilians attribute no value. The solitude is nice, however I think most veterans actually prefer company on activities like this, there just aren't many people who can cope with the mileage or the off-the-grid aspects.

I've never been in the military myself, but I'm a reasonably experienced backpacker. Discussions on the subject have made friends out of many coworkers, who had been deployed in the field while serving in the military.

You should ask your cousin about it, maybe even ask if you can join him sometime; he'd probably actually really enjoy you expressing an interest and wanting to tag along.

That sounds superb and I wish you good luck and lots of trail magic. The AT looks beautiful (I've only seen pictures of it in blogs).

Forests are wonderful. I grew up around forests, playing in them as a child. A few years ago while day hiking in a forest I came to a Sun-warmed opening in pine barrens from amidst taller pines. That specific scent of the ground and the pines etc., the heat and the wind -- all these, but mostly the strong scent, took me vividly back to my childhood. I remembered so many things as if I were there again, I saw these memories just flowing at me. For a moment, I was transported back to my grandparents place at a summer when I was 6-8 years old. I felt how much they loved me and what a good and carefree place I had been in.

For some time, I stood there in awe with my mouth open, trying to process what just happened. It was such a powerful influx of memories.

I don't know if you've experienced something like this, but I hope you will! Maybe some years from now your hike will come back to you.

My brother and I both got burnout last year and picked up thru-hiking, albeit more of the weekend warrior (3-7 days) variety. It has been a life-changer for both of us. We are planning on hiking part of the PCT for a month next year.

Good luck on the AT!

Have you done something like this before or was this on a whim?

Trying to figure out how much training / prep one needs to do. I want to do long distance cycling, I am not concerned about the stamina. I am concerned about camping in the wild, packing and repairing the bicycle when it breaks.

I had done a 10-day section hike 7 years ago, yes; and a few 3-4 day trips in the meantime.

A week or so out there was invaluable to me, YMMV

Could you leave your email in your bio? Or email me? Definitely interested to learn more about your experience.

Happy to! It’s my HN username at gmail dot com

How much savings for that 5 months?

I hiked the northern half of the trail a couple years back. You should expect to spend $1,000/month at a minimum for a good experience. I spent $2,000/month and felt like I was living large. (I'd eat like a pig at every hotel/bar/restaurant I entered when arriving into a town. Most people lose weight on the trail; my weight stayed the same.) Expect your gear to cost around the same as your monthly budget.

Oh, the HN bubble.

My brother hiked the length of the AT a few years back and spent about $300/month for the 5 months it took him end to end He had a great time. Even when new his gear was less than $1000 all in, though it was all 5+ years old and very well used when he started.

Hah, yes, perhaps I should say that I would need to spend $1,000/month to have a good time. For context, I had never camped a day in my life before setting out on my hike (I didn't even camp out a single night as a test run with my gear before flying out). So I was pretty green, and definitely not a tough lad. :)

I have seen others recommend a budget of $500/month as a reasonable amount.

$300/month would be tough for me but maybe doable. At $10/day, you're having peanut butter, tortillas, and mashed potatoes for just about every dinner (maybe tuna and ramen sometimes?); you're only rarely staying in hotels or hostels; and if you're getting a ride somewhere, it's from a trail angel, never a taxi or a shuttle.

It's possible but I really enjoy getting into town and having a real meal. Everyone hikes their own hike.

I saved low five figures but I don’t expect to need all of that. On very rainy days, or when I need to do laundry, I typically go to a hostel or split a hotel room with fellow hikers. Other than that it’s really just food and miscellany…having said that I am carrying like $1500-$2000 worth of gear at any given time so there is a real startup cost.