How Do AT Thru-Hikers Get Enough Time Off Work To Complete the Trail?

Let’s get real for a minute. You see the photos, you read the blogs – scores of hikers hitting the Appalachian Trail for five, six, sometimes seven months. It’s an incredible undertaking, but it begs the question: how do people actually manage to step away from their regular lives, jobs, bills, and responsibilities for that long?

It’s not magic, and probably not a lottery win (though that would help). We looked at data from The Trek’s 2024 AT Thru-Hiker Survey to see how last year’s class found the time to thru-hike, as well as the career fields that were most common for thru-hikers.

1. The Most Common Way Hikers Find Time for the AT

Let’s not bury the lede. The single most common way prospective thru-hikers cleared their schedules? They quit their jobs. A significant 37% of survey respondents chose to leave their employment entirely to pursue the trail.

It’s a bold move, trading stability for the uncertainty and challenge of a long-distance hike, but it’s the path the largest group took.

2. Taking Advantage of the Golden Years

The second largest group, making up nearly one in five hikers (19.3%), was retirees. Having already completed their careers, they used their well-earned freedom to tackle this long-held goal. For them, hiking the AT is a post-career pursuit rather than a break from work.

3. Negotiating a Pause

Another substantial group, 15.1% of hikers, managed to arrange unpaid leave from their jobs. This route requires buy-in from an employer and implies a plan to return post-hike. For many would-be thru-hikers still in their working years, this is the best of all worlds as it cuts down on the uncertainty of leaving paid employment to hike. 

While this kind of opportunity often feels out of reach for many workers, the significant minority of survey respondents who negotiated a period of unpaid leave suggests that it’s worth at least exploring.

4. Taking a Gap Year

Nearly 6% of hikers said they were recent graduates who were presumably taking a gap period between graduating and entering full-time employment to thru-hike, comprising the fourth-largest group in last year’s survey.

Hikers in this group often say post-college is the perfect time to hike: not only is it a decent celebration of completing years of rigorous schooling, but many are keenly aware that they may never again be so flexible (physically and metaphorically) and free of broader obligations.

What the Numbers Tell Us

Together, quitting, retiring, taking unpaid leave, and taking a gap period as a recent grad account for 77% of the hikers surveyed. The remaining hikers represent a mix of circumstances – seasonal workers and others already between jobs; self-employed people, contractors, and business owners setting their own calendars; and perhaps a few hikers using accumulated paid leave or sabbaticals.

There’s a stereotype in the hiking world that most thru-hikers are either recent graduates or retirees. Our data do show that these are significant groups on the AT, but together they still account for only a quarter of the hikers in our survey. 

The overwhelming majority of hikers appear to be mid-career folks who quit, took unpaid leave, or already have the flexibility in their work schedules to accommodate an extended absence. This seems to jibe with our demographic data as well: the median age of thru-hikers in our survey last year was 33.

What Were the Most Common Careers for AT Thru-Hikers?

Occupationally, hikers came from all walks of life, with 205 distinct jobs reported. However, common fields included engineering, healthcare, and sales/marketing, alongside students and retirees.

It’s worth noting that respondents in our survey were overwhelmingly educated: 73% of respondents held at least a Bachelor’s degree. While we can only speculate on the reasons, it might suggest that certain career paths often associated with higher education offer the flexibility or financial means needed for a thru-hike.

The Bottom Line

There isn’t one single way to carve out half a year for the Appalachian Trail. But for the 2024 class, the most common strategies involved making a decisive break by quitting a job or entering retirement. A significant minority were able to make time for the trail without severing ties with their jobs by securing an extended leave of absence.

In any case, this data stresses that for most, just getting to the terminus requires significant life changes and deliberate planning long before taking that first step onto the trail.

Featured image: Graphic design by Chris Helm.