Intro post and why a 30 something chick is running away to live in the woods…again

Who am I?

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jennifer.  I grew up in the south in east Tennessee, but have very few Southern qualities about me. First off, I don’t have an accent so if you started reading my blog with a southern twang you can stop. I’m a rare liberal in Tennessee. We’re here, you can find us in bigger cities. Just look for the strip of craft breweries and overpriced coffee shops and we’re sure to appear. I’ll try to keep my politics to myself, but no promises. I also don’t like football, sports in general for that matter. I did go to a Real Madrid game in Spain and if all sports were like that I’d be down. You’ll never catch me drinking sweet tea, currently I’m drinking 2 buck chuck.

5 Fun facts that might help you decide to read future posts

  1. I am the most frugal person I know (not to be confused with cheap, though I have my moments there too).  I expect much of this blog will come at things from a financially savvy point of view.
  2. I haven’t always lived in the south. For 2.5 years I lived in NYC following a different dream of mine to work in the film industry. I worked in film and tv in casting (sounds cooler than it was for the most part). Though there was an afternoon that I hung out 6 feet from Ben Kingsley while my coworker and I discussed how we wanted to have Ed Norton’s babies as he filmed on the other side of the room.
  3. I’m told I have a cute sneeze. Not really relevant, but a fun fact.
  4. I have my real estate license and can refer you to a licensed professional in your area (assuming you live in the US) to help you buy or sell a home (at no added cost to you). Ok this one is a shameless plug to get a referral fee, but I’m about to be unemployed. Help a girl out.
  5. I thru hiked the AT in 2010, yes that was 11 years ago and a lot has changed. Those facts are important to know because yes, I’ve done this before, but “past performance is no guarantee for future results”. With that being said…

Why am I thru hiking?

  • why wait until I retire to do all the “fun” stuff on my bucket list. More in future posts on my struggle between “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) and “FIRE” (Financial Independence Retire Early)
  • I’ve stayed complacent at my current job for far too long. Its been 9 years at a job that was kind of a placeholder until I found something I was passionate about. Time to move on and before I do, I’ll take 6 months off.
  • My knees are gonna need to be replaced eventually (seriously, I’ve had 2 surgeries already), I should use them While I’ve got them.
  • I miss trail life and the trail community. More to the point, I miss the person I am on trail.
  • Eating whatever I want for 6 months and still losing a ton of weight is very appealing. This might be my top reason.
  • Where else am I gonna find so many single men that are my “type”? Though, as they say the “The odds are good but the goods are odd”
  • I finally have the money, way more on that later.
  • I think I’ve gotten a little boring at parties, The “I thru hiked the AT” or “I worked in film and tv” stories are stale. I need new material

 

I blogged my hike in 2010 so not to worry you won’t get 3 posts in to my journey and then never hear from me again. Feel free to get caught up on my  AT thru hike at

https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/about/9772

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Comments 4

  • M : Feb 16th

    Hi Thin Mint,

    Thanks for sharing. I am a fellow F.I.R.E. nerd, thinking of a thru hike after I meet a certain savings goal. I personally see a strong connection between frugality and thru hiking, how else can the average person get out on trail for months at a time? Glad to see a blogger draw the connection.

    I look forward to following your journey.

    Reply
  • ABC : Feb 17th

    So exciting to see somebody else occupying that very thin overlap on the YOLO/FIRE Venn diagram! Same as you, I’ve been cooped up in a corporate job for too long (with a brief hiatus to hike the AT) and will be taking another break to hike the PCT southbound later this year. Hope to see you out there!

    Reply
  • Jburns : Feb 28th

    Frugal is good. Change is good. Introspection is the sign of complex higher thinking. Do everything you can while you can. The pandemic has def changed the way people who love the outdoors think about life. Enjoy it while you are physically able. Hike, run, travel, cycle, Scuba diving! Our earth is a treasure. The beauty of nature brings peace and serenity.

    Reply
  • Ken Pennington : Feb 28th

    Retired early…life’s too short to work all your life… hiking and walking thru the mountains of Tennessee is my life

    Reply

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