I am definitely planning on taking off Oct 1, but not until 2013. I received a grant of one more year's employment with my current job, so I'll be sticking it out in a cubicle until next September. I've been doing some training and will keep it up so I can take off next year as soon as my job is ove...

Thanks for your replies! I'll be on here plenty as the time for my hike approaches. I look forward to any advice y'all can give!

I know that most people do a S-N thru-hike starting in the spring. Problem is, my job ends on September 21st and I have to find a job and start working again by the beginning of January. Is it just a complete folly to do a late fall/early winter thru-hike? BTW, I've been living in AZ for less than a...