[pct-l] What do you guys do for money?

[Blanchard, Sym (GE&O)]

I bought the 1495 Case from Pelican on-line for my 17 inch laptop.  I pack it all in a cardboard box so the USPS will mail it Priority Mail.  

When I got injured, I just called the post office and they shipped it home for free.  

Also if I don't need to use the laptop (I check my emails on my Blackberry first), then I can just bounce it unopened to the next post office for free.

I try to hit the towns mid-week so I can talk with co-workers and join meetings using Genesys and Timbuktu if necessary.  The air card is really handy for 3G especially in some of the smaller towns without WiFi.

Symbiosis
-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Bradford [mailto:glenn.bradford at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 10:30 AM
To: Blanchard, Sym (GE&O)
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] What do you guys do for money?

Oh. My. God. Symbiosis, that is a great way to work a programming job.
That's what I do, and I do have the ability to flex my time alot...I'd have to see if I could flex it that much!

I wondered how a laptop would fare bumping around in the mail all the time.

What a story about Car Hop as well.

Creative solutions abound...

On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 12:24 PM, Blanchard, Sym (GE&O) <SWB3 at pge.com> wrote:
>
> I have a computer-type job that I can do from anywhere.  I mail my 
> laptop to the next post office, hike 3-4 days to get there, do a few 
> days work, then mail it to the next post office and so on .
>
> I am able to stretch my 8 weeks of vacation to 10 to 14 weeks of 
> hiking and recovery time because I am able to capture more weekends.  
> I am only doing sections, so am only doing about 1/3 of the trail each year.
>
> I was inspired by Car Hop who was working full time as he hiked the 
> PCT.  I believe he completed it in one season this last year.  I know 
> he did the AT a previous year.
>
> He had two cars with laptops, beds, and food.  The cars could tow each 
> other.  He would park one car at one trail head and drive the other 
> car to the next trailhead and then hike back to his first car.  He 
> would then log in to do his actuarian pension work with an Air Card 
> with his business project team in New York (he was a mathematician 
> actuarian).  He was about
> 65 years old.
>
> I met him about 10 times last year always hiking the opposite 
> direction.  He was able to slack pack the whole way.
>
> So if you can manage the logistics, I would suggest a computer-type 
> job you can do from a trailside town.
>
> Symbiosis
> __________________________________________
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 07:51:43 -0500
> From: Glenn Bradford <glenn.bradford at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] What do you guys do for money?
> To: Krikor Y <kyeremian at gmail.com>
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <BANLkTinguyJzttHm8NLmW_OONx7tMX9eGA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> No responses yet...I would really like to hear from frequent hikers on 
> this subject!
>
> Glenn
>
> On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Krikor Y <kyeremian at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> This question is for thru-hikers and those that go on overnight 
>>> hikes multiple times throughout the month. What do you do for a 
>>> living? I am considering making a career change that would allow me 
>>> plenty of time to do what you do either for pleasure or 
>>> professionally. So far I have considered mountain guide and 
>>> forester. Forester sounds good to me because I'll constantly be 
>>> outdoors, it is stable work with health benefits though education 
>>> costs are significant, mountain guide is my dream job but am 
>>> concerned that I won't be able to support a family with the income. 
>>> I've also head nurse because by setting your own hours, you can work 
>>> your butt off for an extended time and end up with a couple weeks 
>>> off in a row to roam free :) What do you guys think, what are some of your professions?
>
>