Today is my 2 year anniversary!
At this point, I've almost forgotten what it was like to have a job. It's actually a scary thought to think about some terrible circumstance in which I have to report in for a regular job again and deal with all the hassles and politics of the workplace.
I'm keeping busy with volunteering and rather appreciating that travel isn't so possible right now, given the pandemic. I'm too busy to do much and am glad I don't feel like I'm missing out. Also, I haven't been to an airport in over 6 months and I couldn't be happier. Not sure what this says for my future travel after pandemic worries ramp down. Perhaps less international travel and more backpacking than I had planned.
Speaking of backpacking, a year ago right now I was on the John Muir Trail. I did this trail solo in 21 days and just over 221 miles altogether. It was one of the big reasons I wanted to retire early. To find out if I liked backpacking for that long a time. And just as an accomplishment. It was honestly one of the best things I've ever done. The JMT is a particularly easy long-distance trail, I suspect (the weather in the Sierras can't really be beat, easy resupplies for my hiking style, etc.) so I'm not sure this means I'll do other longer trails in this country, but I could spend a lifetime in the Sierras alone (as Mr. Muir in fact did), so that bodes well for my hiking future...as long as this old body holds up. Extra glad I retired at 41 to maximize that.
One question I have for folks here: After spending so much time in spreadsheets before retirement, I now just update my expenses each month to see that I'm staying on budget and check my net worth every...6 months? Year even? It's nice not to be too obsessed. But, one thing I need to look into after November 3...how do you all monitor whether you are "on track"? Do you just trust in the calculations and risks you evaluated before retiring and as long as you are sticking to your own SWR, you are happy? I'd like to track how my NW is doing as compared to the simulations I did, as I progress through retirement. See which scenarios I'm most closely following and what the eventual outcome of those are. Is there a way any of you do that?