This is my plan.....tear it apart!!!

[walkinslow]

Hey all I'm going to share my financial plan for a thru with y'all and hope for some solid advice from the experts.
ive read and researched a bunch of trail journals over the last two or three years and this is what I'm thinking. Am I crazy?
My gear is purchased and tested, transportation to the trail is taken care of, still working on transportation home but think I've got that covered too. So here goes.
$4000.00 budget
$1,500.00 for all food, resupply and town food
$500.00 for lodging showers and shuttles
$500.00 for shoes and gear replacement
$500.00 misc.
this leaves $1000.00 for extra food,fun or emergency fund to get home on. What am I missing?

[Slo-go'en]

I never tried to break down how much I spend on a trip on different things. I just spend money as required. And it can go quick on unexpected things - like the consession stands in Shenandoah or a steak dinner and craft beer at the Smoky Mountain brewery in Gatlinburg (well worth the 30 bucks

Your 4K is enough that you won't have to pinch pennies too much, but you'll have to have restraint not to spend too much, too fast. It will take real restraint and a relatively fast hike to only spend 3K. Some have done it for that or less, but they are the exception. Most go well over budget.

[1234]

500 or shuttles may be low depending on how often you slack pack. 60 a day in the whites, split by 2 makes it 30 etc. it adds up so fast. $115 to get back to trail from trail days.

[grayfox]

.02...double your emergency fund and sleep well.

[jdc5294]

Wow you're living it up. Why not hitchhike instead of using shuttles? Any slackpacking will probably be either included with a hostel stay or a nominal fee in addition to it, if not you're staying at the wrong hostel. You're in South Carolina so in an emergency you'll just get a shuttle to a major(ish) city with a Greyhound station and get a bus home, that's what $200? I got a bus from Bangor to Philadelphia for about that I believe. 16 hours on a bus sucked but it beat spending way more on a plane ticket.

[jdc5294]

When I went I talked about money with people that were willing to discuss it, turns out a pretty comfortable thru was about $2,500. The average was $2,000 and people were still fine with budgets all the way down to $1,500.

[lonehiker]

You are 48 so I am making an assumption that you won't be into the partying like some of the younger hikers are (probably), so as long as your hike isn't too much over 5 months 4k should be fine.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Wow you're living it up. Why not hitchhike instead of using shuttles? Any slackpacking will probably be either included with a hostel stay or a nominal fee in addition to it, if not you're staying at the wrong hostel. You're in South Carolina so in an emergency you'll just get a shuttle to a major(ish) city with a Greyhound station and get a bus home, that's what $200? I got a bus from Bangor to Philadelphia for about that I believe. 16 hours on a bus sucked but it beat spending way more on a plane ticket.

Air travel is often the same or less than bus or train - and definitely a better way to travel.

When I went I talked about money with people that were willing to discuss it, turns out a pretty comfortable thru was about $2,500. The average was $2,000 and people were still fine with budgets all the way down to $1,500.

$2500 comfortable? Maybe 23 years ago Your profile says you're 22. Did you hike as a mere twinkle in your parent's eye?
My daughter and I talked with several thru hikers this past summer while they were going through VT and the Whites and most were figuring on total costs in the $4K to $6K range. She is thinking of thru-hiking sometime in the next 5 years, so she was asking a lot of questions regarding costs. What she learned: It's really hard to get out of a town for under $100-$150 if you stay a night and have a few restaurant meals (alcohol can add to this). And you will want to stop and stay because of weather, social relationships, minor trail injuries/wear and tear, the fact that you are just tired, hungry, wet/cold/dry/hot, and stink like a bear. A 5 month hike with a town stop once per week average means some 20+ town stops at $100+ each for lodging, restaurant meals (dinner and breakfast), beverages, laundry, etc = $2K minimum before trail food, shuttles, gear/shoe replacement, and other misc.

I'm sure one can have a cheaper thru than $2/mile, but I would think it would have to be a fast(er) hike and foregoing much comfort in terms of any town time/amenities. I guess comfort and enjoyment is in the eye of the beholder.

[garlic08]

Your budget is sound for an experienced hiker who can minimize some expenses and, as mentioned above, stay away from the expensive towns. Food looks fine. Lodging might be a tad light. Gear could be a big one if your stuff is not tried and true. If you have any delays due to physical or medical problems, you'll need all your contingency.

$1000/month is a fairly average budget. Can you hike the AT in four months? Many do.

[jdc5294]

$100+ each for lodging, restaurant meals (dinner and breakfast), beverages, laundry, etc

That's where I guess we differ, I stopped once per week and resupplied at a grocery store, I rarely went above $50 including hostel stay and food, most of the time it was $10-$15 for the hostel and $25 for food for the week. A good meal at the bar or diner on top of that. I know a guy who did the whole thing on $500. I feel like I'm crazy but I swear you guys don't need to spend so much to do this thing haha.

[max patch]

When I went I talked about money with people that were willing to discuss it, turns out a pretty comfortable thru was about $2,500. The average was $2,000 and people were still fine with budgets all the way down to $1,500.

I had a very comfortable thru hike for $2,000.

26 years ago.

[jdc5294]

Also, if you buy your boots from a good company (Keen, Merril, etc) they'll send you replacement pairs for free if you tell them you're doing a thru.

[jdc5294]

6 months in 2012 with 2 weeks in the middle where I went home (which was luckily about an hour away) with giardia, I spent about $2,500 including a replacement sleeping bag and a bus home at the end. And I was far from the cheapest guy/girl out there. Believe me or not as you like.

[George]

Also, if you buy your boots from a good company (Keen, Merril, etc) they'll send you replacement pairs for free if you tell them you're doing a thru.

then you are not paying your way - this is freeloading, another whole topic

[jdc5294]

then you are not paying your way - this is freeloading, another whole topic

By that logic then accepting trail magic is freeloading


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[4eyedbuzzard]

That's where I guess we differ, I stopped once per week and resupplied at a grocery store, I rarely went above $50 including hostel stay and food, most of the time it was $10-$15 for the hostel and $25 for food for the week. A good meal at the bar or diner on top of that. I know a guy who did the whole thing on $500. I feel like I'm crazy but I swear you guys don't need to spend so much to do this thing haha.

I honestly don't see how you can only spend $25/week on food for a week ($3.50/day?) especially while burning 6000+ cal per day hiking and not being able to take advantage of buying during sales and using other possible discounting techniques. I buy on sale, use coupons, etc. and spend more than that on reasonably healthy food when I'm at home and burning half the calories.

And how anyone can thru-hike on a $500 dollar budget is simply beyond my understanding. Maybe it's the accountant part of me that always seems to find costs that many people don't report or consider.

[ratherbclimbin]

For all you people saying its impossible to do a cheap thru hike its already been proven that a sub 2000 dollar hike is very possible. Read weathercarrots article on how he hiked it for 1100 dollars. It all depends on your priorities and discipline with your cash. A lot of people say its impossible but you will soon realize once you read more many people have done it for cheap. I think 4k is very very reasonable and if you maintain a certain amount if discipline and stay out of trail towns as much as possible you will be well under this amount. Good luck.

[walkinslow]

Thanks for all the feed back folks, I really appreciate it. I will only be using shuttles when I really have to, I plan on hitching as much as possible. So I should save some money in that category. I won't be partying much at all, a few beers along the way though ( but I'm a domestic guy) so I should be ok. I'm gonna try and save another
$1000.00 but if not I'm going with 4k and see how far I can go. I want to enjoy my time away but I don't expect to stay in town every week and eat steak every few days. I know I will enjoy going to town but I must resist the vortex, gotta resupply eat and move on. I'm sure it's easier said than done and I know I'll get sucked in some but I've got to keep it to a min.

[jdc5294]

I don't think I ever met someone who was carrying 6000 calories/day worth of food. You're gonna lose weight, I went from 175 to 145.


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[lonehiker]

In 2008 I was spending about 6.50 - 7.50 a day for food. This figure would also include misc. items like a battery or two, zip-lock bags, etc. You have to remember some of the smaller stores you will be shopping in aren't necessarily the cheapest. I will concur with jdc on his last point. I didn't see anyone carrying 6k calories of food per day. I'm quite certain that many have hiked very cheap hikes, but for every example you can find of said hike I would probably be able to find 4+ that didn't. As mentioned in my earlier post to the OP, if you avoid partying and don't take too long (5ish months), 4k will be fine.