I'm reasonably frugal on the trail, but I do tend to stay at most Hostels, an occasional cheap motel and splurge on resturant meals when in town. Heck, while doing the Long Trail this summer, I had a $125 tab at one B+B alone and spent another 40 for food for the next 4 days.
Anyway, I'll probably head down to Springer some time in the spring for another long section hike. This time I want to try and do it really frugally and see how far I can get on $1,000. Keeping track of how much is spent is a problem, so the way to do this might be to get a pre-paid debit card and go until it comes up 'insufficent funds" one day. Then I'll know its time to pull out the emergency cash and go home. Since transportation costs are so variable, getting to and from the trail will not be included.
Ideas to maximize the "miles per dollar" (MPD)
1. Start later rather then early. A mid April start will help ensure drier and warmer weather, reducing the temptation to stay at every town stop. Starting in early March is not a good idea if you want to be cheap.
2. Try to arrange "in and out" town stops. Camp near the town the night before so you can get in early, then get out and still make it someplace the same day.
3. Eat the "in town" meal from the grocery store, not a resturant. You can usually put together a good meal from the deli section of the grocery store and your there buying stuff anyway. You'd probably save 50% over a meal at a resturant.
4. Use a few select mail drops where food would otherwise be expensive to buy. Neels gap, the NOC and Fontana village come to mind.
5. Showers. One of the main reasons to stay at a hostel or motel is just to get a shower. Some places will let you buy a shower with out staying overnight, so take advantage of those places. Water bladders can be turned into showers easy enough. If you leave the bag out in the sun for a few hours, you'll even have warm water. Keep your hair short so it is easy to wash and if you can keep your head and crotch clean, you don't need to wash the rest of your body nearly as often.
6. Try to do longer days.
So, I wonder if I could make it all the way to say Harpers Ferry on a grand if I used my own advice? Will let you know next June