Gas prices and hiking

[RedBeerd]

Hello all,
In my area of CT gas prices are at $4.00 per gallon or a little more and expected to keep rising. Usually I make the round trip to the Whites quite frequently in the summer to hit some 4k or some easier trails with my mom. However this summer thats not looking likely as even though I drive a 30mpg car, its just going to cost too damn much!! Fortunately for me I have AT trail access about 60 miles away. I will be exploring that more thoroughly this season (before my LT thru hike in july )

Anyways, will steep gas prices foil any hiking this year for anybody?

[Spokes]

Nope, I pre-planned and got a Toyota Prius in December 2010. Best purchased I've made beside my iPad2. It's made it to every trailhead so far and climbed some pretty steep gravel country roads in Ashe County, NC.

Very pleased.

Cheers!

[Jeff]

Keep those gas prices in mind when you are asking folks to quote a price for a shuttle.

[RedBeerd]

I am anti-prius..but that's a story for another thread

[coach lou]

HP627... I live in Saybrook, and that's still 6 gallons back & forth even in my hot rod Subaru. During fall and winter I was up there[CTAT] every other weekend, working the prep schools, so I could sqeeze in overniters, 3days, or day hikes. I've walked VT & NH, so I am looking south. Carlisle, Pa. is a tankful. I was really looking to knock out some miles before this wild hair subsides!!! If we send more jets to the mid-east, we'll be hiking in Cockaponset State Forest!

[Pedaling Fool]

I bet not too many hikers will be slackpacking this year

[Spokes]

Slackpacking is like a bad carnival game..... You end up spending a whole lot of money for a very little prize.

[Spokes]

I am anti-prius..but that's a story for another thread

That's what I said too when I owned a Tundra pick-up and then felt the pain of filling it up when getting 15 mpg.

Your comment reminds me of all that stuff my Dad said back when I was a kid:

"Them Japanese cars will never take off in the US."

"Who's gonna pay money for bottled water?"

"Cable TV? Who's gonna pay to watch TV?"

"Coleman. It's the only stove to carry when hiking"

My, my, times have changed.

[Nutbrown]

HA! I have a 1982 Hyundai Elantra that gets 40mpg AND it won't get stolen at the trail head! FTW

[Theosus]

All the good hiking places are a hundred miles or more from me. Suddenly my 2004 camry looks a lot better than my wife's newer CRV. It's still in good shape, and that fact that my kid trashed the interior with crayons and koolaid makes it a good choice for hauling crap around. And the tires are half the price, too (not to mention the full size spare instead of the doughnut tire). But gas is still a factor...

[Spokes]

HA! I have a 1982 Hyundai Elantra that gets 40mpg AND it won't get stolen at the trail head! FTW

Too funny!

[moytoy]

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-.../dp/1579541992

[Pedaling Fool]

..."Them Japanese cars will never take off in the US."...

Not long after WWII, Japan became somewhat of the world's China, not as big, but they were producing a lot and people generally looked at the stuff from Japan as cheap junk. But now they're a leader in many respects in producing quality goods. I remember when my mom bought a toyota back in the 70's, it was a joke then, but now they're a major company. Much respect for the Japanese.

[Spokes]

Hey, I still remember tearing apart a metal body toy car as a kid and discovering it was actually stamped out of a Carling Black Label beer can.

[garlic08]

I'm feeling prescient for planning a X-C bicycle tour this year, self-supported, no driving involved. (See www.crazyguyonabike.com/Garlic.)

I hiked the AT in '08, the last time gas prices rose above $4/gal. That didn't seem to stop folks from slack-packing. I don't know how it compared to years with cheaper gas, but there sure were plenty of happy slackers. I also met a couple from WA state who were day-hiking the AT. Not only did they drive X-C and were driving the length of the AT twice, they were doing it with two cars. I appeared that if you had enough money to hike the AT, the price of gas wasn't going to change your trip much.

I don't even own a car, though I have shared use of my wife's 2007 Prius. Nice car, IMO. (Nicer, at least, than our last 50 mpg+ car, the old '91 Geo Metro.) When I go hiking or volunteering on trail crews around here, I walk or bicycle. I'm fortunate to live close to trails, but it's not all luck--I did sort of plan it that way.

[Spokes]

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-.../dp/1579541992

Been there:

www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ibikefar

I found the cost of food consumed to maintain cycling energy evens out when you correlate it to the cost of petrol per gallon.

[Spokes]

I'm feeling prescient for planning a X-C bicycle tour this year, self-supported, no driving involved. (See www.crazyguyonabike.com/Garlic.)
...

Can't wait to follow along Garlic. What route are you considering?

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/network.cfm

[RedBeerd]

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-.../dp/1579541992

Been there:

www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ibikefar

I found the cost of food consumed to maintain cycling energy evens out when you correlate it to the cost of petrol per gallon.

Indeed. Just spent too much money on a bike and have yet to ride it to work, just recreationally! I have to do a lot of biking and a lot of starving to make up for the cost

A motorcycle is an option as they get great mileage BUT it may not be as efficient with a stuffed 65L pack on peoples backs :O

I notice a 3-4mpg difference when I drive 65mph vs 75mph on the highway. That adds up over a week and can be the difference in affording a drive to the trail head.

[RedBeerd]

I am anti-prius..but that's a story for another thread

That's what I said too when I owned a Tundra pick-up and then felt the pain of filling it up when getting 15 mpg.

Your comment reminds me of all that stuff my Dad said back when I was a kid:

"Them Japanese cars will never take off in the US."

"Who's gonna pay money for bottled water?"

"Cable TV? Who's gonna pay to watch TV?"

"Coleman. It's the only stove to carry when hiking"

My, my, times have changed.

I see a prius as a status symbol, and with an average prius user getting 40-50mpg its not much better than many cars out there. Lets see if the cost of replacing a battery outweighs the gas saved..battery technology just isnt efficient yet. Some say its a myth some say its fact, but its still been said the production of a prius due to battery mining, shipping, etc. May harm the environment more than help. But who knows. Get an early 90s honda, toyota, mazda with a 4 cylinder for cheap and get a car that will.last forever and get 40mpg.

[rocketsocks]

For me to get to the AT is a 70 mile trek@ about 3.5 -4.0 gal thats about $30-$40 bones a day for a day of hiking,I stick to some local trails that offer me all the AT has to offer except the veiw.I also walk to the library 2M,drug store2M,outfitter3.68M all of these are one way milages and I enjoydoing this....regularly.