Money money money

[gnpwdrtreason]

Now I know most of you (or at least those I've talked too) say you should bring about 4000 dollars on the trail, and I've heard 2 bucks a mile (which strangely comes out to 4000!) a few times. But I myself am a poor 21 year old. Now I'm willing to cut out hotel stays, hostel stays, and live off lentils and beans for six months no problem. So what would you say the cheapest way to do this is? Thanks ahead of time guys, you never let me down

[4shot]

this has been a much discussed topic here. The search button should help you find a great deal of discussion. My only comment: running out of $$$ is a big reason why some hikers don't make it all the way, especially the younger ones. Of course if your goal is not a thru hike then you simply hike until you just have enough left to get back home.

[kayak karl]

hike the trail for $2000 without begging or ripping people off. then write a book on how you did it and sell it to get your $2000 back. the only downside to this is the people that would want your book couldn't afford it and those that could, wouldn't need it.

"I'm willing to cut out hotel stays, hostel stays, and live off lentils and beans for six months no problem" Heard that before. LOL

[RED-DOG]

I would not leave Springer MT with no less than 5000, ready to spend on the trail for a thru-hike, and thats not including the gear cost before departure.

[silverscuba22]

Now I'm willing to cut out hotel stays, hostel stays, and live off lentils and beans for six months no problem. So what would you say the cheapest way to do this is? Thanks ahead of time guys, you never let me down

LOL EVERYONE says this and very very VERY few can do it !! and as more beans and lentils everyday give me a break.. it is july 27th, im guessing your not leaving now. so im going to assume next year, march timeframe like most people. You say your a college student, get a parttime or weekend job, if you are serious there are a ton of diffent way to get money. im at UNT in denton tx, and they have a plasma thing where you get 50 bucks a week, heck if you just did that , that would add 1400 more bucks to your hiking fund before you leave.

I was big on the" you could do the trail on 1500 to 2000" posts awhile back, and while it can be done and has been done, i wouldnt try it, and i wouldnt tell you to try it.... you are going to meet some of the BEST and nicest people you have ever met while hiking, and THEY will be going into town and stayin in hotels and going out to dinners or to the bars, and you WILL!!!! want to go to town. have 4k and ENJOY your trip, the people were what made the trip for me.

As for how much i spent, i broke my ankle outside of damauces. by that point i had already spent 1200, 400 was on some new shoes, hiking poles, and xrays for the ankle. but it adds up fast. take as much as you can get together , YOU DONT HAVE TO SPEND IT lol.

[Maddog]

hike the trail for $2000 without begging or ripping people off. then write a book on how you did it and sell it to get your $2000 back. the only downside to this is the people that would want your book couldn't afford it and those that could, wouldn't need it.

"I'm willing to cut out hotel stays, hostel stays, and live off lentils and beans for six months no problem" Heard that before. LOL

LOL! I've heard it before too! Hell...I've said it! I went into Hiawassee, then to Franklin, and ended up back in Hiawassee before I got back on the trail 4 days later! Good times! LOL! Maddog

[DavidNH]

why not delay your hike for a few years till you HAVE 5,000 dollars to spend.

You can forget about living off of rice and beans exclusively for six months. Forget that right now! You'd be the first thru hiker to ever do that. You will in reality be going to all the buffets and fast foods you can find and still begging any passer by for anything edible that isn't nailed down. You clearly don't yet understand thru hiker hunger. Food dominates every thought you have.. or it will eventually.

Also.. I'd put down money that there's no way in hell that you'll hike for six months and never stay in a hostel, motel etc. You will need the rest and will want it. You need to get cleaned up. You need to shop for food. You need time in town.

4,000 dollars is not a lot of money for an AT thru hike. It's almost a bare minimum. It assumes there aren't problems, equipment doesn't need replacing etc. For starters, you won't make the whole trip on one pair of boots. The old dollar a mile rule I think is 10 years or more old. Things are more expensive now.

In short, your thru hike will be a lot more enjoyable if you don't have to pinch every penny.

DavidNH

[wookinpanub]

Some of this might be the influence of the crowd you're hiking with. I hiked solo southbound and wasn't overly tempted to dawdle in town or go into one when I didn't need to. I purchased my gear and food ahead of time. The only time I got off of the trail was to go into town for a mail drop. Each mail drop contained enough food to get me to the next mail drop and no further. In today's $$, I did the trail on less than $1,000 cash and it took 109 days including 8 zeroes. It can be done.

[Supreme Being]

I would recommend that you watch all of Loner2012's videos! He is still on the trail right now and is in Maine. This is a guy who rarely stayed in hostels. He only stayed in town a few times and when he did, he shared a motel room for about $20. He didn't eat out that much, but instead bought bread and baloney and staples. You never saw him going out for beers with the guys. His shoes were literally duct taped together. As I was watching it, I saw how he was watching every penny and was pretty impressed with how thrifty he was. Even so, about half-way there, he started to run out of money and was going to get off the trail. His grandmother came through for him and he has been able to finish his thru. He states in his video that he thought that he could do it for about $2200 ($1 a mile) but that was just not possible. He then went on to say that he would now estimate $2 a mile and that is if you are being very careful with your money.

I personally have never seen any hiker economize more during a hike than Loner and not out in the forrest digging up roots and berries. Even in the last 1-2 yrs, prices have skyrocketed in some of these places due to the increase in fuel and I think current hikers will now tell you that $4000 provides them with just the basics.

[hikerboy57]

how much do you enjoy suffering?

[Tom Murphy]

My advice to you is:

- live frugally today and save the money so you do not need to be frugal while on your thru

- a SOBO hike rather than an NOBO since that direction seems to be be less expensive due to there being fewer friends around spending their money

- hike the LT instead

[Don H]

wook, I seems you're not including food and gear in your $1,000.

The cost of a thru has many variables, here's some but probably not all:
Time on trail, 109 days is cheaper than 190 days
Zeros, bars, restaurants and entertainment
Town stops to buy food. You always wind up buying more than just food.
Laundry, showers.
Food drops if you're not buying local. Don't forget the shipping. If buy at home and do drops you still have to buy the food.
(And then you still have to buy food locally when you miss your drop.)
Shuttle fees, you need to get to town and sometimes you have to pay.
Gear you buy before you leave is still part of the cost of hiking.
Gear you break or wear out and have to replace. Shoes, poles and clothing will need to be replaced.
Shipping winter gear home and summer gear to the trail. Then do it again in reverse up north.
Fuel and other consumables.
Emergencies. Injuries, medical treatment, a trip home for a family emergency.

If you really want to thru-hike do yourself a favor and make sure you have enough money to finish plus some to spare. It sucks to have to go home in MA because you ran out of money (seen it happen). How much that is depends on you and how you hike.

You don't want to be one of those people who we all have met who don't have enough money to support themselves on the trail but do it anyway at the expense of others.

Good luck!

[turtle fast]

In reality you will need more than $2000, its just a fact with resupply, fuel for stoves, and other incidentals. Like others say here, wait a year and save your cash until you have a little bank to do it instead of trying to force it earlier. It also gives you time to do some other odd jobs to get some extra cash and make some wise gear purchases. I saw way to many hikers like this drop out due to lack of funds (cash) and you won't enjoy your hike either.

[hikerboy57]

if you don't have enough money you will obsess about it. it won't be fun even when it supposed to be.

[Supreme Being]

Some of this might be the influence of the crowd you're hiking with. I hiked solo southbound and wasn't overly tempted to dawdle in town or go into one when I didn't need to. I purchased my gear and food ahead of time. The only time I got off of the trail was to go into town for a mail drop. Each mail drop contained enough food to get me to the next mail drop and no further. In today's $$, I did the trail on less than $1,000 cash and it took 109 days including 8 zeroes. It can be done.

If you have someone sending you all your food, it is going to be just as expensive - but if your parents are buying the groceries, it will help tremendously. But if they are mailing you that many groceries, they would come out ahead just giving you the cash due to mailing costs - even with flat rate packaging.

Wook-When did you hike your thru? If it was less than 2 yrs ago, you are the man who needs to write the book.

[leaftye]

Section hike. It's what you'll probably end up doing, except you could accept it now and not be disappointed, or set your heart on a thru hike and be disappointed when you can't afford to finish. There's nothing wrong with section hiking.

[trippclark]

You have gotten lots of good advice in this thread so far, and certainly a pattern can be seen. Assuming your intention is for a northbound hike next season, you have a good 8 months or more. Live as cheaply as you can now and earn and save money like crazy until you have at least $5000 saved. If this hike is important to you, you will find a way to do this. If it is not that important to you, then you probably will not have the necessary drive to finish anyway. Best of luck!

[perrymk]

While I've done a lot of reading in preparation for my anticipated 2020 thru hike, I have not actually thru hiked so take my thoughts with a grain of salt if you like.
That said, I like to think up scenarios and try them on paper. If it doesn't work on paper, it is even less likely to work in practice. Plus it’s just fun for me (ignore deep insights into my psyche). My thoughts are that paper is the minimum. Reality will likely cost more.

I looked up the cost of lentils.
$9.49 + $6 shipping. You can bring the shipping down if you buy in bulk, but it has to be sent to where ever you go on the trail so more shipping. Incidentally, lentils are about the least expensive bean.
lentils
Serving Size Apx 3 Tbsp (40 g)
Servings per Container - Apx 61
Calories 90
http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=FS G220

that's 5400 calories for $15.49.

Assuming you walk 15 miles per day (I believe a reasonable average), plan on going through 5000 to 6000 calories per day.

2200miles/15(miles/day)=147days
147 days * $15.49 per day = $2277.03

That’s over half your budget and you’re not eating well.
Plan on spending money on shoes. My guess is at least 4 pairs of shoes at $100 per pair.

So we’re near $2700 assuming you eat only lentils and your gear doesn’t fail. If you vary your diet at all in the interest of sanity and health, it will double.


Let’s vary a little bit just for health.

Mixed Vegetables for Stew - 30 oz
$15.95
NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size Apx ¼ cup (18 g)
Servings per Container - Apx 47 Amount per serving
Calories 60
http://beprepared.com/

Another 2820 calories for $22 (including shipping)

Mix the vegetables and lentils and you have 8220 calories for about $40. That ends up at roughly $25 per day * 147 days =$3675. Throw in the shoes and you’re over budget.


By the way, we haven’t yet added the cost of fuel to cook the lentils. No money for laundry, no ice cream, no hotel. I won't tell anyone what to do, but please crunch a few numbers.

[Pedaling Fool]

People do seem to like to talk about money....I don't get it, but maybe it's because of from where I hail.

[WingedMonkey]

Open a web site/ blog, now before you run out of time to explore all the possibilities. Start posting how much you would love to hike and add a link to how folks can "donate" to you with Paypal. Be creative in how much this hike means to you and how different it is from all the others.

If that doesn't bring in the cash, announce some favorite charity you are gonna hike for.