View Full Version : From the Wall Street Journal- Hiking the AT
chiefiepoo
12-09-2013, 09:05
Another "how to" article on hiking the AT, but this time, from the Wall Street Journal. We're getting mainstream and the big money has found us.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304448204579183843988273988
Interestingly the WSJ estimates the cost of a thru hike at $3K excluding gear. There's no way that a typical WSJ reader will spend only $3K on a thru hike.
4eyedbuzzard
12-09-2013, 09:28
Interestingly the WSJ estimates the cost of a thru hike at $3K excluding gear. There's no way that a typical WSJ reader will spend only $3K on a thru hike.They spend that much on Starbuck's Lattes in 6 months.
max patch
12-09-2013, 10:08
So who caught the OBVIOUS error?
FarmerChef
12-09-2013, 10:49
Now I'd like to see some stats on how many WSJ readers now take the plunge and hike the AT...with or without a sherpa ;)
Pedaling Fool
12-09-2013, 10:53
So who caught the OBVIOUS error?I question a few things in there, but the AT goes thru 14 states, not 13.
FarmerChef
12-09-2013, 10:53
Just read it. Nice piece.
So who caught the OBVIOUS error?
The part in the graphic that called whiteblaze helpful? *rimshot* :)
max patch
12-09-2013, 10:57
Interestingly the WSJ estimates the cost of a thru hike at $3K excluding gear. There's no way that a typical WSJ reader will spend only $3K on a thru hike.
The WSJ did not estimate the cost of a thru hike at all.
The $3,000 figure came from the sources they used; which was the ATC and the AMC. And the $3,000 did not include gear costs.
The hiker profiled spent $1,600 on gear. So the casual reader of the article could infer that a thru would cost in the area of $4,600 - plus or minus as the article states. Which is pretty close to what is said on this website.
max patch
12-09-2013, 10:59
I question a few things in there, but the AT goes thru 14 states, not 13.
We have a winner.
max patch
12-09-2013, 11:00
The part in the graphic that called whiteblaze helpful? *rimshot* :)
Well....it is the most popular. They got that much right.
The WSJ did not estimate the cost of a thru hike at all.
The $3,000 figure came from the sources they used; which was the ATC and the AMC. And the $3,000 did not include gear costs.
The hiker profiled spent $1,600 on gear. So the casual reader of the article could infer that a thru would cost in the area of $4,600 - plus or minus as the article states. Which is pretty close to what is said on this website.
IMO The typical cost of a thru hike is likely to be higher than that figure for the typical WSJ reader compared to the typical thru hiker. That's obviously a generalization. I've been reading the WSJ for over 20 years and I'm pretty frugal when it comes to spending money.
The bit that I'm unimpressed with is this needlessly judgmental bit:
"Young hikers can bolt out of the starting gate and do 20 to 25 miles a day, but they don't see or enjoy much along the way."
A suggestion to start out slowly and build strength can be expressed in a way that doesn't condemn other styles in, I presume, some personal ignorance of starting a long trip in pretty good condition.
Indeed, though, a thru-hiking (or at least "hiking all of the AT") article in the WSJ is somewhat of a sign of the thru-hiking apocalypse. Now we just need Redford to get his Bryson movie going. :-)
A suggestion to start out slowly and build strength can be expressed in a way that doesn't condemn other styles in, I presume, some personal ignorance of starting a long trip in pretty good condition.
..and in the same article, the person states how he later did 25 mile days. :)
brancher
12-09-2013, 13:30
IMO The typical cost of a thru hike is likely to be higher than that figure for the typical WSJ reader compared to the typical thru hiker. That's obviously a generalization. I've been reading the WSJ for over 20 years and I'm pretty frugal when it comes to spending money.
Bingo (kind of). Figure may be higher, but for sure can be lower. I also am a WSJ reader, and I can assure that I spend frugally on hikes. I will also say I could afford to spend a lot more - but I won't, partly because of the WSJ.
p.s. I don't spend money at Starbucks, either....:cool:
The bit that I'm unimpressed with is this needlessly judgmental bit:
"Young hikers can bolt out of the starting gate and do 20 to 25 miles a day, but they don't see or enjoy much along the way."
A suggestion to start out slowly and build strength can be expressed in a way that doesn't condemn other styles in, I presume, some personal ignorance of starting a long trip in pretty good condition.
Indeed, though, a thru-hiking (or at least "hiking all of the AT") article in the WSJ is somewhat of a sign of the thru-hiking apocalypse. Now we just need Redford to get his Bryson movie going. :-)
That stood out like a sore thumb.
ScottTrip
12-09-2013, 14:21
Bingo (kind of). Figure may be higher, but for sure can be lower. I also am a WSJ reader, and I can assure that I spend frugally on hikes. I will also say I could afford to spend a lot more - but I won't, partly because of the WSJ.
p.s. I don't spend money at Starbucks, either....:cool:
Reading the WSJ is why I can retire at 56 and start my thru hike this March.
brancher
12-09-2013, 16:27
Reading the WSJ is why I can retire at 56 and start my thru hike this March.
Congrats on your retirement....me, too! (and I'm going in April unless something dumb happens)
Seatbelt
12-09-2013, 18:32
The bit that I'm unimpressed with is this needlessly judgmental bit:
"Young hikers can bolt out of the starting gate and do 20 to 25 miles a day, but they don't see or enjoy much along the way."
A suggestion to start out slowly and build strength can be expressed in a way that doesn't condemn other styles in, I presume, some personal ignorance of starting a long trip in pretty good condition.
Indeed, though, a thru-hiking (or at least "hiking all of the AT") article in the WSJ is somewhat of a sign of the thru-hiking apocalypse. Now we just need Redford to get his Bryson movie going. :-)
I just took that to be the author's opinion, nothing more....which we all have one or two to express!
Drybones
12-09-2013, 18:40
Bingo (kind of). Figure may be higher, but for sure can be lower. I also am a WSJ reader, and I can assure that I spend frugally on hikes. I will also say I could afford to spend a lot more - but I won't, partly because of the WSJ.
p.s. I don't spend money at Starbucks, either....:cool:
Same here, most people that have money have it because they didn't spend it.
Same here, most people that have money have it because they didn't spend it.
I have known lots of "poor rich people" ... plenty of people who make six figures+ each year who spend all of it and more and, as a result, have no net worth or negative net worth.
Drybones
12-09-2013, 19:06
I have known lots of "poor rich people" ... plenty of people who make six figures+ each year who spend all of it and more and, as a result, have no net worth or negative net worth.
You made my point.
Toolshed
12-09-2013, 20:58
I am an avid Wall Street Journal reader - I worked for a number of years in Coroporate Finance - I now work near NYC and Lessseeee...I have an undergrad Business Degree and an MBA from a top 40 business school...But wait, theres more.......
..........I fancy myself at times more like LW than a yuppie. I thought the article was right-on. He didn't write it for no toothless stinking-smelling AT thruhiker who expects everyone to honor him/her at every establishment. He wrote it to a target audience of those who simply don't leave the comforts of the city. To the crowd who ask continually "You go out there alone???" What happens if....(bear, wolf, snake, moonshiner) ?" These people are actually enthralled with what we do. The thought of saving and re-using a styrofoam cup for a week repulses the majority of this group, but the idea of $99 or $599 gadgets to help them feel rugged and as well as the top end climbing clothes to make them look rugged abounds - And it catapults them (momentarily) into our league :)
Ever notice why REI EMS & Bean sell their clothes to "stay warm and dry on the trail or around town" 80% of their customers live nowhere near a town, preferring the urbans or suburban sprawl. Being around "town" sounds so much cooler and much more rugged than "wearing it around your local metropolitan statistical area..."
Anyway, 99% of WSJ readers squinted their shaped, tweezed and waxed eybrows reading this article and immediately felt more rugged, committing themselve to stop at EMS near the subway station (or REI near the bus stop) to purchase more rugged goodness.......'
This article left many thinking back to the day that they took their AWD Lexus out into the country where they dropped to 2 bars on their smartphones as they wound their way up some older macadem road thinking about "The Hills Have Eyes" and keeping their elbows at the ready to lock the doors if they come across a character looking like LW, Mags or SkidSteer.
and I felt smug as my worlds collided.......:sun
handlebar
12-09-2013, 21:39
Same here, most people that have money have it because they didn't spend it.
In my experience, most people that have REAL money (multiple millions), have it because they inherited it. The rest of us have it because we lived well within our means.
I am sure there are plenty of bald, shortish and Mediterranean looking people in the greater NYC area. Think a few movies and tv shows made that a large plot point too ;)
funny you should mention "gear as lifestyle". something I noticed a lot of. I truly think that people buy the gear and clothing in large part so that their busy lives allow them to live the outdoor lifestyle on some level. http://www.pmags.com/gear-as-lifestyle
As the Portlandia skit I linked to says :"got to get the gear!" :)
chiefiepoo
12-09-2013, 23:44
Good analysis, Toolshed. Not surprised to see other WSJ readers check in today. Now, when an AT article shows up in my Economist magazine I'll know that we have gone global. BTW, I do not tweeze, wax or moisturize. My HSM suits and Allen Edmonds shoes gather dust in the closet while my Pendelton wool gear and Vasgue boots do all the work these days.
ChinMusic
12-09-2013, 23:53
They spend that much on Starbuck's Lattes in 6 months.
I've read the WSJ my whole adult life and never been in a Starbucks.........
ScottTrip
12-10-2013, 12:06
I think the outdoor Gear look is funny. Think about how many YELLOW North Face Goretex jackets you would see after Jon Krakauer was photo wear one was published.
http://media.outsideonline.com/images/I294592-1-1_krakauer.jpg
4eyedbuzzard
12-10-2013, 13:15
I've read the WSJ my whole adult life and never been in a Starbucks.........Geeze, it was meant in humor. Sorry. I also read WSJ, Forbes, etc. But I have to admit to drinking Starbucks coffee when passing through airports.
So who caught the OBVIOUS error?
I question a few things in there, but the AT goes thru 14 states, not 13.
We have a winner.
What about the 65% of thru-hikers start in Georgia, 10% start in Maine.
Where do the other 25% start? If they don't start, or get to, the ends, they haven't done a thru-hike...
Yes, you can argue till your blue in the face about taking alternate routes through sections or to resupply, but you've still got to go from one end to the other
ChinMusic
12-12-2013, 12:08
What about the 65% of thru-hikers start in Georgia, 10% start in Maine.
Where do the other 25% start?
Not all hikers start at a terminus.
Trillium
12-13-2013, 00:30
Not all hikers start at a terminus.Exactly. I have a friend who started in Damascus heading north, skipped from Harper's Ferry to Duncannon, hiked to Katahdin, came back to PA for the Gathering, hiked from Duncannon to Harper's Ferry, got a ride down to Damascus where she hiked southbound.
Exactly. I have a friend who started in Damascus heading north, skipped from Harper's Ferry to Duncannon, hiked to Katahdin, came back to PA for the Gathering, hiked from Duncannon to Harper's Ferry, got a ride down to Damascus where she hiked southbound.
Sounds like a guy I met at Vandeventer Shelter named Toes. Instead of flip-flop or a yo-yo, it was more like a hop-skotch. :)
4eyedbuzzard
12-13-2013, 11:57
Sounds like a guy I met at Vandeventer Shelter named Toes. Instead of flip-flop or a yo-yo, it was more like a hop-skotch. :)Kind of like the "Cool Breeze" hike itinerary - http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/thru-section-hiking/when-where-to-start