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View Full Version : This is my plan.....tear it apart!!!



walkinslow
01-12-2014, 12:38
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
01-12-2014, 13:08
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
01-12-2014, 13:19
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
01-12-2014, 13:26
.02...double your emergency fund and sleep well.

jdc5294
01-12-2014, 14:15
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
01-12-2014, 14:17
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
01-12-2014, 14:33
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
01-12-2014, 15:02
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 :rolleyes: 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
01-12-2014, 15:10
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
01-12-2014, 15:12
$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
01-12-2014, 15:13
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
01-12-2014, 15:15
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
01-12-2014, 15:18
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
01-12-2014, 15:30
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
01-12-2014, 15:32
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
01-12-2014, 16:02
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
01-12-2014, 16:27
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
01-12-2014, 16:35
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
01-12-2014, 16:36
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
01-12-2014, 17:14
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.

Blissful
01-13-2014, 14:36
$4,000 is a good starting point. Costs of food etc have gone up though since I did it for that. I might try to squeak in some more though

RED-DOG
01-13-2014, 15:19
$4000 should be enough if you spend it wisely, Remember all the small things adds up quickly, I would have a little bit extra in reserve that $4000 you are going to spend every nickle of that, Remember you got to have money when the trail is over, On my 2012 thru i spent $5700 out of a $7000 dollar budget, When i stayed in a Hostel i would get work for stay especially at the AMC huts in NH that saved me alot, but like i said i still spent $5700 dollars, Personally i think you are going to need a little more than 4000, I don't think i would leave on a Thru-Hike with less than $5000, But this is just my Oppinion. Good Luck and Happy trails. RED-DOG

sadlowskiadam
01-13-2014, 15:54
I would put aside at least $6,000 for a thru hike. Keep in mind that food and lodging will get progressively more expensive the further north you get. The New England states in particular will be really expensive. At this point, I saw several (mostly younger) hikers have to get off the trail after crossing the Mason-Dixon line due to spending too much in towns and budgeting too little money for their trip. Just be careful about spending money in trail towns. They can be both a blessing and a trap. All the best,

- Counselor

kayak karl
01-13-2014, 16:56
I had a very comfortable thru hike for $2,000.

26 years ago.
did that include your cell phone bill and data usage?

4eyedbuzzard
01-13-2014, 17:07
did that include your cell phone bill and data usage?+2 (dollars per day)

lynn523
01-14-2014, 02:12
Check out Clinker's post-hike summary of her 2013 thru-hike costs on trail journals. She breaks out all her expenses nicely. Here's the link
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=437667

steve0423
01-14-2014, 09:48
Your start date can also have a big impact on budget, early starters often spend more due to weather issues.

amclumberjack
01-14-2014, 13:01
one tip I have to make the over night in town cheaper is to find some one to share a room with and cut the room bill in half. I think 4-5k is a vary doable hike ! happy trails !

CarlZ993
01-14-2014, 15:33
Not counting the food that was bought at home (but including the shipping costs), I spent $6,600 on my thru in 2013. The hike took me a couple days short of 5 months. I had budgeted $1,000/month. I had plenty of money beyond that if it needed to be spent. Had no problems keeping it under budget at the beginning. Had some equipment replaced - tents & poles - as well as some extra hostel/motel stays on the northern half that caused me to bust my budget.

I didn't run into many 'cheap' hostels - $10 - $15 range - as one writer mentioned. Guess I didn't look hard enough. When I stayed in motels, I shared room costs w/ another hiker if it was possible. In CT/MA, I was running from one hostel/motel to another to get away from the mosquitoes. They about drove me insane.

As far as budgeting for the trip, I'd err quite a bit on the plus side. Going northbound, it gets more expensive as you go. It would suck to really have to watch your pennies when the weather or other conditions dictate you take shelter in a town w/ no cheap lodging options.

Regardless, it CAN be done on the cheap. I saw people who did it. I glad I didn't have to.

snail2010
01-18-2014, 21:59
You should be fine, like you said just try and avoid the town vortex.

map man
01-19-2014, 12:26
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?

You are wise to include a cushion (the "misc." category and the $1000 "extra"). An important thing to remember is that zero days cost significant money. Just one zero day often includes two nights of lodging and five restaurant meals (dinner the day before and breakfast the day after). And the "average" NOBO completing thru-hiker takes three weeks worth of zeros -- it adds up.

Here are two of the things that most prospective thru-hikers underestimate: 1) the number of nights on the trail they will spend in a shelter instead of tenting or hammocking; 2) the number of zero days they will have. And, like I said, the zeros cost money.

BuckeyeBill
01-20-2014, 12:19
I will not be attempting my thru until 2018 due to injuries and surgeries. Adjusting for cost of living increases, I will be leaving with $7,000.00. I am also replacing all my gear beforehand, so I should not have any problems there, except replacing shoes and other expendables.

jdc5294
01-21-2014, 15:33
Just one zero day often includes two nights of lodging and five restaurant meals (dinner the day before and breakfast the day after).
A good way to cut down on this is buy food at the grocery store for the actual zero day. A digornio pizza for the hostel oven, a cheap half gallon of ice cream, a six pack, stuff like that.

notabear13
02-13-2014, 16:59
A good way to cut down on this is buy food at the grocery store for the actual zero day. A digornio pizza for the hostel oven, a cheap half gallon of ice cream, a six pack, stuff like that.

If only all the hostels had ovens... The best thing a hostel could have, after a functional roof, was a ride to resupply at a grocery store and kitchen access.

I think $4000 is totally reasonable. The trick is to not spend money in town.

Easiest way to do this: nero in, nero out. Get into town, get your 1 restaurant meal, hit the grocer, and hitch out. $25 for resupply, $10 for meal, $7 for a six pack (a six pack is ~ 2L, ie, the capacity of a platy). Plus, raid the **** out of hiker boxes: a couple times, I got a 3 day resupply for about $5. If you don't, the food will just pile up anyway.

apd07c
02-13-2014, 17:24
Plus, raid the **** out of hiker boxes: a couple times, I got a 3 day resupply for about $5. If you don't, the food will just pile up anyway.

If you aren't picky this can save you an enormous amount.

My shoes were about to fail one time on the trail and when I got to town found the exact same shoes, in my exact size, almost brand new in a hiker box with a note saying "my feet grew, too small for me now, enjoy!" Obviously, YRMV and this shouldn't be expected but it is amazing what you can get from a hiker box sometimes.

BobTheBuilder
02-13-2014, 17:37
My impression is that you are underestimating the lodging. The young 'uns can sleep in hostels, experienced folks such as myself like a cheap hotel room once in a while. I don't think $500 would cover me for a thru.

takethisbread
02-13-2014, 17:54
My impression is that you are underestimating the lodging. The young 'uns can sleep in hostels, experienced folks such as myself like a cheap hotel room once in a while. I don't think $500 would cover me for a thru.

while I agree with you (I'm all about the first class stop here and again for my old bones) this cats budget of $4000 is more than ample . I'd say luxurious . I spend less than $10 day on food and I have no budget . I have seen many hikers working a much smaller budget than that. young folks tend to party and that can get expensive . I met a cat last year who spent $800. he eschewed hostels and towns and hiked pretty quickly.



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bamboo bob
02-13-2014, 18:08
That sounds fine to me. The only thing I found to drive up costs was motels and or b&B lodging that you don't split with others. If you are communal and share lodging it's actually cheaper to split motels that a lot of hostels.

bishbash
02-21-2014, 20:08
I am planning on doing it in 180 days.

transport to start and back from end (to england).... 1000 bucks.
150 days hiking...15 bucks a day....2250bucks
30 zero days, boozing, eating, cheapo but clean accom... 80/day...2400 bucks
kit.. Sould have most of it, no need to spend too much...600 bucks

total 6250 bucks, or four grand english. Jobs a goodun for the experience of a lifetime. Anyway i wont be too thrifty as I wanna have a good time, can always whack it on the credit card if necessary. If in doubt throw money at the problem imo.