Average Cost

[JanetB]

I am planning on hiking from Springer Mountain to Harper's Ferry this year. Since I'm female and 62 and used to a little comfort (just a little), I will take advantage of every opportunity to stay at a hostel or motel along the way. Combining that with food supplies, etc., can any of you give me an approximate idea of what this journey may cost?

[garlic08]

$1000 per month is a good starting point, then add a little for extra luxury. Then the question is how many months will you be out there? Don't know your hiking pace.

[MuddyWaters]

All depends on how well you like to live

Assuming you are slower end of hikers due to age, you will spend more anyway because will be on trail longer, if successful

If it takes 6 months, thats 26 weeks. On average with an overnight town stay once per week , you will spend money on restaurants and lodging. How much is up to you. $100 -$150 per day in town is easy to blow. If you are prone to spending extra days, and nicer hotels or B&Bs in places with them, you could spend $200+ per day, and it will add up fast.

Running out of money is a common reason people have to quit. They try to keep up with others with a bigger budget, or they party and blow thru their money. The most Ive heard of anyone spending was $15,000, and I dont know how they did that. It involved lots of alcohol Im sure.

[Harrison Bergeron]

I was surprised to find the motels incredibly reasonable in the trail towns, and the best place in town is often much less than a similar hotel back in the real world.

For instance, the best place I stayed in my long section last year was the Holiday Inn in Hiawassee for $70, and it probably saved my hike. The day before, I was so completely exhausted that I had decided to give up, but the guy I was hiking with (that I met on the trail), urged me to wait until I'd had a day in town before I made up my mind. We stayed here and my Atlanta kids drove up to see me. After an afternoon playing with my grandkids in the indoor pool, and BBQ at the fabulous Hawg Heaven Barbecue (not to mention two nights in a real bed) I was raring to go again. I even found almost my entire resupply for free in the Holiday Inn hiker box (where I discovered the delights of Mountain House)!

After Hiawassee, I was never tempted to give up again. It was like getting my second wind. The rock scramble up Albert Mountain was actually fun after that one weekend back in civilization.

The Microtel in Franklin was almost as good and cheaper at $58. They didn't have a laundry but the sweetheart manager of the place discovered us hiking the mile to the laundry as she was leaving work, and not only gave us a lift, she came back to get us afterwards! And the food at Fatz, Shoneys, and Vitos were fabulous.

The only bad lodging experience was the NOC. Even though they have a real hotel, we couldn't get it though the pot-soaked head of the kid at the desk that we didn't want to stay at the hostel (which they call "Base Camp"). It turned out to be $40/night for a bare 2" mattress that was so filthy that I covered it with my tent. The water out of the faucet was so cloudy that we filtered it before we'd drink it. There was no A/C and no screens for the windows so the mosquitoes ate us alive. And the worst part is that you're hostage to the NOC's three restaurants and their high prices (like $10 for a beer). But I have to admit the food and their selection of craft beers were really good. The outfitter was well stocked and reasonably priced.

So to answer your question, I would break the cost down like this:

A day in town:
$140 2 nights lodging
$60 5 meals
$30 misc (gear swaps, souvineers, etc)

A day on the trail
$15 Coffee and oatmeal, cold lunch (PBJ or tuna salad), and half a Mountain House 2.5 meal package.

You can go a lot cheaper if you stay at the cheap hotels and hostels where the kids hang out, and figure out something cheaper than Mountain House that you can stand to eat on the trail. But if you're like me, living a little better might be the difference between success and failure.

[colorado_rob]

Just for a reference number, I spent about 7500 for the entire trail, not counting my flights out east and back. I, too, like motel/hostel stays fairly frequently, maybe every 4-5 days, sometimes at nice places.

I never took any zeros though, so never two nights in a row somewhere. I pigged out in towns, but always fairly cheaply (pizza hut buffets, mcdonalds, etc).

I use a credit card for virtually everything, plus some pocket cash, both things of which I have accurate records for with online statements, so I carefully added up everything. some folks, it seems, tend to forget all the little things. Hence you'll see/hear some deflated cost estimates.

Bottom line, my guess is $3000-3500 for your springer to Harpers, I'm guessing 2.5-3 months, including trail food and town stops. Like Garlic says, a bit over $1000/month, mine was about $1500/month (nearly 5 months for entire trail), but I did sleep in some "luxury" a few times, including very nice B&B's now and then.

[JanetB]

Thank you! That helps a lot. I am an avid hiker and can keep up a good pace as well as anyone, so 2.5-3 months is what I'm anticipating for the ½ half. If it still feel good at that point, I'll just keep on going. Your description of motel/hotel frequencies is about what I had in mind. Appreciate it!!

[Gambit McCrae]

I, as a section hiker, will never really know how much it has and will cost me to hike the entire trail. I'm 36% done and have taken 34 trips. On average Ide say $200 a trip, after gas, shuttle cost, lodging and food.. and then there is the $500 Mass trip which averaged out to $10 a mile. I have spent about $7300 on the goal so far. Which means another $14600 and Ill be done? Nope because before Long I will have to fly to every trip I go on, limiting me to minimum 1 week durations. which limits me to at the most 3 a year. Thru hiking is the money smart way to do it :datz

[Traillium]

Perhaps not very relevant to the AT, other than my initial cost for gear:
I'm going to be thru-hiking our local Bruce Trail here in Ontario in May. About 900km and I'm planning on what I think is a fairly leisurely 40 days.
I've spent just over $2000 on backpacking gear. While I've taught outdoors most of my career, and together with my wife was a wilderness canoe guide for a while and have great paddling gear, I had to buy totally new gear for this my first backpacking trip. With our Canadian dollar dropping lower every day compared to your American greenback, gear here (much of which comes from south of our border) is significantly more expensive. So, hammock, sleeping bag, mat, pack, stove, clothing, and the sundries cost me a lot. My base weight is coming down from 9kg so I don't think I'm excessive.
I'm doing my own food, by and large. Re-supply will be via friends and family along the trail, to the point where I'll be sleeping off the trail for almost a quarter of the trip — analogous to (free!) hostels/B&Bs along the way.
If I include food + transportation spent on my behalf, I'm thinking my realistic expenses will approach $3000.
Over 40 days, that comes down to about $75Cdn per day …
Yikes!


Bruce Traillium

[Sarcasm the elf]

I, as a section hiker, will never really know how much it has and will cost me to hike the entire trail. I'm 36% done and have taken 34 trips. On average Ide say $200 a trip, after gas, shuttle cost, lodging and food.. and then there is the $500 Mass trip which averaged out to $10 a mile. I have spent about $7300 on the goal so far. Which means another $14600 and Ill be done? Nope because before Long I will have to fly to every trip I go on, limiting me to minimum 1 week durations. which limits me to at the most 3 a year. Thru hiking is the money smart way to do it :datz

Gambit, on the bright side it is possible that your hikes might actually be saving you money if you account for opportunity cost.

In other words, if you weren't hiking what else would you be doing? Many people wood otherwise be using their vacation time to fly off to somewhere tropical and expensive, or to sit on a cruise ship, or to pursue some other costly vacations. If you compare the cost of a week long hiking trip to the possibility that you might have otherwise drinking and eating overpriced food in at a resort in Turks and Caicos, then suddenly the hike seems like a bargain. Not to mention the health benefits of the hike compared to the average American's vacation.