Budget for Thru-Hiking Couples?

[simplehiker]

Budget for Thru-Hiking Couples?

I was wondering if any thru-hiking couples had any input or feedback on your trip budget. Right now my wife (Aimless) and I are aiming (no pun intended) for about $6,000 for the two of us. We plan on taking a full six months on the trail and taking our time to see the sights. I have never been to DC before and we both have never visited NY city, so we plan on making as much of an adventure out of it as we can. Be cause of the two planned off trail trips and our savings looks like it is going well I may be trying to increase this to $7,000-$7,500 to give us a nice cushion for any side treks.

The reason I ask for couple experience is the wondering the amount of shared expense as opposed to solo hikers. Such as shared hotel rooms, transportation costs, food etc etc.

Thanks for any feedback

[Jack Tarlin]

I think your budget is just fine, tho if you're in a position to add 15-20% you should. Most folks in their twenties seem to spend between 3 and 4 thousand dollars while hiking, tho this depends greatly on how much time they spend in town, whether they smoke and drink, how much they want to pamper themselves when in town, etc.

You'll discover that "couples" frequently save on things. For example, you'll presumably be sharing a tent, stove, cookpot, etc. This means fewer things to buy before you leave, and less pack weight as you guys can split things up.

As you mentioned, you'll be sharing motel rooms rather than paying for your own. Shuttling is usually "by the head" without discounts for pairs, so you won't save anything here.

One place to save is with food purchases; with many items, it's cheaper to buy stuff in larger quantities or packages when shopping, and then split them up.

If you haven't already, check out Weathercarrot's excellent article on hiking on a budget (see Articles section of WB); there's all sorts of useful information there.

But bottom line is that $7-9,000.00 should be just fine for the two of you, and you can certainly get by on less.

[dje97001]

We decided that while we hopefully will save money on sharing motel rooms and various other grocery shopping trips, it makes sense to save/budget as if you each had solo hikes. For instance, it is possible that, hiking solo, you would opt to share motels with the other solo hikers you meet. Or share the cost of resupply items that might be easily portioned into two/three/whatver. So the overall cost in $/mile figure might already count these instances.

This was how we considered the issue...
2 people at $1/mile = $4351.20
2 people at $1.50/mile = $6526.80
2 people at $2.00/mile = $8702.40
2 people at $2.50/mile = $10878.00
2 people at $3.00/mile = $13053.60

I'm sure you could do the math too:rolleyes: but maybe it helps to see things spelled out. I think the consensus on here seems to be that $1/mile is doable, if you avoid towns (and restaurants) like the plague and are very lucky about potential gear replacement costs. There was a poll a while ago about how much people spent per mile. We'd be much happier to spend $1.50/mile than 2+. You could buy a used car with the difference (or rent around here for 3-4 months).

[Peaks]

Can two people hike cheaper than one?

Jack alluded to many costs usually are by the head, such as shuttles and hostels. For food, you will probably use, say 2 packages of Liptons rather than one for a meal. So, no savings because your wife is with you.

But, I'd suggest that you really think long and hard about your town costs. Guys who hike on the cheap tend to get into town, and get out again. When I hike with my wife, I know that she appreciates more pampering town ammenities than I. So, rather than go in and out of town, you might stay over in town. And rather than go to a hostel, you might share a motel room. And rather than go to the cheapie burger for meals, you might go to a real restraurant.

So, on this basis, if my wife were to join me for a long distance hike, I'd certainly expect to spend much more than if going solo. (did I say that right?)

[Spirit Walker]

There is also the fact that as a solo hiker, you may share a motel room with 5 other hikers. As a couple, it is a good idea to get a room for just the two of you, at least occasionally. (Hard to feel romantic when you're tired and sore and filthy -- much easier when you're clean and dry and fed.) You'll also be more likely to stay at a motel or B&B instead of a hostel, where possible.

That said, $6000 should be enough for the two of you, though any extra makes a good cushion, especially since you're planning to visit a couple of extremely expensive cities.

[The Solemates]

i think we spent about $3500-$4000 on our thru. that included everything from buying new gear before we started to food, hostel stays, and transportation.

[camich]

i think we spent about $3500-$4000 on our thru. that included everything from buying new gear before we started to food, hostel stays, and transportation.

I think that's pretty impressive considering that includes all your equipment. How often did ya'll eat in town and stay in hotels?

[The Solemates]

I think that's pretty impressive considering that includes all your equipment. How often did ya'll eat in town and stay in hotels?

we had most of our equipment already. we probably bought less than $400 in equipment before starting. we didnt buy any equipment along the way. we ate in every town we went to, but did not necessarily stay somewhere but once every 10-14 days. we lived near the southern terminus, so we did not have transportation costs there. and we drove home from katahdin with friends and family instead of flying.

[RITBlake]

Look up or PM the user KHaynie. He and his wife thru hiked this year. Keith is a math whiz and I'm sure he could give you a nickel and dime description of everything they spent money on and a full budget report. They even kept their receipts from town so they could balance the books at night. I'm sure he'd be happy to help ya.

[khaynie]

My wife and I spent approx 5k (cost is exclusive of gear expense and trip to Maine - had all of our gear before trip and plane ticket was bought a long time in advance) on our thru-hike. We stayed overnight in (mostly in hotels) at least once a week. There were several off trail trips we took, too.

Setting a weekly budget helped keep our costs in line. For example, if you have allotted yourself 6k for 6 months, try to spend no more than 250/week. I know that's pretty basic, but it was certainly helpful about 1/2 through the trip when your finances seem like a distant memory...

[Old Spice]

Take turns eating. Today I eat, tomorrow you eat. I am sure you could pinch a few pennies this way.

[PROFILE]

I think we spent around $4000. This does include some re-gearing while hiking. We also spent many nights in hotels by ourselves but most towns we were in hostels. We also spent 3 days in NYC.(stayed in hostel, but had to book from delaware water gap to get a room).

[gravityman]

We hiked this past year, and spent about $7500 including all gear changes on the trail (1 pack, many trail runners, and a lost pole) and transportation to GA (Parents picked us up in ME). Also included all food, as we bought on the trail (only 2 mails drops - NOC/Wesser and Fontana (not needed if you go to the Village). We ate really well in towns, and enjoyed ourselves. We never did do a side trip though, as we were always focused on the trail. It might have help, especially during the terrible heat on June/July.

We didn't go cheap, but we didn't go excessive either. We stayed in Hostels when we could, unless there was a better option (B&B's are usually better than Hostels, but Hotels weren't in our experience). We stayed in B&B's when we had the chance, and they were reasonable (Highly suggest Duckett House in Hot Springs, Lazy Fox in Damascus, Dutch Haus in N. Virginia and Tree Street Inn in Waynesburough) at $60 for two including breakfast. This was almost always cheaper than a hotel if you factor in the breakfast cost.

We did have a few expensive hotel stays that we absolutely needed, as it was either hotel or go insane (and leave the trail) at Bear Mnt NY and Conn (I forget the town). Sometimes it's just a must, especially as two people, IMHO. The hotels got very expensive up north, and we ended up not staying in as many as we did down south, and the B&B options completely dried up after VA.

In my opinion, it's good to budget, but make sure you have some emergency money. The lost wages of the hike are a very high cost, and so you want to get it done the first time, and you don't want your money to kick you off. In 2001, on our first try, we tried to watch our money much more closely (just being out of grad school, there wasn't that much to watch) and we made some bad choices with shoes (using perviously bought ones that weren't exactly the right size) which ended up with an injury (squeezed the foot, causing a neuroma) and eventually forced us off trail. We also didn't want to see a doctor because of money reason, and an intestinal illiness turned much worse, and also was a major contributing factor to leaving the trail. If you know you have the extra cash in that background, it will help ease the decision making process to take care of yourself and your wife, rather than try to conserve, and end up costing you the hike. I wouldn't say "cancel the hike if you don't have the emergency money" but I would say having it helps go a long way to increasing your chances of success.

Gravity (and Danger) (http://www.trailjournals.com/gravityanddanger)

[java]

In 2001 we spent close to $10,000 on our thru-hike. We had a grand time, took 6 and 1/2 months, had about 30 zero days and don't regret a thing. My feeling was that this was probably the only time in our lives that we would have 7 months off from school/jobs/mortgages/kids/pets, etc., so we took a big fat fun vacation, and hiked to Maine at the same time.
Oh, we are also still paying for it...life.

[The Solemates]

We hiked this past year, and spent about $7500 including all gear changes on the trail (1 pack, many trail runners, and a lost pole) and transportation to GA (Parents picked us up in ME). Also included all food, as we bought on the trail (only 2 mails drops - NOC/Wesser and Fontana (not needed if you go to the Village). We ate really well in towns, and enjoyed ourselves. We never did do a side trip though, as we were always focused on the trail. It might have help, especially during the terrible heat on June/July.

We didn't go cheap, but we didn't go excessive either. We stayed in Hostels when we could, unless there was a better option (B&B's are usually better than Hostels, but Hotels weren't in our experience). We stayed in B&B's when we had the chance, and they were reasonable (Highly suggest Duckett House in Hot Springs, Lazy Fox in Damascus, Dutch Haus in N. Virginia and Tree Street Inn in Waynesburough) at $60 for two including breakfast. This was almost always cheaper than a hotel if you factor in the breakfast cost.

We did have a few expensive hotel stays that we absolutely needed, as it was either hotel or go insane (and leave the trail) at Bear Mnt NY and Conn (I forget the town). Sometimes it's just a must, especially as two people, IMHO. The hotels got very expensive up north, and we ended up not staying in as many as we did down south, and the B&B options completely dried up after VA.

In my opinion, it's good to budget, but make sure you have some emergency money. The lost wages of the hike are a very high cost, and so you want to get it done the first time, and you don't want your money to kick you off. In 2001, on our first try, we tried to watch our money much more closely (just being out of grad school, there wasn't that much to watch) and we made some bad choices with shoes (using perviously bought ones that weren't exactly the right size) which ended up with an injury (squeezed the foot, causing a neuroma) and eventually forced us off trail. We also didn't want to see a doctor because of money reason, and an intestinal illiness turned much worse, and also was a major contributing factor to leaving the trail. If you know you have the extra cash in that background, it will help ease the decision making process to take care of yourself and your wife, rather than try to conserve, and end up costing you the hike. I wouldn't say "cancel the hike if you don't have the emergency money" but I would say having it helps go a long way to increasing your chances of success.

Gravity (and Danger) (http://www.trailjournals.com/gravityanddanger)

if you count the $600 on hospitable bills that we had to pay when lady solemate developed the beginning signs of an ulcer (from gorging ourselves on pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream in town), then our figure will be raised respectively.

but i think $7500, and certainly $10K are a bit excessive for a thru-hike.

[The Solemates]

hospital...

[gravityman]

if you count the $600 on hospitable bills that we had to pay when lady solemate developed the beginning signs of an ulcer (from gorging ourselves on pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream in town), then our figure will be raised respectively.

but i think $7500, and certainly $10K are a bit excessive for a thru-hike.

Thanks. Glad you can say so clearly that our hike was "excessive." We didn't wear diamond studded running shoes or anything.

Gesh... It's what we spent. It's still less than $2 per mile per person that most people will suggest budgeting now a days.

I believe that we had "true cost accounting" of our hike (as in we transfer a set amount of money in to our account every month from which I subtracted our morgage payment and other costs associated with the house), and that is where that figure comes from. I submit that some people don't do "true cost accounting" and end up with a significantly lower number (like leaving doctor bills out).

Also keep in mind, this was for 6 months. For 5 months it drops to 6250.

Sure, you can hike for less. There are plenty of ways to do that, but I was just trying to help answer the question of how much other couples have spent.

Keep in mind, just graduating from undergrad you have a much lower standard of living, and can do with a lot less. Our 2001 1/2 way hike was a whole lot cheaper (we had just finished grad school, which has a slightly higher standard of living than an undergrad, but not too bad) than what we had spent by our 2005 1/2 way point (where we were coming from a world where we owned our own house, two good jobs, and a different lifestyle - we didn't sleep on the floor at home anymore!), but we were doing a TON better by that point, because we didn't have to worry about the cash. But that's just us. Everyone will have a different experience.

Enjoy, and don't let anyone tell you that you aren't hiking right because you are spending too much money. We all do the same miles out there. No one is carrying you on their backs (although, if we could have found someone to do that... no! :)

Gravity

[The Solemates]

Thanks. Glad you can say so clearly that our hike was "excessive." We didn't wear diamond studded running shoes or anything.

Gesh... It's what we spent. It's still less than $2 per mile per person that most people will suggest budgeting now a days.

I believe that we had "true cost accounting" of our hike (as in we transfer a set amount of money in to our account every month from which I subtracted our morgage payment and other costs associated with the house), and that is where that figure comes from. I submit that some people don't do "true cost accounting" and end up with a significantly lower number (like leaving doctor bills out).

Also keep in mind, this was for 6 months. For 5 months it drops to 6250.

Sure, you can hike for less. There are plenty of ways to do that, but I was just trying to help answer the question of how much other couples have spent.

Keep in mind, just graduating from undergrad you have a much lower standard of living, and can do with a lot less. Our 2001 1/2 way hike was a whole lot cheaper (we had just finished grad school, which has a slightly higher standard of living than an undergrad, but not too bad) than what we had spent by our 2005 1/2 way point (where we were coming from a world where we owned our own house, two good jobs, and a different lifestyle - we didn't sleep on the floor at home anymore!), but we were doing a TON better by that point, because we didn't have to worry about the cash. But that's just us. Everyone will have a different experience.

Enjoy, and don't let anyone tell you that you aren't hiking right because you are spending too much money. We all do the same miles out there. No one is carrying you on their backs (although, if we could have found someone to do that... no! :)

Gravity

i was just trying to give an opinion to the person who started this thread. our figure certainly didnt include mortgage payments on a house. does yours? i couldnt tell from the "true cost accounting" discussion. we lived in an apartment, stopped the rent, stopped cell phones, stopped car insurance, stopped all bills, had no debt. had no bills whatsoever on our thru. now we own a house and have all that, but would sell it all again if we were to do another thru. i just think thats the way to go, but then again we remodel houses on the side so we have no problem moving from place to place.

[simplehiker]

i was just trying to give an opinion to the person who started this thread. our figure certainly didnt include mortgage payments on a house. does yours? i couldnt tell from the "true cost accounting" discussion. we lived in an apartment, stopped the rent, stopped cell phones, stopped car insurance, stopped all bills, had no debt. had no bills whatsoever on our thru. now we own a house and have all that, but would sell it all again if we were to do another thru. i just think thats the way to go, but then again we remodel houses on the side so we have no problem moving from place to place.

I think what you two are going back and forth about is a HUGE issue for people wanting to hike the trial. That is why we see huge spikes at the college grad age and retirement age. I am trying to take a lot of notes about my wife and my journey to actually getting on the trail. I think the difficulty and logistics of getting on the trail is the missing piece in all the books and webpages we all ready have about the AT or any other thru-hike.

We have been paying off all our debit but refrained from buying a house. So the only bills we have on the trail will be student loans from grad school and other minor upkeep bill stuff.

[The Solemates]

not trying to step on toes here, but.....thats why you should always pay your bills in full every month. and never borrow money except for a house or car. i have so many friends that are in debt up to their ears and its nobody's fault but their own. dont live above your means.

[simplehiker]

not trying to step on toes here, but.....thats why you should always pay your bills in full every month. and never borrow money except for a house or car. i have so many friends that are in debt up to their ears and its nobody's fault but their own. dont live above your means.

Even if a person can following your advice, unless they have a very good job and a very modest house and car payment most people can not afford to pay a house and car note for 6 months without income.

And I really didn't want to turn this into a high-horse lecture on how people spend there money or accumulate debit in our society..

[The Solemates]

Even if a person can following your advice, unless they have a very good job and a very modest house and car payment most people can not afford to pay a house and car note for 6 months without income.

And I really didn't want to turn this into a high-horse lecture on how people spend there money or accumulate debit in our society..

it all comes back to "dont live above your means." if you cant do it, then dont. in my opinion, if you want a thru-hike bad enough, you should either: 1) stop your house and car payments (by whatever means necessary, whether selling or renting them out) or 2) save enough money to pay for it all while you are gone. but by all means, dont let your debt just accumulate further. but thats just my philosophy, and it may not be right for everyone.

[roxy33x]

not trying to step on toes here, but.....thats why you should always pay your bills in full every month. and never borrow money except for a house or car. i have so many friends that are in debt up to their ears and its nobody's fault but their own. dont live above your means.

Not living above your means is often a lesson learned from experience. Its not a lesson you can learn from someone telling you when your young not to get a credit card. I am 23 and my husband and I are planning an 07 thru. It has been a 4 year ordeal to pay off debt aquired from cars and wedding/just starting out expenses... try telling a 19 year old who is making 7.00$ an hour not to live above her means

[roxy33x]

God bless those who can work towards a goal for years and not lose focus....

[The Solemates]

try telling a 19 year old who is making 7.00$ an hour not to live above her means

was i not 19 at one time?

[The Solemates]

God bless those who can work towards a goal for years and not lose focus....

thats the best part of an AT hike. way to keep the focus and pull out ahead!

[The Solemates]

was i not 19 at one time?

oh, and for clarification, i was making $8.00 an hour during school when i was 19. and $12 an hour working construction during the summers. so i was in the same boat.

[Aimless]

oh, and for clarification, i was making $8.00 an hour during school when i was 19. and $12 an hour working construction during the summers. so i was in the same boat.

Thank you soulmates I think we get the point that you are the greatest money saver, frugal person that is just beyond our simple consumerist desires. There is no need to keep going on and on about how people over spend. You sound very arrogant and holier than in your posts, which I am sure you do not intend. But the fact is that most people in the united states have problems with money where it be to poor education, predatory lending , lack of monetary skill or just plain consumer desire. There is no need to keep repeating the same thing going on about your money skills.

You are free to start a new thread talking about your budgeting and complain about other people debit, but please do not hijack my thread.

Thanks

sh

[simplehiker]

Thank you soulmates I think we get the point that you are the greatest money saver, frugal person that is just beyond our simple consumerist desires. There is no need to keep going on and on about how people over spend. You sound very arrogant and holier than in your posts, which I am sure you do not intend. But the fact is that most people in the united states have problems with money where it be to poor education, predatory lending , lack of monetary skill or just plain consumer desire. There is no need to keep repeating the same thing going on about your money skills.

You are free to start a new thread talking about your budgeting and complain about other people debit, but please do not hijack my thread.

Thanks

sh

This was my big mouth not Aimless. I guess that will teach her not to leave herself logged in... :rolleyes:

[dje97001]

As we are getting closer to our step-off date we're "discovering" all sorts of bills; random things that you just can't plan ahead for. Anyway, it is worth noting that if people counted the cost of putting their lives on hold in their thru-hiking budget it would be much much more than $1/mile: Lost wages+health insurance+storage of property+mortgage+car insurance (even if it is minimal)+car storage+other monthly debts+...+food on trail+hostels/motels+restaurants+transportation...

I think that the problem is that if you actually count the real cost of a thru (including all of those things) then you would have very few people trying to thru-hike because it would seem far too expensive. As a result, people only focus on the actual costs of hiking/eating/sleeping during that timeframe... and some don't even count gear in those figures. If you had no property, didn't want/need health insurance, were miraculously debt-free, didn't have a job that you left and still had the money to go thru-hiking... it could probably cost you $1-2/mile.

[The Solemates]

This was my big mouth not Aimless. I guess that will teach her not to leave herself logged in... :rolleyes:

were you talking to someone else? our name is the solemates.