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math_db8
04-24-2003, 14:02
Alright, I have all of my equipment and I'm pretty excited that I'll be leaving in about two weeks. I'm expecting to do Luray, VA to Katahdin from about May 11 to Aug 5. Now I'm wondering how much I should expect to spend.

I'm only planning five mail drops and I'm quite a minimalist, so from here, are there any ideas on the absolute least amount of money I could spend? Last summer I did a 9,000 mile road trip with a friend in an 18 mpg Explorer. Including gas, lodging, all food, entertainment, national parks, and everything involved in such a trip, we split a total of $900. I'm wondering if it's possible for me to come out ahead (excluding what I've already spent on gear) considering my parents have agreed to help out by giving me $100/month for food and expenses. If you think this is somehow immoral that I want to make money, I think I will deserve it considering I am paying my own rent (being my siltarp). It's not that I'm a penny pincher, i'm just wondering what to expect.

Peaks
04-24-2003, 16:43
For budget purposes, the general rule of thumb these days is $1.50 to $2.00 per mile.

The big variable is how much you enjoy towns. Hiking the trail is basically free. It's in town where you spend the money. So, if you enjoy creature comforts, and a day off in town, then you will spend much more than the hiker that gets in and gets out again from town. Limit your town time, and you can spend under $1.00 per mile. On the other hand, take a lot of zero days in town, and pay the price.

hikerat2002
04-24-2003, 18:10
Avoid towns when possible. Seriously. They will beckon you like Sirens for your money. Oh sure, you can get most anything you dream of, while hiking ,in the towns but you will spend $$. Take the amount of days you are hiking, factor a cost of about $1.50 to $2 per each 1000 calories of food you buy and go from there. Hostels, hotels, restaurants and miscellaneous add up. If you want to buy alot of food on the trail, consider buying it in a grocery store instead of a restaurant. No joke, but there will be plenty of food on the trail. Food cost me the most of anything on the trail. You'll know when a cost is justified. I just realize in retrospect now that restaurants were OK but if you can get your food in a grocer and hustle to the shelter or hostel to cook it, you'll save some money. There is a peer-like pressure to eat at restaurants that is self-imposed. I have met many hikers that just do not budget much for restaurants. But an AYCE every now and then is splendid!

Israel
04-25-2003, 00:22
$900 for 9,000 mile trip sounds good, but how long were you on the road? Either way, if you did that many miles and only 18 mpg and average was 1.50 per gallon, that only leaves you about $200 to spend on food and fun.

Sounds like you are good at living on a budget. I did my hikes for less than $1 per mile. Total costs for the two were about $1,600 and $1,800 for the entire trail, excluding gear.

Have fun!


Originally posted by math_db8
Alright, I have all of my equipment and I'm pretty excited that I'll be leaving in about two weeks. I'm expecting to do Luray, VA to Katahdin from about May 11 to Aug 5. Now I'm wondering how much I should expect to spend.

I'm only planning five mail drops and I'm quite a minimalist, so from here, are there any ideas on the absolute least amount of money I could spend? Last summer I did a 9,000 mile road trip with a friend in an 18 mpg Explorer. Including gas, lodging, all food, entertainment, national parks, and everything involved in such a trip, we split a total of $900.

Virginian
04-25-2003, 21:32
I would say that if you did a 9000 mile road trip for $900.00 including gas you should be able to do the AT for about $7.86. Have fun !!!

math_db8
04-26-2003, 02:15
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Virginian,
I appreciate your calculations! I was hoping I could keep my costs under $7, but I guess I can still hike this summer as long as I keep it under $8.

I take it as quite a compliment that you all are so impessed with my adventure spendings. You've given me advice on keeping costs down on the trail, so here are a few tips on keeping a road trip cheap:
1. Never refuse anything you're offered. A number of times we met people while out hiking or while camping along the side of the road who we ended up befriending. We'd either end up at their house or they'd tell us a place where we could stay along our way. That would usually mean free dinner, free laundry, free bed, free breakfast, and free stories from interesting people.
2. Never stay in hotels. We only stayed in one the whole time and that's because it was the Stratosphere in Vegas for $29.
3. Never eat at restaurants. I had my camping stove and even in Vegas, we cooked ramen in the microwave.
4. Draft. They say truckers hate it, but I can't find a reason for them to. And how can they get mad if you're too close for them to know you're there?
5. Gasahol if you can find it. In a few places we found gasahol and it bumped us up to about 23 mpg. (Side note--I find it interesting that it's more cost-efficient to drive an old SUV for a long distance than it is to walk the same distance on a free trail in the woods.)
6. Don't take women. In general, they just seem to take your money.
7. Don't stop driving. We folded down the back seat of the Explorer and padding and blankets. It was great to have a bed to stretch out on and if you don't stop, you don't spend.
8. Don't buy anything. Sounds stupid, but we just didn't buy anything unless we couldn't survive without it.

Alright, so those are a few things. Does anyone have any other advice on saving cash while hiking? I work in a conveniece store and I spent about an extra 30 min mopping one night, trying to find the highest calorie food per dollar. So far the winner is Little Debbie fudge brownie. 320 calories for 25 cents.

hikerat2002
05-03-2003, 18:06
Look into olive oil for a calorie source. Or any other oil, but I like olive oil especially. Does not go rancid. Cheap form of calories for the hike.

Virginian
05-04-2003, 19:50
Hey math_db8, I noticed that you live in Richmond. I live in Rockville,about 10 miles west of Short Pump. Email me if you need some help getting ready.

stranger
05-07-2003, 02:10
You need food to hike...plain and simple. If you shortchange your diet you will most likely get nowhere. Eat well, spend money and enjoy yourself...it's only money!

chris
05-07-2003, 10:20
I want to emphasize what was mentioned in a post above: If you want to go cheaply, stay out of towns as much as possible. Go in, buy supplies, get a meal, and then leave. Food costs are low in general, but once you start hanging out in town, you'll spend more and more. When I last saw Shrek outside of Hot Springs, he had spent something like $5 so far. He was living out of hiker boxes.