Budget for a 2 Person Hike...

[joshua5878]

I know the budget thing has been talked to death but a simple question I still have. I am starting the hike with my brother, we get along great, we are both easy going relaxed people. (we think) Lets assume we hike most of the way or hopefully the whole way, couldn't budget and money expenditures potentially be less. Obviously excluding gear but things like resupply's, we like the same foods, (cook one large meal and split) fuel, hotels (share a room) etc....
I was thinking possibly a 10%-20% reduction in spending if we are in fact able to travel together the whole way. I am off in my thinking??

[Lone Wolf]

$7000-$8000 for two

[snowhoe]

I think it depends on how much you and your brother stay in hotels,hostels and how much in town things you guys like to do. I think that for food you might save a few bucks. Dont know I have never done it.

[4eyedbuzzard]

... I am starting the hike with my brother, we get along great, we are both easy going relaxed people. (we think)
So why ruin that by hiking together? (joking)


Lets assume we hike most of the way or hopefully the whole way, couldn't budget and money expenditures potentially be less. Obviously excluding gear but things like resupply's, we like the same foods, (cook one large meal and split) fuel, hotels (share a room) etc....
I was thinking possibly a 10%-20% reduction in spending if we are in fact able to travel together the whole way. I am off in my thinking??

Yeah, you might save a little on food, laundry, motel/hostel, etc. but it won't be all that much, and the liklihood of two hikers actually completing the trail in lock step is probably much less than that of any single hiker. The reality is that most people drop out for a variety of reasons along the way, and that hikers who start together rarely stay together, so the odds of two actually completing the trail together are even smaller. I wouldn't even make it a consideration for budget purposes. The up side to hiking together is that you may be able to spur each other on at times, the down side is that one of you may drag the other down.

[ARambler]

I would guess it would only be a couple of percent cheaper on the AT. You may find that it is more reasonable to spend $50 on a motel than $20 each on a hostel. That extra money may have some economic benefits. For example, the night in sheets without the hostel snoring may encourage you not to take a zero.

Hiking together is likely to have a significant impact, on at least one of your budgets. It may be that one of you will drag the other into every bar. However, if you are working together, you can take turns supporting the other to get in and out of town with minimal expences. It is possible for most hikers to cut their budgets by 10 to 15%. So, hiking together may have a big impact on your expenses. If it does, it is likely that the budget will be just a small part advantage of hiking together, but as guys, you don't have to mention the touchy-feely stuff.

Out west, where there are many more motels/hostel and some pay by the load shuttles, the cost difference may be more significant.
Rambler

[The Solemates]

we were able to do it for around $4500 but we had all of our gear before we left and did not have to pay for transpo to/from trail

[bigcranky]

Sure, you will save a little bit. But most solo hikers already double up (or triple up) on motel rooms, anyway, and hostels charge by the person. You can save some money on mail drops or a bounce box by sharing (if you do either of these things), and you can more efficiently split some food and fuel items. I would think you could pull off a 10-15 percent savings (but then I agree with ARambler, that most hikers could do that if they wanted to.)

[garlic08]

The 10-20% reduction you're talking about is very reasonable. I hike with a long-time partner, and I believe we see that much savings, easily. We share motel rooms, a cell phone, shuttle costs, and laundry (that adds up). We split pizzas, half-gallons of ice cream, jugs of juice, etc. We do not share any gear though, so we can split up and hike independently at any time.