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seasparrow
01-27-2012, 08:13
So im looking at forming a general budget for 150 day thru hike.Kind of a minimum.
So far i have:

150 days X 10.00 per/day for food = $1500.00
150 d / 1 hostle per 14 days = 11 stays X 20.00=$220.00
150 d / 12oz Heet btl,6day [email protected]=$62.50
11 X Dinners at hostle stops @ 7.00 ea= $77.00
Tips for services $50.00
gear replace,new,fix... $100.00
Bus back to home $80.00


total =$2089.50

please list your Idears.
THIS IS A SPENDING BUDGET NOT A HOW MUCH $ to BRING.

Storm
01-27-2012, 08:44
I am planning on more like a $15 a day average for food and allowing for a hostel/motel stay once a week. Also replacing shoes alone is going to be more than $100. I'm not sure about the price of heet/alcohol along the trail but $2.50 for a bottle of heet sounds pretty cheap. You might have more will power than me but I won't be passing up many fast food or all you can eat places. That would add to your food money also. And nothing in your budget for any shuttles, I know you can probably get by without them but I'm going to budget for a few just in case. Bottom line is I'm setting aside $5000 for my hike and taking a credit card. I have been planning this for two years and sure don't want to be worried about where my next meal will come from on the trail.

Then again this is just my hike. Wish you all the best on yours.

MedicineWoman2012
01-27-2012, 19:42
If I get the opportunity for a fast food meal or buffet..I am alot less likely to have the determination and self discipline to return to the trail promptly. Ha ha! I have encountered these wonderful places after a 10 day hike and its great to enjoy at the end but during a very long hike I am afraid it would make it more difficult for me to return to the dehydrated meals...same goes for a motel stay some place unless I am sharing it among alot of other hikers.

The Monk
01-27-2012, 20:12
No real budget here...I have general expenses down, but I am not going to limit myself with precise dollar figures on this journey. My primary concern is my health on this journey. I am flexible and can eat the darndest things when nothing else is available, but if the opportunity for a nice, healthy meal avails itself, I will not be looking at a budget to see if it is alright. I will more than likely opt for a single room than a share a room, if I can help it, unless, of course, it absolutely benefits someone else on the trail. No, I am not wealthy, but I did save my wampum for this trip.

SnakeSession
02-08-2012, 19:30
Really like your budget there Seasparrow! Sounds good to me and about the same thing I was looking at. Maybe a little more for the return trip and maybe a little more for some extra pairs of shoes and 'unknowns'. But think this is very doable with some will power to not eat in town so much. Goodluck!

skypup888
02-08-2012, 21:57
Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

Derek81pci
02-08-2012, 23:21
$6.66 a day... total.
That's not even enough for food, unless you are an amazing hunter/forager.

leaftye
02-08-2012, 23:36
Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

You should be fine as long as you're able to cover some very big miles or scavenge for food in hiker boxes and such.

skypup888
02-09-2012, 07:55
no ill be eating alot of ramen noodles :)

blackbird04217
02-09-2012, 10:16
I will call you crazy even though I know it is possible, I hit (~$1150). You will not be staying at hostels, or eating in town very often. You will have to constantly work out the budget as you work along and forgo a lot of things that would be fun. It gets old to tell good friends that "sorry guys, I have to pass," and hike on out without them, knowing they will have a blast in town. You will need to hope your gear holds up. There are a lot of sacrifices that will be made, but yes- it can be done.

Please though, don't stay at the donation hostels without leaving $5 or whatever is suggested; if you can't afford it, move on out - I heard of too many people abusing that system, and for what? A night on a wooden platform?

I aimed for $2500, which would have been a very cushy budget for me in 2009, however after everything settled down I ended up with $1000. (Plus a lot more to pay the student loans while hiking, which I dipped into at the end.) I knew it wouldn't be a breeze, but since I was already walking north, I wasn't going to stop. I put my mind to it, did what I needed and made it happen. But I stress, don't leave planning on only $1000.

-Animal
02-09-2012, 11:10
Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

You want crazy? My plan is- Less then $1,000 for everything, including gear. And I plan on over 7 months on the trail with no stops in trail towns for 4 whole months. With no hiker box raids or yogi begging. And I should have $2,000 or more when I’m done without working or doing anything illegal. And in the 7+ months I plan to do over 4,000 miles of walking on the 2,188 mile trail. Now that’s crazy.

skypup888
02-09-2012, 15:00
You want crazy? My plan is- Less then $1,000 for everything, including gear. And I plan on over 7 months on the trail with no stops in trail towns for 4 whole months. With no hiker box raids or yogi begging. And I should have $2,000 or more when I’m done without working or doing anything illegal. And in the 7+ months I plan to do over 4,000 miles of walking on the 2,188 mile trail. Now that’s crazy.just a lil bit are you planing on heading back south as soon as you finish? and how in the world are you gonna make money while your out there?

-Animal
02-09-2012, 15:50
just a lil bit are you planing on heading back south as soon as you finish? and how in the world are you gonna make money while your out there?

Yes, I’m heading south after… and if I told you how I make money hiking then everybody would be trying it and I couldn’t make a cent.

Don H
02-09-2012, 18:50
$77 for dinners for the entire trip? I spent more than that in one town! By the time you get to VA you'll be so hungry you'll be eating 3 dinners at a time!

Ohio Grown
02-10-2012, 19:43
no ill be eating alot of ramen noodles :)

And one of those will hold you over for what, 10 minutes?

leaftye
02-10-2012, 20:43
And one of those will hold you over for what, 10 minutes?

In 2010, I was burning at least 8000 calories a day over the two months I was on the trail. I'm in better shape now, and have gone ultralight, so let's say I now burn 6000 calories a day. Given a 14 hour hiking day, and 380 calories per package of ramen, it would hold me over for 53 minutes.

SETX_Mason
02-11-2012, 16:53
Ive got $2100 right now and if i save 300 a week (can probably do 350 a week if i cut down some more) i got 5 more pay checks till March the 12, thats another $1500.... and income tax im getting $322 back( was not happy about that figure by the way when i found out) um im looking at tops $200 from Family and a free ride from Texas to the Trail head.....

um wait i forget i just got a second job so im looking at maybe at tops 300 from flipping burgers at DQ after my main job lol

So total budget to work with is looking a little over $4000,... unless some thing crazy happens and i lose my awesome job before i quit it lol

SETX_Mason
02-11-2012, 16:56
And by the way im only a couple of hundred short of where i had hoped to be so im doing ok,... if only i had started saving last year when i decided to do this that way i could hook up people hiking with me on a town meal every so often

Bazilnorthbound
02-12-2012, 02:19
Im looking at like $2500. I already have a decent chunk of my food purchased and ready to mail, and my plane ticket is already purchased. Just gotta stay ontop of my budget, can't go crazy when I go to town.
Cant wait! :D

skypup888
02-13-2012, 19:52
joking, not just going to be eating just ramen thats insanity but will have some in my pack, and i will have extra money just going to be as conservative as i can be. Idk it will be a guess and test for the first couple weeks.

takethisbread
02-13-2012, 20:00
A thru hike costs $2000. That's the bare minimum for a reasonably healthy hike with reasonable gear and very little frills. One could do it for $1200 if they already had most equipment and were content to eat knorrs and ramen, and stay away from towns for more than a few hours. I'd like to be the first person to spend $20,000 on a thru. That's a record worth shooting for.

MedicineWoman2012
02-13-2012, 20:59
OH ! That would be a real treat for my feet and tummy each night I would get a shuttle to town and and back again bright and early to hike to next road crossings...teeehee! Just kidding...That would take the whole wilderness experience outta of it and it would no longer seem like a pilgrimage. Ha ha!

Derek81pci
02-22-2012, 23:53
I'm in the $4,000 bracket. Been planning this too long to be sidelined by something like money. I pushed it back from NOBO to SOBO just to have more time to save. Also, I like the upfront challenge of Maine, and the solitude southbounders get. Plus, I get all the hot water that I want at the hostels! No shower lines!

Ferrousknight
03-07-2012, 02:11
I put $3500-$4000

That's my cap, I hope to spend less than that. I already dropped a bunch on new gear to replace some of my heavy, dated stuff and I count that as part of the cost. On the other hand, I don't drink, so beer while in town isn't going to cut into my budget. On the other other hand, I kind of worry that it will cut into the social experience of hiking, but I'm not going to start drinking at 23 just for that.

turtle fast
03-07-2012, 03:36
Realistically a $1000 won't cut it to do the AT. Most hikers that had that kind of budget usually burn out before Harpers Ferry, I have personally seen it many times. Any gear malfunction would be a big hit to your cash reserves, forget about a great social life, and do not even bring up an injury and going to a clinic or something. Realistically $2500 and up. I have seen many cost around $5000 with all the bells and most of the whistles. The old adage a dollar a mile was true for the early 1990s, but now its like $2 a mile with inflation.

SETX_Mason
03-09-2012, 00:48
Update: im just breaking 5k now lots of over time the last 3 weeks.... i over shot even after buying a kindle and a android Max... quit my job today... im praying hard i can get my old job back when i Finnish money was too good.... but i figure i will burn the extra bit of money getting back to Texas(i refuse to fly due to TSA)

Pony
03-09-2012, 01:04
I predict the dropout rate this year will be at least 38.04%

AjR
03-11-2012, 18:51
I've got two years left in the Army before my wife and I start our hike, and I'm planning on saving up to anywhere between 12 and 15 grand. This is for new/updated gear, food, and any other expenses.

LDog
03-11-2012, 20:16
I predict the dropout rate this year will be at least 38.04%
Playin' it kinda safe, eh?

Hooch
03-11-2012, 20:35
I predict the dropout rate this year will be at least 38.04%But bear in mind that 89.3762% of all statistics are made up on the spot.