How much it cost me in $$$ to 'thru-hike' the AT in 2012

[evyck da fleet]

Here's my unbudgeted expense summary of my 2012 thru hike to give those in planning an idea of what it may cost to hike the entire trail and what the money is actually spent on. Those on a limited budget can pick apart areas where they can look to save money. I had all my gear purchased beforehand and am not addressing that here.

Gear $400 - I got lucky that I only had to buy one pair of trailrunners on my hike. I got a replacement pair under warranty and thanks to the wonderful people at The Doyle I got a new pair from the hiker box. The rest of the cost went to fuel canisters, Aqua Mira, tent repair kit and small things picked up at outfitters and for the hell of it I replaced two pairs of shorts, socks, underwear and a short sleeved shirt about 2/3rd of the way through.

Lodging $700 - I spent 32 nights in hostels or hotels(five nights total and only two that I didn't split with another hiker). This came out to about one every four days including 13 zero days in town.

Food (resupply) $975 - spent at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, grocery stores etc
Food (restaurants, bars, delis etc) $1,400 - somewhat surprised by this but understandable. A large pizza and a beer or Coke in each town, not missing any chances to hit up a deli or market within a mile of the trail and taking zeros in town adds up quickly. This could have been a lot higher if I was a drinker. Outside of Gatlinburg and zeros at Trail Days and Daleville I'd have a beer at most in towns. Guessing this accounts for about 1/3 of what I ate on the trail.

Travel $250 - Living in Atlanta helped keep this low. A paid for a few shuttles (back from Trail Days, to bus stop in Medway) a few buses to Bangor and a flight home to Atlanta.

Misc(postage and memory sticks) $75 - mailing home winter gear, mapsand memory sticks (which I bought along the way)

and $700 for side trips to NYC(twice) Boston and DC before getting home.

[JAK]

thanks for that
good stuff

[Grand Poobah]

How in the world did you get a that cheap a flight from Bangor? Im from Atlanta and it was almost 650$ one way from ATL to Bangor in July for my SOBO thur this year. So I flew to boston for 80$ and about 80$ for buses to Medway

[SCRUB HIKER]

Thanks for that, it could be really useful to a potential thru to see this sort of thing in one place.

I was keeping meticulous track of my finances until Pearisburg. At that point, it had become a) too depressing and b) too much work to keep up. I still have the ledger somewhere, but I remember off the top of my head that prepared town food was _double_ my resupply expenses--and I ate and drank modestly compared to some people around me. People who don't work town food into their pre-trip budget are asking for trouble, unless they know their self-discipline is monastically strong.

[4Bears]

Or roughly $2/mi for what looks like a great adventure and good time, thanks for sharing.

[Don H]

Good info, thanks, for posting.
I'm still sticking to my recommendation of $5,000 to do a thru.

It cost me over $400 just to get to Springer for air fare and shuttle. About the same to get home from Maine.
Replaced gear including 4 pair of trail runners at $100 each, one pair of poles at $125, and shorts and socks about $50.
New gear to start, not so much since I had most of the gear but I did buy a new tent at $250 and a new pair of shoes at $100.
Total $1,725 and I haven't hiked yet.

I didn't keep track of food, lodging, or restaurant expenditures but guess it was $1,000 each.

Any way you look at it I think the days of a dollar a mile thru-hikes are over :)

YMMV

[evyck da fleet]

How in the world did you get a that cheap a flight from Bangor? Im from Atlanta and it was almost 650$ one way from ATL to Bangor in July for my SOBO thur this year. So I flew to boston for 80$ and about 80$ for buses to Medway

Good catch. I actually flew out of NYC since the flight cost the same as Portland $108 on Airtrain. This way I didn't have to worry about when I finished the Trail knowing I had a place to crash with a friend from college for a few days before my flight home. It would have cost me $450 to fly out of Bangor on Delta. The bus trip to Boston is included in my travel cost since I'm sure I would have spent whatever getting from Portland to Boston if I had to time my finish to meet my flight.

[evyck da fleet]

I charged most of my expenses and since I have to track my expenses for my job when not on the trail it wasn't too difficult to break out the hiknig expenses. I think I spent $800-900 in cash on the trail at places that were cash only, where my credit card wouldn't work or to other hikers for the cost of a room or whatever.

I started with all new gear, less than a year old, and had a pole and a headlamp break. I got both replaced by Black Diamond under warranty so that helped keep the gear cost down.

There were a couple of reasons my town food expenses were high. One, I'm not a good cook and got tired of eating oatmeal for breakfast, ramen and pepperoni for lunch and a rice side for dinner every day with Lance crackers, peanut butter M&Ms and Starburst for snacks. I got sick of trail mix and didn't eat any from about mile 700-2000. I also stopped eating bagels with peanut butter once it got hot because I wanted my meals to have liquids in them to stay hydrated. Two, I have very little fat on me and was doing high mileage days so I had to eat a lot in town to make up for the daily calorie deficit from hiking. Three, I got a nice mental lift from eating something different and rewarding myself for little accomplishments. Four, every now and then if you're hiknig with people you like it's nice to head to town or a restaurant and let off some steam or have some fun.

[max patch]

Any way you look at it I think the days of a dollar a mile thru-hikes are over :)



I thru'd on a dollar a mile.

25 years ago.

[NLaeger]

Thanks for the break down!!! It helps to see what others have done when trying to figure out if it is financially going to be possible for my thru!!!

[garlic08]

Nice breakdown. My costs in '08 were amazingly similar, except my town food expenses were way lower--about $800. And I thought I lived it up, especially in the "deli-a-day" stretch in the mid-Atlantic.

How many days were you out there? My hike cost about $1000 per month.

[The Cleaner]

I hope that guy that says he's gonna hike the trail with 1000$ in the bank sees this:eek:.......

[Lost and Confused]

So, If you just hike, eat, resupply and avoid the tourist traps you could probably do this on $1500.00. I've been looking at a lot of videoes and the "hike to get away from it all" mostly winds up in town. Would it be possible to thru hike with only resupply and laundry stops? That would be hardcore!

[Don H]

Of course it's possible, but can you stick to it?

max, $2,100 in 1987 is equal to $4,288 today, adjusted for inflation.

[SOBO_Pace]

I thru hiked with a couple this year that thru'd on 4k. I also met a guy in Maine "lorax" who told me he would finish with spending under 1500.

[jj2044]

is it possible to make it to maine with 1500 ? YES, 1000? YES. im sure its even possible to do it for LESS!. but how likely is it ? how many people REALLY have the discipline to stay every night in the woods ?? 99% of the people i met on the trail went into town every chance they got, or damn close to it. it cracks me up every year you get these threads "1,000 hike". and everyone is going to stay in the woods and never go to town. i have noticed you never see these people come back and tell us how their trips went..
i met 4 (one couple) people this year that started with 1k or less, as far as i know none of them finished.... the couple had no money and were tryin to work for a week at uncle jonneys never saw them after that, there was a guy trying to make necklaces out of rocks and selling them, they were cool looking, but by damacus he was broke and was begging for food, like begging people outside of Quinceys for their left overs.

[Datto]

You can't convince people who don't believe in gravity that it's going to hurt when they jump off the cliff. Some people simply want to jump regardless of the consequences.


Datto

[evyck da fleet]

Link to my trailjournal www.trailjournals.com/Pacecar (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/entry.cfm?trailname=14043)

I do think it's possible to thru hike on much less. However, the people I saw that were able to hike frugally were experienced hikers who done several long overnight hikes in the past. I hadn't going camping since Cub Scouts 30 years ago so I would have been fooling myself to think I wouldn't stop in town nearly every chance I got. The young kids trying to hike on $1500 quickly realized they were ill prepared whether they admitted it or not and lived it up until about Damascus until they ran out of money. To be honest if that's how they have to learn what they'll need to do to complete a thru hike at least they enjoyed their hike while they were out there as opposed to stretching what they ahve as far as they can go and not enjoying themselves.

I met an young aspiring SOBO thru hiker in Maine who asked me if $2k was enough to thru hike on and I told him that if he neroed in and out of town and avoided the bars it was possible. He responded that he planned to hit the bars in the next town. I told him to enjoy his section hike and that I wasn't trying to be rude but was trying to give him realistic expectations.

[JAK]

Which begs the question, if you had one beer from every place that served or sold beer along the trail, how much would that add to a budget of $2 per mile?

[Mr Breeze]

I spent a total of $2500 on my thru hike last year. So it just depends whether or not you choose or plan to spend money while in town. I stayed in no hotels, and did not eat in any restaurants until i completed my hike. I spent a total of 3 nights in hostels, and only stayed in town long enough to resupply and shower. So because everyone has a different way they choose to hike, the opinion of total money needed to complete a thru hike will vary.

[prain4u]

I spent a total of $2500 on my thru hike last year. So it just depends whether or not you choose or plan to spend money while in town. I stayed in no hotels, and did not eat in any restaurants until i completed my hike. I spent a total of 3 nights in hostels, and only stayed in town long enough to resupply and shower. So because everyone has a different way they choose to hike, the opinion of total money needed to complete a thru hike will vary.

Congrats on completing the thru hike and for the low budget. To make sure that we are comparing apples to apples---Does this $2,500 REALLY include EVERYTHING? Gear replacement? Transportation to/from your home to Springer/Katahdin? Cost of mailing any food drops and mailing a
bounce box (if you used such thing). The cost of any food and supplies sent in a food drop?

What you report is about the lowest I have seen in recent years. You seem to have been very disciplined and avoided the high costs associated with going into town. However, your very disciplined $2,500 is still far more than what some overly optimistic people are dreaming of spending (i.e. $2,000, $1,500, $1,000 etc.)

[stranger]

Terminus to terminus...$5000, easy

[Mr Breeze]

Yes. That was my total spent. I didn't use mail drops, or a bounce box. I used only 2 pairs of boots, and had transportation to/from Springer and Katahdin through friends at no cost. I bought all my food and supplies along the way as i needed it. And you are right about avoiding the high costs of going into town. I took my zeroes in the woods, and hiked on ahead of the hikers i was with when they decided to stay in town for a day or two.


Congrats on completing the thru hike and for the low budget. To make sure that we are comparing apples to apples---Does this $2,500 REALLY include EVERYTHING? Gear replacement? Transportation to/from your home to Springer/Katahdin? Cost of mailing any food drops and mailing a
bounce box (if you used such thing). The cost of any food and supplies sent in a food drop?

What you report is about the lowest I have seen in recent years. You seem to have been very disciplined and avoided the high costs associated with going into town. However, your very disciplined $2,500 is still far more than what some overly optimistic people are dreaming of spending (i.e. $2,000, $1,500, $1,000 etc.)

[Peakhunter]

I saw where one dude hiked the AT three times, the first time he spent 5k and the next two times he only spent 1k and said he would never go back to the high dollar hikes.

[Stir Fry]

IMHO How much you spend has as much to do with how long or your hike is. 120 day hike costs less then a 180 day hike. a $100 a week is what I'm thinking.

[evyck da fleet]

I spent a total of $2500 on my thru hike last year. So it just depends whether or not you choose or plan to spend money while in town. I stayed in no hotels, and did not eat in any restaurants until i completed my hike. I spent a total of 3 nights in hostels, and only stayed in town long enough to resupply and shower. So because everyone has a different way they choose to hike, the opinion of total money needed to complete a thru hike will vary.

Congrats! How long did it take you to hike the trail?

I forgot to mention I took b/w 4 and 4 1/2 months. I thought it might be useful to others to let them know how long, how much and on what people spent money on while thru-hiking. I found last year it was easy to find out how long it took to hike or an estimate of how much they spent but no one really gave me a good idea of if I hike fast and hit towns how much it might cost? Or if I hike slow and avoid towns? Or any other combo just to get an idea. In the end I saved up $5k as that was the most common number I heard and spend a little more in town when as I realized I was gonig to finish well before 5 or 6 months.

I wish I could be more helpful to those thinking of thru hiing with gear and such but I was pretty much a newbie when I started.

[Big Easy]

are you including the cost of your initial purchase of gear with that?

[prain4u]

So, If you just hike, eat, resupply and avoid the tourist traps you could probably do this on $1500.00. I've been looking at a lot of videoes and the "hike to get away from it all" mostly winds up in town. Would it be possible to thru hike with only resupply and laundry stops? That would be hardcore!

The answer is PROBABLY "NO, you can't do it for $1,500" (Unless you have super powers). Read this.....


I spent a total of $2500 on my thru hike last year. So it just depends whether or not you choose or plan to spend money while in town. I stayed in no hotels, and did not eat in any restaurants until i completed my hike.I spent a total of 3 nights in hostels, and only stayed in town long enough to resupply and shower. So because everyone has a different way they choose to hike, the opinion of total money needed to complete a thru hike will vary.

I love this comment--and concur 100% (especially with the section that I highlighted:


.......how many people REALLY have the discipline to stay every night in the woods ?? 99% of the people i met on the trail went into town every chance they got, or damn close to it. it cracks me up every year you get these threads "$1,000 hike". and everyone is going to stay in the woods and never go to town. i have noticed you never see these people come back and tell us how their trips went.....i met 4 (one couple) people this year that started with 1k or less, as far as i know none of them finished.... the couple had no money and were tryin to work for a week at uncle jonneys never saw them after that, there was a guy trying to make necklaces out of rocks and selling them, they were cool looking, but by damacus he was broke and was begging for food, like begging people outside of Quinceys for their left overs.

[Chuckie V]

I've done the bulk of my thru-hikes (5 or 6 of them now) on the cheap, which is the same way I choose to live at home. Choose, because I'm not forced to live this way, thankfully.

Living inexpensively and closer to how man used to exist is part of the challenge I seek, and, most of all, it enables me to continue doing more of the things I love (travel, etc), rather than continually work to afford more stuff. Although I've never kept track of my precise spending during my longer hikes, I know the enjoyment I experienced had little to do with the amount I'd spent. This is likely not the case for most people, judging by the numbers willing to fritter their lives away at jobs they don't love, just to acquire stuff they don't need, to impress people they don't know.

And there was no sacrifice for me. And certainly no begging or stealing or mooching or yogi-ing. I enjoyed the experience of the trail---the physical challenge, the scenery, the peacefulness, etc---far more than what was on offer in the towns en route (even a good beer), and yet the trail was much, much more affordable. I doubt I'd ever opt to hike in the woods all day if I didn't love it as much. I think we can all relate to that.

Now, all this said, I carry more than enough of the funds I need, unlike so many younger hikers I've met out there. I don't even mind helping someone out, someone who might be in trouble, but if they walked straight into that trouble, well then, that's their own doing and their lesson-to-be. I suspect I'll meet quite a few like this on the AT, and I'd be happy to offer free floor-space with me out in the woods, except that I don't generally like those with a sense of entitlement.

[Peakhunter]

I have yet to do my thru but don't plan spending even $2000. I am in general a pretty cheap and disciplined person I really don't like spending money on myself unless it is essential. This is who I am and who I was raised to be plus I don't have the money for hotels and lots of in town meals and I also plan on spending less than 4 months on the trail so I think with all this combined I will meet my goal and possibly exceed it. By the way this doesn't include my gear and initial supply of food, but if and when I thru I will be sure to find this thread and post my success or defeat whichever comes. Seriously I won't have any extra money to blow so this will leave me without choice when it comes to pampering my self. Again as I posted earlier I know a dude who did it twice on $1000 so I know it's possible

[prain4u]

I have yet to do my thru but don't plan spending even $2000. I am in general a pretty cheap and disciplined person I really don't like spending money on myself unless it is essential. This is who I am and who I was raised to be plus I don't have the money for hotels and lots of in town meals and I also plan on spending less than 4 months on the trail so I think with all this combined I will meet my goal and possibly exceed it. By the way this doesn't include my gear and initial supply of food, but if and when I thru I will be sure to find this thread and post my success or defeat whichever comes. Seriously I won't have any extra money to blow so this will leave me without choice when it comes to pampering my self. Again as I posted earlier I know a dude who did it twice on $1000 so I know it's possible


I wish you much luck and I hope that you make it all the way (and that you are able to do so way under budget!)

However, I do wish to debate you a little bit...somewhat jokingly and somewhat seriously.

You say that you plan to spend less than $2,000 on your thru hike--but then you add: "By the way this doesn't include my gear and initial supply of food..." Well, gee, anyone can claim to have a low-budget thru hike IF THEY CHOOSE TO NOT COUNT THE COST OF ENOUGH ITEMS! :)

In order that people can realistically compare "apples to apples" in these types of discussions, I can see that people might exclude the initial cost of gear (because that is going to vary so much from person to person depending upon what they already own). I can also possibly see excluding the cost of getting to and from the trailhead at the start and end of the thru hike. (Again, it is hard to compare costs "oranges to oranges" if someone is driving just five miles to get to Springer and another person is flying from California or England).

HOWEVER, this next part is where I start to become perplexed and where I take issue with you. How does one realistically justify excluding the initial cost of food from the total cost of their thru hike?

Let me push this issue a bit further....Are you REALLY saying that if someone (prior to leaving home to start their thru hike) spends $1,800 on food for mail drops and the postage for mail drops (for their entire hike)-- it SHOULD NOT be included in the cost of the thru hike because it was purchased before the hike--and is therefore part of their initial food purchase?

Let me take this argument to an even more crazy extreme.....If someone (prior to leaving home) pre-pays their stays at hostels and hotels and pre-purchases gift certificates for restaurants that they will eat at during their hike--then they can exclude those costs too (because they were a pre-hike expense)? If that is the case, I am guessing that I could EASILY complete a thru hike for under $200. I would just pay for everything before I left home--that way it wouldn't count as a cost of the thru hike. :)

I think, if you really want other people to recognize the hike as being an actual "low budget" thru hike, you would probably need to include the cost of ALL food--even if you purchased it before you reached the trail. Otherwise, as I pointed out above, anyone could find ways to exclude enough items and say that their hike was extremely low budget.

[Almost There]

Something that should be mentioned for those needing to fly out of Maine, or into...It is usually much, much cheaper to fly into or out of Portland than Bangor. Just a tip for aspirants looking to save a couple hundred bucks.

[Peakhunter]

I wish you much luck and I hope that you make it all the way (and that you are able to do so way under budget!)

However, I do wish to debate you a little bit...somewhat jokingly and somewhat seriously.

You say that you plan to spend less than $2,000 on your thru hike--but then you add: "By the way this doesn't include my gear and initial supply of food..." Well, gee, anyone can claim to have a low-budget thru hike IF THEY CHOOSE TO NOT COUNT THE COST OF ENOUGH ITEMS! :)

In order that people can realistically compare "apples to apples" in these types of discussions, I can see that people might exclude the initial cost of gear (because that is going to vary so much from person to person depending upon what they already own). I can also possibly see excluding the cost of getting to and from the trailhead at the start and end of the thru hike. (Again, it is hard to compare costs "oranges to oranges" if someone is driving just five miles to get to Springer and another person is flying from California or England).

HOWEVER, this next part is where I start to become perplexed and where I take issue with you. How does one realistically justify excluding the initial cost of food from the total cost of their thru hike?

Let me push this issue a bit further....Are you REALLY saying that if someone (prior to leaving home to start their thru hike) spends $1,800 on food for mail drops and the postage for mail drops (for their entire hike)-- it SHOULD NOT be included in the cost of the thru hike because it was purchased before the hike--and is therefore part of their initial food purchase?

Let me take this argument to an even more crazy extreme.....If someone (prior to leaving home) pre-pays their stays at hostels and hotels and pre-purchases gift certificates for restaurants that they will eat at during their hike--then they can exclude those costs too (because they were a pre-hike expense)? If that is the case, I am guessing that I could EASILY complete a thru hike for under $200. I would just pay for everything before I left home--that way it wouldn't count as a cost of the thru hike. :)

I think, if you really want other people to recognize the hike as being an actual "low budget" thru hike, you would probably need to include the cost of ALL food--even if you purchased it before you reached the trail. Otherwise, as I pointed out above, anyone could find ways to exclude enough items and say that their hike was extremely low budget.

When I said initial gear and food I meant what I begin with in my pack, not mail drops or anything like that. Some people simply live more disciplined lives than other, most people I associate with think i'm half-cave man already due to my lifestyle, I live a very very simple life. I won't stay in hotels, I don't drink, I don't have any habits that require money. The only way i'm gonna spend $2000 is if I have to replace all my gear a ton of times and trust me i'm not gonna spend a ton on food. I don't spend much on food now because of the way I cook and eat, I do however expect my calorie intake to be higher though. It is what it is, I hike hard and fast and love it and don't beat around the bush when I do it, but I still have fun. I guess you could say I just "hike my own (cheap) hike!" I'm not gonna argue about it, again it is what it is. Good Day.

[BuckeyeBill]

I'll admit that in the beginning, I thought I could do a thru Hike on a Low budget. Then I began to read the threads and realized that it was not being realistic. Even buying food ahead of time and having mail drops, you will still spend more than $1000-$1500.00. After reading several forums in addition to WB, I felt the Boy Scout motto come back to me "Be Prepared". Are you going to continue your health care coverage to protect you in the event of a severe injury? WHat If you need air lifted off the mountain? You can't say that won't happen to me, because it could. I now look at it this way, I am going into my hike with $5400 to start. I plan to be frugal as I can be while still enjoying myself. Any money left over will go into a fund for my nesxt thru hike.

[CarlZ993]

I'll admit that in the beginning, I thought I could do a thru Hike on a Low budget. Then I began to read the threads and realized that it was not being realistic. Even buying food ahead of time and having mail drops, you will still spend more than $1000-$1500.00. After reading several forums in addition to WB, I felt the Boy Scout motto come back to me "Be Prepared". Are you going to continue your health care coverage to protect you in the event of a severe injury? WHat If you need air lifted off the mountain? You can't say that won't happen to me, because it could. I now look at it this way, I am going into my hike with $5400 to start. I plan to be frugal as I can be while still enjoying myself. Any money left over will go into a fund for my nesxt thru hike.
Bill, that sounds like a pretty reasonable approach. I'm factoring what I THINK I'll spend on the trail and budget a little more than that. I'll transfer a set amount from my savings to my checking every month. That should cover the ATM withdrawals and the credit card bills. I EXPECT to have money left over. That will go back into my vacation account. If something unexpected comes up or I find I'm spending more money than I expected, the extra financial cushion should suffice.

We'll see how it goes. Some of the best laid battle plans get drastically altered once the bullets start flying.