Shoestring Budget.

[SargeAT]

Would any of you guys know of any books or online resources that could give me a good estimation for how I could undertake the AT on a shoestring budget? We are talking $1,500-$2,000 equipment included.

[Youngblood]

Would any of you guys know of any books or online resources that could give me a good estimation for how I could undertake the AT on a shoestring budget? We are talking $1,500-$2,000 equipment included.

One place to start would be to go to the top of the page and click on the 'Information' button, then click on "Inexpensive Thru Hike".

[hiker dude]

One place to start would be to go to the top of the page and click on the 'Information' button, then click on "Inexpensive Thru Hike".

You mean weathercarrots journal? Well thats about the end of that discussion already. Can't find a better one. Pearl Jam.

[Youngblood]

Yes, it is weathercarrot's article but I don't recall it addressing the equipment issue. I recall a thread a while back about inexpensive gear that I think was on this site. Some folks are able to save money by making some of their gear but that usually takes a sewing machine, some basic skills, time and an understanding of what one wants. The choices of gear are influenced very much by how one feels about traditional backpacking versus lightweight backpacking versus ultralightweight backpacking. My advise would be to do a little research on this and determine which approach you want to pursue before you start trying to select specific gear. The internet has a lot of info, maybe someone can steer SargeAT to some informative article(s) that discuss what the various tradeoffs are.

Youngblood

[Jaybird]

Would any of you guys know of any books or online resources that could give me a good estimation for how I could undertake the AT on a shoestring budget? We are talking $1,500-$2,000 equipment included.

Yo SargeAT:


stick around my friend, & cruise these pages of knowledge from some of the thru-hikers of yester-year all the way to "just- completed- a- thru" hikers......their info. in invaluable......LISTEN....& ck the bulletin boards for "slightly used gear".....last years model gear, overstocks, watch for sales @ your local outfitter store (REI, Campmor.com) etc,etc.,etc,... BUT, most important besides cost is FIT....it's NOT a bargain if its not gonna fit properly!

Good Luck with your hike!

[I_think_I_can]

A couple of things I've found out so far, 1.) Wally world is now and forever will be your best friend, 2.) there are lots of sites out there with instructions on making your own gear, and 3.) get items that can be used for several purposes. Also, hamocks with a tarp cut out the need for a tent and are much cheaper.

Here are some of the make your own gear sites.
http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/ultralight/default.asp

Hope this helps!
Erin

[SGT Rock]

As for gear, here is a thread I saved before it died over on www.thebackpacker.com

http://hikinghq.net/300_challenge.html

You will need to tweak it for your needs, but you could get yourself a lightweight set up for $300. Some stuff would be better if you made it yourself instead of getting a cheapy Wal-Mart style piece of gear.

[weary]

Would any of you guys know of any books or online resources that could give me a good estimation for how I could undertake the AT on a shoestring budget? We are talking $1,500-$2,000 equipment included.

There's really not a lot of technical stuff that you need to know. Recognize from the start that yours won't be an ultra light hike. Start with used equipment. There are a lot of equipment freaks out their who demand the latest fads. Search them out for contributions or at least some bargain prices on last years fads.

Search the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores for cheap clothing. And used equipment sales for gear. Fill in with stuff from Walmart or Sears. I carried an $8 foam sleeping pad. To keep weight down make everything possible serve double duty. An ancient down jacket and ancient insulated underwear augmented my sleeping bag liner.

Start mid April when there is no need for super warm (and expensive) clothing and sleeping gear.

Most of my gear was a decade or two old. My only new purchase was a rain jacket ($18) from Campmor.

You can save a great deal by avoiding convenience foods. Lipton Dinners at $4 a pound are basically rice and macaroni with flavorings. The same food value is achievable with 70 cent a pound generic rice and 40 cent a pound pasta. Add your own salt, pepper and maybe bouillon.

Learn to like regular generic oatmeal. $1 a pound vs $4 for instant. The difference? A spoonful of sugar, two minutes, maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a handful of raisins or other dried fruits.

Avoid towns as much as possible and when there, work on the basics: all you can eat salad bars are a must to replenish missing vitamins. I typically carried a pound of fresh hamburger out of each town stop for it's protein value. I ate it all the first night. Tuna fish was also a trail staple -- the six ounce cans. Twice the food value at half the price of the smaller cans. Pouch stuff is just to expensive.

Scrounge the hiker boxes in hostels for stuff left behind by other hikers.

From time to time ignore all this advice. Remember this is a vacation.

Weary

[Dances with Mice]

Weary left out an important point - the Sierra Zip stove that I believe he carried -

http://www.zzstove.com/

- allows one to both travel without fuel worries and to cook inexpensive foods that take longer to prepare. You save on fuel and you save on food PLUS if you use it to boil drinking water you've eliminated a filter from your gear list.

There are disadvantages to the Zip but if equippment and travelling costs were primary considerations then I'd use mine.

[SGT Rock]

Started a new thread to talk about the gear end of the question: $300 Challenge

[Ramble~On]

$1500-$2000 and you have to buy gear out of that money ?
Ouch !!!
If you start off with $2000 and spend no more than $500 on gear
You're left with $1500. Next thing to consider is how far you have to travel to get to the trail. How much will it cost you to get to Springer. How much it will cost you to get home when you are done. Once you've calculated that you'll know how much money you'll have left for your hike.
It would have to be an ultra budgeted trip with little room for error.
I guess it depends on your resolve.

[weary]

$1500-$2000 and you have to buy gear out of that money ?
Ouch !!!
If you start off with $2000 and spend no more than $500 on gear
You're left with $1500. Next thing to consider is how far you have to travel to get to the trail. How much will it cost you to get to Springer. How much it will cost you to get home when you are done. Once you've calculated that you'll know how much money you'll have left for your hike.
It would have to be an ultra budgeted trip with little room for error.
I guess it depends on your resolve.

If you truly want to hike the trail and have only $2,000, there is no reason to spend $500 on gear. Sure. One can spend several thousands of dollars on gear. But, I'm posititive Earl Shaffer didn't spend $500 when he did his anniversary hike in '98. Nor did the homeless girl who hiked from Springer to Harpers Ferry in '93 -- nor did any of her companions.

I would in fact bring my Zip Stove. But all the trail pioneers cooked on open fires. The only shelter Everest carried was a blue plastic tarp. (about $5.) An empty coffee can and wire from a coat hanger for a handle supplies a cooking pot. A smaller can and a 60 cent plastic bowl are all you need for dishes. If you start well into April, most any fleece blanket with the two sides and bottom sewed will serve as a sleeping bag.

Coleman makes a perfectly adequate inexpensive backpack, though I suspect most people will have one around the house -- or a friends house. If not, Earl Shaffer carried a Korean War Army surplus pack, available with a little searching at Army & Navy stores. For weeken d trips I now carry a $12 day pack, purchased on sale at an LL Bean factory store, that would be adequate if one figures on resupplying every 2-4 days, as most do these days.

I once climbed Katahdin in February with a companion who made his own pack with a couple of straps and scrap wood.

I don't recommend this kind of gear for those with adequate funds. But they will do if you don't.

The trail is not wilderness -- at least not until one gets to northern New England. And by that time one can usually augment one's gear from the discards found in hiker boxes and left in shelters.

On a side trail in the Smokies I walked past a pack bag -- but not the frame. A half mile further on was a sleeping bag. Another half mile there was the frame, leaning against a tree. I figured some one must be quitting backpacking.

Weary

[SargeAT]

Alright, I have bent the rules a little bit in the fact that a backpack will be the most important piece of equipment I will buy. I went to Whole Earth Provisions down here in Austin, Texas and got fitted for an Lowe Alpine Contour IV. It dented me with about $230 but its a quality pack and was highly recommended by one of the employees, whom had hiked the AT. Now that I have that out of the way, I can still concentrate on a uh..."shoestring budget". Now that I have $1,500 to $2,000 to spend on the entire trail, aside from the backpack, any suggestions? The "inexpensive thru-hike" icon under information is more about cheap mail-drops more than anything...

[hiker dude]

Nothing cheap about mail drops today. That's the most expensive way there is.

[smokymtnsteve]

Nothing cheap about mail drops today. That's the most expensive way there is.

not really..the US Post office is really rather inexpensive,,and if you buy your food in bulk quanities then mail drops are not expensive at all and good food is hard to find along the trail and VERY EXPENSIVE if you can find it at all.

[Nightwalker]

(snip)
Next thing to consider is how far you have to travel to get to the trail. How much will it cost you to get to Springer.

I hitch-hike to and from trails a LOT. I've never had a bad ride.

Frank

[ATSeamstress]

Food Preparation:
Surf the web for articles on solid fuel and alcohol stoves. There are many patterns out there for homemade alcohol stoves. Mine is a Henderson Pepsi Can stove. It was easy and cheap to make and has been very reliable. Solid fuel doesn't even need a stove, just a dirt surface (or piece of foil) to burn it on and something for pot support. I made a pot support out of wire mesh and a windscreen from a heavy foil oven liner. Two cheap and lightweight pots can be found at WalMart (the Grease pot) and K-Mart (1 qt aluminum Mirro pot, use foil for a lid). Both are just a few bucks.

Two good references:
Check your library or friends for Lightweight Backpacking Secrets Revealed (video by Lynne Whelden) and Beyond Backpacking (book by Ray Jardine).

Clothes:
Check the Goodwill or Salvation Army for synthetic t-shirts and shorts, also nylon windsuits which you can cut the lining out of. You never know what you might find. Also as someone else mentioned, WalMart. Also some outfitters (like Galyans) have their own brand synthetic shirts which are much cheaper than the national brands. (The nylon shorts I wear, I found at an athletic shoe store for about $5 apiece!)

Remember too that gear can be an evolving thing, especially for people with more money to spend, or section hikers like myself who tweak the gearlist a little every year. Lots of us have extra gear sitting around. Just keep looking and keep asking.

[pvtmorriscsa]

Howdy All,

I have managed to save $2500 for my long assed walk next spring. I already have the majority of my gear purchased. When I do purchase the remainder of my gear it will not be out of my savings.
The question I have is will my $2500 get me from GA to ME? I plan on buying my food in bulk, and using maildrops for resupply.
I only ask, because I am in dire need of dental work, and while I can probably afford it, it will cut in to my ability to save up more money for my trip.
Thanks all for your time and consideration.

[smokymtnsteve]

Take care of yourself, get the dental work fixed before your hike, having a toothache on the trail would not only be miserable, but finding a dentist along the trail, could become a nightmare.

[Peaks]

not really..the US Post office is really rather inexpensive,,and if you buy your food in bulk quanities then mail drops are not expensive at all and good food is hard to find along the trail and VERY EXPENSIVE if you can find it at all.

The USPS charges based on weight and distance shipped.

Another cost to consider is that your tastes and quantity of food changes as you hike along. Consequently, many who rely on mail drops frequently put much of it into the swap box, and then go to the grocery store to get what they want.

Mail drops sound good ahead of time. However, most thru-hikers admit that if they were going to hike the AT again, they would do it with fewer mail drops.

That being said, hiking the AT is the experence of a lifetime. I'd suggest having enough time and money so that you can do the type of hike you want to do.