I bought all food in trail towns and never had a problem getting canister fuel. I don't use a lot of fuel but maybe bought four on the trail. They were readily available. I actually think hiking is cheaper than staying home. I'm retired so I don't lose income by hiking. Also it is cheaper to eat trail food than go out to eat twice a weak with my wife Town stops are not such a big deal price wise because you can split motel rooms with other hikers. Of course I only took four zero days and one was at my son's house and another at our home in Vermont but It's often cheaper to split a hotel room with other hikers, especially some cabins than the $20 you would spend on a hostel. when you figure your expenses think about the incremental cost of hiking instead of staying home. It really is an inexpensive trip. You were going to eat anyway after all. On the PCT I split hotel rooms at every town I went to , it worked great.
Here's the things that will add up for you ......Tipping shuttle services.Having to pay cash at lots of smaller motels.Really bad weather spells when you will be forced to "hole up" for awhile.Remember, if the weather is really bad, it's best to get into town and dry out, get organized then struggle to make 5-6 miles a day and run out of food. You wil not see good , safe weather until May
so im guessing it will save me money being under 21,.... wont be hitting any bars i imagine
Formerly 'F-Stop'
If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.
~ Dolly Parton
I'm a minimalist and I'm budgeting about $400/month for my NOBO thru-hike in 2012. That's roughly $100/week give or take and I'm a big bargain hunter. On the other side, I DO enjoy a hot steak sub and a few beers from time to time. I suppose I will be feast or famine! LOL, I have an emergency backup if I blow out a boot or my pack explodes and I need a new one but I'm not counting on that to get me thru. I think you can be happy on less if you're used to living a frugal life. I do agree that the more money you have, the more you tend to spend. It's all relative I suppose! See ya'll out there in March (27th start date for me).
It is NOT more expensive to buy and ship all your food. Priority flat rate boxes! My total spent for food an shipping this year will be < $800. buying food along the way gets very expensive! (Campstores and convenience stores can get very expensive) but I'm still planning on spending $1500 on lodging and resteraunt binges and transportation
The figure I always throw out is $7,000. Nothing sucks more than wanting to do something and not being able to afford it.
I hiked with 3 thru hikers for about 500 miles in 2010 and every time 2 of us wanted to do something the other 2 would say, "How much is it going to cost?" or "Does it cost money?" or something like that. I let them get ahead of me finally because it was such a downer.
And there's nothing wrong with having too much - $7,000 pretty much ensures there'll be enough and some left over at the end
I agree it's not more expensive. It's about the same. I spent just over $700 on food that went into my pack on my thru, buying along the way (that worked out to about $7 per day of actual hiking). And there are other benefits and problems in both ways, as debated ad nauseum elsewhere on this forum. Cost should not be a factor in this decision.
And it's a fraction of the total hike cost, anyway. My actual town food costs were a little higher than trail food, about $750. And I spent about that much on lodging, so, disregarding travel, your numbers are pretty close to mine. I treated myself quite well with food and lodging. A hiker's actions in towns will have a much greater effect on overall trip cost than shipping trail food.
Many hikers spend more than their entire food budget on new gear when they get to Mountain Crossings at Neels Gap, 30 miles into the hike.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning