Daily budget on the AT

[Slo-go'en]

Seeing how often this subject comes up, it really deserves it's own forum catagory.

All in all, even at a grand a month, hiking the AT (or other LD trail) is a reasonably inexpensive vacation. Taking say a road trip for a month would cost a whole lot more.

[JAK]

Whatever your budget I like the idea of budgeting by the mile, rather than by the day. $1 per mile would be a nice round number. Still gives some room to "save up" for hostel stays or zero days or really nice meal or whatever. You get behind and you have to haul some ass with minimal stops for a few days, or weeks. Better not to fall behind. I would keep the budget for getting to and from the trail at the start and end as separate from the hike itself. So there it is, pay yourself $10 for a 10 mile day, and $20 for a 20 mile day. I wouldn't count miles off the trail, like even if you walked in and out of town. That way you would know your budget for the entire hike, and easier to keep track. 1000 miles to go would mean $1000 to go, assuming the money is in the bank. No good having money in the budget if its not in the bank. lol.

[leaftye]

Well, I think the best way to save money during a thru hike is to hike faster, so train for that if you really want to save money.

You should also factor in the costs of things at home that you can't eliminate. Interest on loans and credit cards, auto and medical insurance, cell phone and internet plans, storage... I suspect most hikers hike without medical insurance because it's too expensive to pay without an employer chipping in. Auto insurance penalizes you if you have a break in insurance. Cell and internet plans are often for a year or two with a big penalty for ending it early. Storage may not cost all that much, but there's usually a 1 year contract, so it'll still cost after the hike is over. It sucks to think about how expensive a hike is... Fwiw, I plan to have $10k in cash available when I try to thru hike again. I've also been training to hike 30's from the first day without blisters or soreness, which should reduce the number of hiking days, and also reduce the urge to stick in town to rest weary feet and legs.

[Mountain Mike]

There are many ways to do a cheap hike. Public Trasportation close & hitch as opposed to shuttle. So it may take longer but if your bus/train arrives early enough you can get to approach trail & stay at shelter in Amicoloa. What is a day or two in a six month adventure. Town food is very tempting, but most of us cary stoves. Buy a potato, bacon & dozen eggs & you get a bunch of home fries, 6 instead of 3 egg omlett & some hard boiled eggs for next day. Some hamburg & bacon cheeseburgers for diner. On of best meals I had on AT thru was at hostel in Pearisburg. About a dozen of us had ended up there & decided to split cost & responsibilities of cooking burritos. As we sat there dicing carrots, tomatoes, lettice, cheese, etc. guy cooking the hamburg questioned what to do with the fat. We just let it congeal a bit & spooned it on. Still one of the best meals I can recall & I did my thru in 88! My point is to pool resources in town. Even 3-4 hikers can pretty much pool laundry in one load. That $4-5 laundry is now just over $1. If you don't want to cook $1 discount menue before you shop.

Shopping: Consider a bounce box. Buy rice, taters, ramens, oatmeal, nuts in bulk when you hit a big store, split it up & ship excess ahead to next PO or two. "Hybred Method" Avoids high cost of long distance shipping & won't have to deal with limited supplies/high cost at some gas station stop. LImit your zeros for these high maintenance stops & do a Nero at places where you mailed stuff ahead.

Avoid peer pressure! At some point you will probably meet up with & travel with them for a while. If you are on a budget don't feel the need to constantly hang out in town with them. You can hike out to next campsite/shelter & wait for them to catch up. Not to hard to plan for a Nero on AT. Camp close to town, put laundry in, shop/PO maybe luch hitch out & hike a little more. It is hard not to get sucked into town & spend to much money. Many trail town experiences are a big part of the experience of hiking the AT. I just hope I have suggested some alternative to keep you in budget.

[TD55]

Seeing how often this subject comes up, it really deserves it's own forum catagory.

All in all, even at a grand a month, hiking the AT (or other LD trail) is a reasonably inexpensive vacation. Taking say a road trip for a month would cost a whole lot more.

Not always true about the road trip. With a road trip you can buy and carry food in bulk, have more selection on "town stops", carry more clothing and cut back on laundry exspenses, etc. True, fuel cost jack up the cost, but if you are splitting it with others and limit the miles.....

[JAK]

The $1 per mile, or $2 per mile or whatever, would also make you think twice about how you would spend those 'hard earned' dollars, no matter who you are. lol

[Mountain Mike]

To watch the sun set over the mountains, see a vista very few people will see, make friendships in days that lasts years...even if ya have to eat generic oatmeal & mac & cheese everyday...PRICELESS!

[Sly]

Seeing how often this subject comes up, it really deserves it's own forum catagory.

All in all, even at a grand a month, hiking the AT (or other LD trail) is a reasonably inexpensive vacation. Taking say a road trip for a month would cost a whole lot more.

I agree, per month is the best way to budget. Per mile, or an outright figure doesn't cut it. Someone that hikes the trail in 4 months will spend less per mile, and less overall, than the person that hikes in 7 months a majority of the time, but their per month figure will be similar (depending on if they drink, smoke, stay in hostels or motels).

One could say per day is just per month divided by 30, but you can spend a week on trail at $10-$15 a day. Eventually, you're going to need to do laundry, (someone's figure above $3.75 doesn't include soap), get a room, have a few restaurant meals, beer, etc.

[nitewalker]

To watch the sun set over the mountains, see a vista very few people will see, make friendships in days that lasts years...even if ya have to eat generic oatmeal & mac & cheese everyday...PRICELESS!

i stay at my brother eds in ormond beach every feburary and march. just off the nort side of the granada bridge. the dates vary due to the daytona 500. i will be down there around the 23rd this yr. i plan on knocking off some of the FT. not sure what your schedule is but if your looking to hike hit me up then....

[Sly]

There are many ways to do a cheap hike. .

How much does a cheap six month hike cost?

[JAK]

But once you know yourself, you should be able to budget by the mile rather than by the month. Gives you incentive to get the miles in more steadily, and take less zero days in towns. Also you could keep track of you bank account just by looking at the miles-to-go. Mostly it would just seem funner to me. Like using the word funner.

[TOMP]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel. If you have to buy 1500 dollars worth of gear you probably haven't hiked enough to be able to complete a distance hike like this anyway. I thought most people have their own hiking gear before starting and don't plan to replace much on the way. And if laundry is adding up guess what don't do it. It still rains on the AT. Get some biodegradable soap out next time it does and figure it out. If you really spend 7k I can't imagine you are really through hiking anyway its more like 6 months of day hikes and then you retire to your hostel. If it's beer that's adding up well at least it's not more money then you would spend when your off the trail and it's always optional. Sorry if I am coming off negative, it's just hiking vacations aren't a cruise or resort or the spa. It's hiking, it's dirty, it's smelly (at times), and it's wonderful. See you on the trail.

[nitewalker]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel. If you have to buy 1500 dollars worth of gear you probably haven't hiked enough to be able to complete a distance hike like this anyway. I thought most people have their own hiking gear before starting and don't plan to replace much on the way. And if laundry is adding up guess what don't do it. It still rains on the AT. Get some biodegradable soap out next time it does and figure it out. If you really spend 7k I can't imagine you are really through hiking anyway its more like 6 months of day hikes and then you retire to your hostel. If it's beer that's adding up well at least it's not more money then you would spend when your off the trail and it's always optional. Sorry if I am coming off negative, it's just hiking vacations aren't a cruise or resort or the spa. It's hiking, it's dirty, it's smelly (at times), and it's wonderful. See you on the trail.

all i have to say is"BRAVO".... i wish i conveyed my point like that. i have trouble understanding the hi estimates. i think it may be relative to how you live off the trail.the more money you make at home means you need more on the trail. the people who just get by at home have already learned to scrape by. so trail life should be a breeze to them......

[leaftye]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel. If you have to buy 1500 dollars worth of gear you probably haven't hiked enough to be able to complete a distance hike like this anyway. I thought most people have their own hiking gear before starting and don't plan to replace much on the way. And if laundry is adding up guess what don't do it. It still rains on the AT. Get some biodegradable soap out next time it does and figure it out. If you really spend 7k I can't imagine you are really through hiking anyway its more like 6 months of day hikes and then you retire to your hostel. If it's beer that's adding up well at least it's not more money then you would spend when your off the trail and it's always optional. Sorry if I am coming off negative, it's just hiking vacations aren't a cruise or resort or the spa. It's hiking, it's dirty, it's smelly (at times), and it's wonderful. See you on the trail.

Why would a dirt bagger be buying a fuel? Use wood fires to cook. Hiking prima donna!


I'd like to see a detailed meal plan that includes trail town price estimates and 4500 calories that only costs $10 a day.

As far as gear goes, you've been on the trail haven't you? There are plenty of people that start with the wrong gear. Maybe even the majority of people.

[Sly]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel.

You can be a dirt bag if you want but I don't recall the days of dirt baggin the AT. When were they?

$10 per day for food may be fine, but some gear does need replacing. Not many, if any, are able to make it on one pair of boots or shoes an entire hike. Most, if not all appreciate a town meal, shower and a few beers, maybe a movie. Over the curse of 30 town stops that adds up.

[jj2044]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel. If you have to buy 1500 dollars worth of gear you probably haven't hiked enough to be able to complete a distance hike like this anyway. I thought most people have their own hiking gear before starting and don't plan to replace much on the way. And if laundry is adding up guess what don't do it. It still rains on the AT. Get some biodegradable soap out next time it does and figure it out. If you really spend 7k I can't imagine you are really through hiking anyway its more like 6 months of day hikes and then you retire to your hostel. If it's beer that's adding up well at least it's not more money then you would spend when your off the trail and it's always optional. Sorry if I am coming off negative, it's just hiking vacations aren't a cruise or resort or the spa. It's hiking, it's dirty, it's smelly (at times), and it's wonderful. See you on the trail.

THANK YOU !!!! it seems most people really are not in it to the hike, more for the social part, which is 100% fine, alot of people seem to just hike to get to the next beer stop and hostel. i long dis hike for the challange and to get back to nature not to get **** faced every 50 miles in a little town. if you cant make it on 3k or less you are not really hiking. i think thats why you dont see near as many people on the PCT or CDT, they seem to weed out alot of the town hopers. Also the AT can be done in 4 or 5 months... 7to 8 months stuff is just crazy 7 months is like just over 10 miles a day. my gma (who is 80) walks 5 miles in the mall every other morning before breakfest !!!!! if it takes you 7 or 8 month WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL DAY !!! ...... im sure alot of people are not going to like this but oh well

[Sly]

THANK YOU !!!! it seems most people really are not in it to the hike, more for the social part, which is 100% fine, alot of people seem to just hike to get to the next beer stop and hostel. i long dis hike for the challange and to get back to nature not to get **** faced every 50 miles in a little town. if you cant make it on 3k or less you are not really hiking. i think thats why you dont see near as many people on the PCT or CDT, they seem to weed out alot of the town hopers. Also the AT can be done in 4 or 5 months... 7to 8 months stuff is just crazy 7 months is like just over 10 miles a day. my gma (who is 80) walks 5 miles in the mall every other morning before breakfest !!!!! if it takes you 7 or 8 month WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL DAY !!! ...... im sure alot of people are not going to like this but oh well

Just curious, have you thru-hiked any long trail? If so what years?

[jj2044]

AT 02, 2 month on PCT in 05, and and 2 months CDT 09, I thru-hiked the AT the year i grad from college. now im a teacher so i only get a couple months off, so no thrus for me forawhile

[10-K]

I heard it put this way once....

"When you go on vacation take half the clothes and twice the money you were planning on."

Like I said, I wouldn't start a vacation that I was sure I couldn't fund to completion.

Would I spend $7,000 hiking the AT. I'd guess there'd be about a 95% chance I would not - but that's what my fund would be.

I've never once said that a thru hike would cost $7000. I have consistently said that amount is how much I would want to have before I started. There's a bit of difference ....

[4eyedbuzzard]

Well I guess the days of dirty baggin is gone on the AT after reading this post. 10 dollars should be more than enough, its really just for food and fuel. If you have to buy 1500 dollars worth of gear you probably haven't hiked enough to be able to complete a distance hike like this anyway. I thought most people have their own hiking gear before starting and don't plan to replace much on the way. And if laundry is adding up guess what don't do it. It still rains on the AT. Get some biodegradable soap out next time it does and figure it out. If you really spend 7k I can't imagine you are really through hiking anyway its more like 6 months of day hikes and then you retire to your hostel. If it's beer that's adding up well at least it's not more money then you would spend when your off the trail and it's always optional. Sorry if I am coming off negative, it's just hiking vacations aren't a cruise or resort or the spa. It's hiking, it's dirty, it's smelly (at times), and it's wonderful. See you on the trail.

Forgive us. Most of us just aren't young enough to know how to do this.