Can i thru-hike on $1000

[JAK]

When you buy oats by the 2.5 kg bag up here the cost goes down to about $2.25 per kg vs $3.50 per kg.
Anyhow, safe to say oatmeal is about $1.50 a pound up here, and I would hope grits might be about the same.


Great thing for hikers is that dry food can be quite cheap because it is cheaper to store and to ship.
Don't be afraid to buy in bulk sizes, like 1-2 pound bags. You can still get variety by mixing in stuff.

[Sly]

Hike until your $1000 runs out and call it close enough. While you can get by without staying in a hostel or hotel/motel, before spending any appreciable time in a place of business, such as a grocery store or restaurant, you should take a shower. It's only common courtesy.

[swjohnsey]

You can easily do it!!

Ramen is about $1 a day. .50 a day for fuel and you are golden. That's about $180 right there. That gives u $800 for extravagant expenditures like town meals and hostel stays..

Not to mention hiker box treasures and general mooching and yogi-ing.

Then there's hiker feeds and all that if you are lucky.

You can do it Bender. (holy I hear that asswipe teachers voice in
My head from breakfast club right now).

Ramen is only around 400 calories a pack. Even at 5/dollar (unlikely on the trail) that is only 2,000 calories. He will probably burn closer to 5,000. If he has 30 pounds to burn he will be to 0% body fat and starvin' after about a month.

[jj2044]

this has to be a joke, even if you have "20-25 pounds of body fat in advance for fuel" you would be burning over 6k calories a day hiking 20mpd, and taking in what, MAYBE 1500 calories by "eat every other day, and live on white rice" you would be losing a pound and hlaf a day lol, if you were really in the military someone didnt train you worth an F, there is a reason why MRE's have 3k colories, YOU NEED THEM!! if you are really serious, work for a few months, save another 1-2k and go southbound in july.

[JAK]

To judge whether or not some food is economical compared to other foods, you can look at the food label and figure protien is worth about $2 for 100g, and carbs and fats are each worth about $0.20 for 100g, roughly speaking. Some foods like oats bring the cost down, but you also need some foods like skim milk powder that move the cost up.

Using this as an average though, for 5000kcal for 20 miles a day:
Protien: 125g x 0.02 = $2.50
Carbs: 400g x 0.002 = $0.80
Fats: 300g x 0.002 = $0.60
Total = $4 per day leaving another $5 to add flavour, variety, vitamins, minerals, tea, spices, etc.

[JAK]

You also have to learn to do daily ablutions in the field so you stay clean and healthy, and can avoid having to take showers and do laundry in towns.

[JAK]

This is how I hike up here by the way. My food is about $10 per 20 miles, rugged terrain, and I do all my daily ablutions and laundry in the field. I don't do towns, but then again the trails up here are short with no towns along the way. Fundy Footpath and Dobson Trail combined is about 100 miles, with Fundy National Paerrk and the town of Alma midway. I haven't done the full 100 miles in one go yet, but if I did I doubt I would pay for a bed or shower or laundry. Pizza and beer would be very very tempting however. That would take alot of discipline.

[Sly]

You also have to learn to do daily ablutions in the field so you stay clean and healthy, and can avoid having to take showers and do laundry in towns.

Sure on occasion you can take "Dundo" showers, but I'd rather not have some dude washings his rotten shorts ans socks and private parts at the water source.

[Sly]

I haven't done the full 100 miles in one go yet, but if I did I doubt I would pay for a bed or shower or laundry.

Anyone can go a week without taking a shower and go home to clean up and wash their clothes. We're talking about 4-6 months.

[JAK]

I don't know where people get the idea that 5000 calories a day cost more than $5 to $10 a day.
Food doesn't cost alot of money. Towns cost alot of money.

[Lone Wolf]

I know that it isnt a big budget, but i have amazing willpower, i had to eat through a straw once for 2 months and lost 35 pounds, and i survived that. i have my gear but my budget for the hike is 1 grand. im gonna do it anyway, even if i only get to eat every other day, and live on white rice. Also, given i eat i can hike very fast upwards of 20 mpd. what do you guys think. and i never intend to stay in a hotel, hostel, and i dont drink or smoke. i am very bare bones, thank you guys. I just got out of the military and i am starting a new life and this will be my first challenge, Thank you all.

why you even askin"?

[swjohnsey]

this has to be a joke, even if you have "20-25 pounds of body fat in advance for fuel" you would be burning over 6k calories a day hiking 20mpd, and taking in what, MAYBE 1500 calories by "eat every other day, and live on white rice" you would be losing a pound and hlaf a day lol, if you were really in the military someone didnt train you worth an F, there is a reason why MRE's have 3k colories, YOU NEED THEM!! if you are really serious, work for a few months, save another 1-2k and go southbound in july.

One MRE has about 1,200 calories.

[Papa D]

Yes - this CAN be done:

First, what is your equipment status? Do you already have gear? If not, you will have to scrounge up backpack, sleeping bag, rain gear, etc. but you can do it - if you p/m me, I'll give you some stuff for free - ok, next, the nice thing about actual trail life is that it is free - shelters do not charge (except a few in VT and NH) that you can skip (VT) or possibly "work for stay" in NH if you are crafty.

Your main expense is going to be food - you can get a lot of nutrients out of oatmeal and peanut butter, cheesy potatoes, and powdered milk, and instant brown rice - you'll get tired of it but it is sustaining stuff and super cheap - you can find "variety" foods in hiker boxes and on weekends, if you are nice, section hikers will help you out with food. You can eat pretty well (despite what others on here may say) for $30-$40 per week - if you can hike the trail in 17 weeks - 4 + months (which is very fast) , that would be a food budget of $680 (meager but possible) -- you will have to hitch-hike for all of your rides and transportation to-from but it is very likely you'll get some help along the way - you'll be surprised how many free cups of coffee and doughnuts, rides to town and so forth you can get by having a great (not begging) personality - just tell people up front what the score is. Here is a possible budget:

Transportation (tips, cause you are hitching all the way) - $50
Food $680
Fuel (you'll need to learn to make a wood burning stove) $ 60
Laundry and showers - mostly on trail - swim a lot $ 60
Flat out emergency cash $100
Misc. items and luxury - incredibly meager $50

You are going to have to STAY on the trail for weeks at a time and move right along - eat the cheapest carbs you can and try to yogi (nicely) proteins, vegetables, fruit, and any luxuries -- take advantage of all the hiker boxes, make a wood burner stove and learn to use it like a pro - like I said, you CAN do this. Do you WANT to do this and what are your chances of success, I don't know ........

[JAK]

Anyone can go a week without taking a shower and go home to clean up and wash their clothes. We're talking about 4-6 months.

If you can keep yourself clean every day for a week, you can keep yourself clean every day for a year. People that rely on towns to stay clean, aren't.

[jj2044]

One MRE has about 1,200 calories.

Swjohnsey, you are right, i some reason i got 3k in my head.

[jlo]

It doesn't cost anything to live in the woods, so $1,000 is totally possible. However, it'll just cover food while on the trail. I found a night in a hotel every now and then was helpful and I spent most of my money carb loading in town You can do it cheap, but keep in mind that you'll be more tired and won't feel that good if you can't give yourself enough nutrition.

[JAK]

I would avoid yogi-ing, but offers are hard to turn down, and towns are really hard to walk through without spending some money on pizza or beer or even just coffee and donuts. I would attempt a $2000 thru-hike, but $1000 would be tough, but only because of the towns you have to walk through. It would be easier if there was only grocery stores along the way. I think the strategy might be to avoid towns by going farther between resupplies, like 7-10 day stretches. 50,000 calorie resupply might weigh 25 pounds, so it would be tough, but it would save some money.

You don't save any money, or weight, by starting overweight, because the extra calories you have to carry as food are just fat calories and they don't weigh much or cost much. You also have to resupply more often when you are overweight because you cannot carry as much. I could probably do 10 days and 250 miles between resupply easier at 175 pounds than I could do 5 days and 100 miles between resupply at my current weight of 200.

Not saying you need to be down to hiking weight when you start, but it is cheaper and easier that way, not harder.

[JAK]

Next time I attempt the Fundy Footpath / Dobson Trail combo I will see if I can do it without resupplying or stopping for pizza and beer and sticky buns and coffee in Alma. It will be hard. Harder still if I had to walk through Alma, or resupplying without stopping for some goodies. Anyhow, if I don't bump into another tree I'll give it a shot.

[Lone Wolf]

Next time I attempt the Fundy Footpath / Dobson Trail combo I will see if I can do it without resupplying or stopping for pizza and beer and sticky buns and coffee in Alma. It will be hard. Harder still if I had to walk through Alma, or resupplying without stopping for some goodies. Anyhow, if I don't bump into another tree I'll give it a shot.

is that the only trail you've hiked? what's it like 100 miles or so? you seem to give a lot of AT advice. ever hiked on the AT?

[Slo-go'en]

With only a grand to spend, you'll be through hiking in no time.