Budget Time

[seasparrow]

So im looking at forming a general budget for 150 day thru hike.Kind of a minimum.
So far i have:

150 days X 10.00 per/day for food = $1500.00
150 d / 1 hostle per 14 days = 11 stays X 20.00=$220.00
150 d / 12oz Heet btl,6day [email protected]=$62.50
11 X Dinners at hostle stops @ 7.00 ea= $77.00
Tips for services $50.00
gear replace,new,fix... $100.00
Bus back to home $80.00


total =$2089.50

please list your Idears.
THIS IS A SPENDING BUDGET NOT A HOW MUCH $ to BRING.

[Storm]

I am planning on more like a $15 a day average for food and allowing for a hostel/motel stay once a week. Also replacing shoes alone is going to be more than $100. I'm not sure about the price of heet/alcohol along the trail but $2.50 for a bottle of heet sounds pretty cheap. You might have more will power than me but I won't be passing up many fast food or all you can eat places. That would add to your food money also. And nothing in your budget for any shuttles, I know you can probably get by without them but I'm going to budget for a few just in case. Bottom line is I'm setting aside $5000 for my hike and taking a credit card. I have been planning this for two years and sure don't want to be worried about where my next meal will come from on the trail.

Then again this is just my hike. Wish you all the best on yours.

[MedicineWoman2012]

If I get the opportunity for a fast food meal or buffet..I am alot less likely to have the determination and self discipline to return to the trail promptly. Ha ha! I have encountered these wonderful places after a 10 day hike and its great to enjoy at the end but during a very long hike I am afraid it would make it more difficult for me to return to the dehydrated meals...same goes for a motel stay some place unless I am sharing it among alot of other hikers.

[The Monk]

No real budget here...I have general expenses down, but I am not going to limit myself with precise dollar figures on this journey. My primary concern is my health on this journey. I am flexible and can eat the darndest things when nothing else is available, but if the opportunity for a nice, healthy meal avails itself, I will not be looking at a budget to see if it is alright. I will more than likely opt for a single room than a share a room, if I can help it, unless, of course, it absolutely benefits someone else on the trail. No, I am not wealthy, but I did save my wampum for this trip.

[SnakeSession]

Really like your budget there Seasparrow! Sounds good to me and about the same thing I was looking at. Maybe a little more for the return trip and maybe a little more for some extra pairs of shoes and 'unknowns'. But think this is very doable with some will power to not eat in town so much. Goodluck!

[skypup888]

Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

[Derek81pci]

$6.66 a day... total.
That's not even enough for food, unless you are an amazing hunter/forager.

[leaftye]

Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

You should be fine as long as you're able to cover some very big miles or scavenge for food in hiker boxes and such.

[skypup888]

no ill be eating alot of ramen noodles

[blackbird04217]

I will call you crazy even though I know it is possible, I hit (~$1150). You will not be staying at hostels, or eating in town very often. You will have to constantly work out the budget as you work along and forgo a lot of things that would be fun. It gets old to tell good friends that "sorry guys, I have to pass," and hike on out without them, knowing they will have a blast in town. You will need to hope your gear holds up. There are a lot of sacrifices that will be made, but yes- it can be done.

Please though, don't stay at the donation hostels without leaving $5 or whatever is suggested; if you can't afford it, move on out - I heard of too many people abusing that system, and for what? A night on a wooden platform?

I aimed for $2500, which would have been a very cushy budget for me in 2009, however after everything settled down I ended up with $1000. (Plus a lot more to pay the student loans while hiking, which I dipped into at the end.) I knew it wouldn't be a breeze, but since I was already walking north, I wasn't going to stop. I put my mind to it, did what I needed and made it happen. But I stress, don't leave planning on only $1000.

[-Animal]

Call me crazy but im going try to not spend over 1000 bucks, dont know if possible but sure will try.

You want crazy? My plan is- Less then $1,000 for everything, including gear. And I plan on over 7 months on the trail with no stops in trail towns for 4 whole months. With no hiker box raids or yogi begging. And I should have $2,000 or more when I’m done without working or doing anything illegal. And in the 7+ months I plan to do over 4,000 miles of walking on the 2,188 mile trail. Now that’s crazy.

[skypup888]

You want crazy? My plan is- Less then $1,000 for everything, including gear. And I plan on over 7 months on the trail with no stops in trail towns for 4 whole months. With no hiker box raids or yogi begging. And I should have $2,000 or more when I’m done without working or doing anything illegal. And in the 7+ months I plan to do over 4,000 miles of walking on the 2,188 mile trail. Now that’s crazy.

just a lil bit are you planing on heading back south as soon as you finish? and how in the world are you gonna make money while your out there?

[-Animal]

just a lil bit are you planing on heading back south as soon as you finish? and how in the world are you gonna make money while your out there?

Yes, I’m heading south after… and if I told you how I make money hiking then everybody would be trying it and I couldn’t make a cent.

[Don H]

$77 for dinners for the entire trip? I spent more than that in one town! By the time you get to VA you'll be so hungry you'll be eating 3 dinners at a time!

[Ohio Grown]

no ill be eating alot of ramen noodles

And one of those will hold you over for what, 10 minutes?

[leaftye]

And one of those will hold you over for what, 10 minutes?

In 2010, I was burning at least 8000 calories a day over the two months I was on the trail. I'm in better shape now, and have gone ultralight, so let's say I now burn 6000 calories a day. Given a 14 hour hiking day, and 380 calories per package of ramen, it would hold me over for 53 minutes.

[SETX_Mason]

Ive got $2100 right now and if i save 300 a week (can probably do 350 a week if i cut down some more) i got 5 more pay checks till March the 12, thats another $1500.... and income tax im getting $322 back( was not happy about that figure by the way when i found out) um im looking at tops $200 from Family and a free ride from Texas to the Trail head.....

um wait i forget i just got a second job so im looking at maybe at tops 300 from flipping burgers at DQ after my main job lol

So total budget to work with is looking a little over $4000,... unless some thing crazy happens and i lose my awesome job before i quit it lol

[SETX_Mason]

And by the way im only a couple of hundred short of where i had hoped to be so im doing ok,... if only i had started saving last year when i decided to do this that way i could hook up people hiking with me on a town meal every so often

[Bazilnorthbound]

Im looking at like $2500. I already have a decent chunk of my food purchased and ready to mail, and my plane ticket is already purchased. Just gotta stay ontop of my budget, can't go crazy when I go to town.
Cant wait!

[skypup888]

joking, not just going to be eating just ramen thats insanity but will have some in my pack, and i will have extra money just going to be as conservative as i can be. Idk it will be a guess and test for the first couple weeks.