Money Questions

[UCONNMike]

I'm thru-hiking south in a day, and i finally paod everything off to have no debt going into my hike, and I have somewhere in the range of $2,600. Is that gonna be enough, should i be stressing???

[fiddlehead]

it used to be that you could hike the AT for around a dollar a mile if you didn't drink. I think with inflation, that's not so easy to do anymore. $1.50 to $2.00 a mile would be more realistic. You'll probably have to limit your town days. You didn't say if you were doing maildrops or not. Maildrops can usually save you money, at least in the northern states where things are more expensive. It can be done for sure but you will have to be frugal: try sharing hotel rooms with others, use mail drops in NY,CT,MA at least, try to stay out of bar rooms, etc. Good luck! You'll still have lots of fun. and I know you'll have fun! fh

[Blue Jay]

should i be stressing???

No, but if it's not going into your mouth or pack don't buy it.

[Peaks]

Is $2600 enough money for a thru-hike?

First, does this include transportation to the start and from the end?

Second, does this include gear and outfitting?

Third, hiking the AT is basically free. It's in towns where you spend your money. You will spend less if you get in and get out promptly. And you will spend a whole lot more if you eat meals in towns, stay overnight, and take days off in towns.

It's totally posssible to hike the trail for less than $2600. However, that's not going to allow you much money for towns. Most people spend probably $3000 to $4000, and some spend much much more.

[Jaybird]

like PEAKS said...hiking the A.T. is absolutely "FREE"...(unless they've installed toll booths in the last few weeks..)

the price incurred by the HIKER is that of the "EXTRAS"...

example:...you DONT have to go into town & spend $40 a night for a motel room or $20 for pizza or $10 for beer...

you don't have to buy "over-priced" food, junk food, etc., @ the grocery store (try the Dollar store or hit the "hiker boxes")...

the average cost now...(with travel expenses included) is $1 to $2 per mile....thats a grand total of: $2,174 to $4,348!

although this might sound like a chunk o' change....the cost of living, gas prices, daily experses in the "real world" is considerably higher (@ least in my world) than 6 months of living on the trail...


ENJOY!

[Skyline]

I'm thru-hiking south in a day, and i finally paod everything off to have no debt going into my hike, and I have somewhere in the range of $2,600. Is that gonna be enough, should i be stressing???

It can be done (it has been done) on this much or even less even in recent years but your hike will be very different from most of the others out there who spend considerably more money. If you are out there for the woods experience and don't care at all about the social experience in towns it might not bother you. It's probably difficult to predict in advance where you will stand on this issue--so weigh it carefully.

One thing about going SOBO that may help is that it tends to be a less social experience than the typical NOBO AT hike. There are far less hikers going in that direction to pull you along with them into towns, and once you get through the summer months you will find many of the hostels and other amenities that cost $$ will be closed further south.

Somewhere on this site Weathercarrot posted an excellent article on doing the AT on a budget. If you can find it, that may help.

[MileMonster]

I would guess that another financial advantage a SOBO trying to save money has is that you start the hike in Maine where possible town stops are less frequent. On a NOBO there are plenty of places to stop in the South when you start. And since early on I was shedding the "real world" I wanted to stop at alot of them. I was wanting a shower cause I was just getting used to being dirty every day, wanting a bed night 'cause I wasn't getting sleep on the shelter floors, food cravings, etc. In Maine you enter the 100-Mile Wilderness almost immediately. You don't have much opportunity to spend money on the things you miss, and pretty soon you're used to being out and don't miss them any more.

As an example, over the first 120 miles I stayed at the Inn at Amicalola to start, a hotel in Helen, the Blueberry Patch Hostel, and a hotel in Franklin.

Over the last 120 miles I stayed at Shaw's Hostel and then went into town with my family at Abol Bridge. You will most likely skip a stop at Abol Bridge, leaving you with only White Horse Landing and Shaws as the only possibilities in the first 120 miles.

With that said, generally everything is more expensive in the North so be careful when you do make stops.

[The Solemates]

We did our hike spending under $5000 (excluding the new gear we bought and transportation to/from THs). Thats under $2500 per person. We did half MDs, half town re-supplies. Regardless of what others say, I believe the MDs saved us a little cash, but we split it up half-half so we could have the variety. Typically the stores in the NE are a lot more expensive, so we had more MDs there.

HOWEVER, we are a married couple who share everything, so that cut out a lot of extra cash as opposed to if we hiked separately. If you do want to go into town and spend the night at a hotel, perhaps try to find 1-2 other people every time who wouldnt mind sharing a room and thus the costs. Of course, this only works when they charge by room. A lot of places on the AT nowadays are charging by the person, which I think is ridiculous for those who hike with partners. You may have a little harder time finding a partner to do this with going SOBO, but I doubt it will be that hard.

[Sly]

The $1-$2 per mile figure can be misleading. It's not so much per mile as per day, week or more aptly per month.

$2600 leaves you roughly $500 per month or $16 per day for a 5 month hike, but only $14 per day for a 6 month hike. Depending on what you eat you should be able to get by on, say, $8 per day. The rest, per day, for the week or the time it takes to get there is what you'll have left over to be splurging in town.

As an example, a 75 mile section averaging 15 miles per day or 5 days (5 month hike) on-trail food cost are $40 plus $40 once you reach town for hostel/motel, restuarant meals, postal needs and beer, etc.

Of course, if you can lower your on-trail food cost (hiker boxes, ramen) you'll have that much more to spend in town but remember there are 30-40 towns easily accessed from the AT.

BTW, I always run out of money, I know what I'm talking about!

[Ender]

I'm thru-hiking south in a day, and i finally paod everything off to have no debt going into my hike, and I have somewhere in the range of $2,600. Is that gonna be enough, should i be stressing???

Nope. No need to stress. Just be frugal with your money, don't stay in towns, don't go to overpriced food joints (Wendy's will do just fine). I know two girls who hiked the PCT for less than $1000 between the two of them. That's a longer trail for about $500 per person. Basically, if it wasn't food, they didn't buy it. Just be smart about your money, and keep track of it. A running tab on the inside of your data book would probably work.

Enjoy your hike! Wish I was going. Sigh...

[MacGyver2005]

Do not stress. It doesn't matter if you run out of money completely, do not stress. This hike should be as close to stress free as you'll ever be in your life, so don't go working yourself up. With $2600 you can make it, but you should be careful. Be as frugal as possible, and remember that when you get into town. If you are constantly aware of your money, and think carefully about your purchases and what you spend your money on, you'll be just fine. And if you have friends that want to support you, ask each of them to sponsor you a mail drop. Figure $20-$30 is what it will cost them to get you a bunch of Ramen, oatmeal, candy bars, and send it to you. Get ten friends to do that and you've saved a lot of money (and time) in town. Don't hotel, and only hostel when it is free or almost free. Don't eat out, or if you do think it through; should you blow $10 at McDonalds, or $12 at a Buffet? If at all possible, replace your gear (like shoes) from an online sale, like Sierra Trading Post. Even with shipping it can be a lot cheaper to get shoes online than at an outfitter. Just be careful to know that the shoes will fit! Use common sense and you'll have money left over when you are done.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

[Sly]

I know two girls who hiked the PCT for less than $1000 between the two of them. That's a longer trail for about $500 per person. Basically, if it wasn't food, they didn't buy it. .

That's ONLY $3 per day! They must have been doing tricks or accepting an awful lot of freebies.

[A-Train]

Mike:

$2600 bucks is absolutely doable. I hiked the trail with less than that, and that included a new pack, 3 pairs of shoes, a bus ride from Hanover to NY for a wedding, 2 new sets of aquamira, packcover, Rain gear and other assorted gear purchases needed to fix old or broken stuff. This also included staying in hostels or splitting motels with others about once every 5-7 days.
I wasn't frugel and I never felt like I had to watch my spending. I ate a ton in town (not expensive restraunts) and tried to hit buffets as much as possible. I found it to be about 5 bucks a day for ON trail food.
I was 19, so I didn't spend much money on beer, though that might be different now, but its hard to drink a lot when your hiking, IMO. If you don't smoke that will help too.
I know you are going with your buddy, and you may be with less folks than the average NOBO. Try and split a room 4 ways for a very cheap stay, or try to hit hostels. Another great "trick" is head into a town in the morning or afternoon, hang out for a couple hours and then hike out 3-10 miles up the trail for the night, saving on lodging. This is a great way to get your town fill and not spend a fortune.
Lastly cutting down on the Zero days are essential to saving loot. This is obvious, but people seemed to piss all their money away when they stayed in town for 2-3 nights. Everyone needs a day off now and then, but I believe that to be one reasons why I didn't spend much; I didn't much have the need for zero's, only once every 300-500 miles.
Good luck, enjoy the great walk, and go for it. You've got enough money

[Ender]

That's ONLY $3 per day! They must have been doing tricks or accepting an awful lot of freebies.

Funny stuff. No, just careful planning. A lot of pasta (a pound of that stuff can be bought for what, $.69 in any grocery store?), mac n. cheese, etc. Just smart planning, no sexual favors, I promise.

[Footslogger]

It's all about towns, motels and restaurants. If you avoid them or keep visits to a minimum it can be done. Seems to me if you have all your gear and live mostly on trail food that amount of money would be sufficient.

That said ...I personally look forward to the occasional motel room bed and prepared meals (prepared by someone else) so for me that wouldn't be enough.

I didn't budget or keep very close track of what I was spending during (or after) my thru in 2003. I saved as much as I could in advance and once I was on the trail I focussed on my experience. When I got back home I still had a few bucks in the bank.

No two people hike the trail the same way in terms of dollars spent. If that's what you have to work with then go for it and don't sweat the small stuff.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[Sly]

Funny stuff. No, just careful planning. A lot of pasta (a pound of that stuff can be bought for what, $.69 in any grocery store?), mac n. cheese, etc. Just smart planning, no sexual favors, I promise.

Only pasta or mac 'n cheese for 5 months is careful planning? I have to see more than that to believe anyone can hike the entire PCT for $500!

[Ender]

Only pasta or mac 'n cheese for 5 months is careful planning? I have to see more than that to believe anyone can hike the entire PCT for $500!

No, quite clearly not only pasta and mac 'n cheese for five months. They were just two examples of many many cheap things you can buy in a grocery store, which I thought was pretty obvious. Here's some math that may help it seem not so improbable to you... 21 weeks of hiking (just over five months, which is pretty standard for the PCT). Max, they spent $45 a week on groceries between the two of them, with careful selection, and more often than not they spent no more than $35-40 a week. So, total they could have spent $950 for the both of them, but they rarely spent the max so it was far lower than that. They never, not once stayed in a m/hotel, and most of the hostels on the PCT are free. They cooked all their own in town food. Granted, they were tougher than me by a long shot, but they did it, and I stand impressed by their strength and fortitude.

And I laughed when my teachers said math would one day become useful!

[Sly]

Here's some math that may help it seem not so improbable to you... 21 weeks of hiking (just over five months, which is pretty standard for the PCT). Max, they spent $45 a week on groceries between the two of them, with careful selection, and more often than not they spent no more than $35-40 a week.

Sounds good on paper, just doesn't translate on the trail. There's no way, I've been to the towns and seen their selection. Then there's the mail drops that are necessary in Oregon and Washington. The PO's and UPS would eat up half their budget.

[Ender]

Sounds good on paper, just doesn't translate on the trail. There's no way, I've been to the towns and seen their selection. Then there's the mail drops that are necessary in Oregon and Washington. The PO's and UPS would eat up half their budget.

Well, I'm done trying to explain it to you. I'll just say, why would they use UPS? I've never used UPS in thousands of miles of hiking. And they had one bounce box between the two of them, that had only essentials in it, that they picked up maybe a total of six or seven times during the trip. Pretty cheap. They did it, so it obviously does translate onto the trail and there obviously is a way, and whether you believe me or not, makes no difference to me. Hell, up until not too long ago no one thought the AT could be hiked in 48 days, someone did it. And when Earl Schaffer thru'd the AT no one believed him until he provided his journal and photos. Can't quite say I understand your scepticism, but I certainly respect your right to express it. That's all from me on this however. No need to drag myself through the digital morass that is internet debating, where there's no end in sight.

[Sly]

Well, I'm done trying to explain it to you. I'll just say, why would they use UPS? I've never used UPS in thousands of miles of hiking.

If you want to send a mail drop to Hyatt Lake and Shelter Cove in Oregon you need to use UPS. If you resupply locally these are small stores at small resorts and it would cost more than $3 per person a day. The alternatives would be going into small trendy and expensive towns like Sisters.