[pct-l] Low cost Thru

[ed faubert]

Meadow Ed here...........
This ? poses a problem to get the right answer to it. 
First, lets talk lost income for 4/5 months.  If one is retired and collect benefits there is no "lost" income as the money comes in anyway......... Paying rent and or morgage payments as well as monthly storage fees to store your stuff at, a retired hiker who owns his own place has no "lost" income.

Lets move on to equipment, many thrus already own most of their gear and well replacement items may come up too they have 75% of gear allready vrs a person who needs a tent, pack, bag, crampons/poles, clothes shoes etc etc. 

So who are we asking this ? of cost too? Past hikers who retired with full benies, home owners? College kids who hit the trail a week after graduation. Is this hiker married and factors in visits from his spose once a month? Does he live in California or NY? Does he have car support and lots of reletives to cut hotel costs down?

Ah, lets talk food now. Well some hikers have special diet needs i would say meat eaters or vegaterians pretty much spend the same amount for food. How many hikers eat 1/3 of their meals out of the hiker box? even if its is 25% thats a big savings right there. How much does a 65 year old retired man eat in 5 months compared to a 25 year old? How much more does a woman eat then a man?

Even comparing the money spent on an AT hike could be vastly different as on the AT you can eat in town or even shop in town 2/3 times a week where on the PCT your hiking 5/6 days in a row w/out a town. Yes i would say its maby cheaper to eat and prepare a weeks worth of BPing food then to so to buy a weeks grociers/ Just look at your food bag/stuff sack/ bear canister size vrs 3/4 bags at the store....... 

To my way of thinking you have to put this ? to the group only when you classify who you are talking about. Ask the same ? to this group after you say who you are and if you are including the price of gear, the price of a round trip ticket to SD perhaps. Lost income perhaps and or any one of a dozen differences between us and you. Then you will only come up with an amount of someone who fits into your shoes........ Don't even consider someone who hiked more then 5 years ago when everything was 30 5 cheaper....no gps then too, guide books were lots cheaper as was the maps, why in those days one source of info may have been all a hiker had 

good luck with an exact amount.....
Meadow Ed who just paid 1.99 a gallon for gas today!!!!!



--- On Wed, 11/26/08, David Thibault <dthibaul07 at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: David Thibault <dthibaul07 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Low cost Thru
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 12:59 PM
> I know - I - couldn't do it for $1 a mile.  When I did
> the AT in '07 I spent
> $3500 - I'm planning on spending ever more for the PCT.
>   Someone I a was
> talking to said they were going to attempt a thru hike for
> $1000.  I told
> them I thought it was impossible for under $2000 -- But
> then I started to
> have second thoughts - gee maybe somebody has done a very
> low cost thru.
> That's why I asked, just wanted to now how low someone
> could do it for.
> 
> My actual cost of a thru is much higher than my on trail
> expenses. Just the
> loss of income for 5-6 months is an order of magnitude
> greater than what I
> would spend out on the trail.
> Day-late
>  > On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 8:30 PM, Will Hiltz
> <will.hiltz at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > $1 isn't realistic I'm afraid.  I'd budget
> for $2 a mile at least...
> >
> >
> > YITOOD,
> >
> > Easy
> >
> >
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