[pct-l] hike cost

David Thibault dthibaul07 at gmail.com
Sat Sep 1 17:47:48 CDT 2012


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Dwayne,  I just posted on the CDT that I thought $5000 was a reasonable
amount to have for a thru hike,  there were a few comments that this amount
is too much, and granted I have not spent that much myself on either of
my two thrus so far  (AT and PCT) but I didn't swap out a lot of gear and I
eat fairly well by thru hiker standards (which can be incredibly low).
Also I have never stayed in a hotel room without sharing with other hikers
(did hostels when available) and didn't do that many town stays.

I think $5000 is a good number (after equipment) because:

A thru is ~ 25 weeks long.

Food/beer/restaurants/lodging/incidentals: $125/week (very comfortable
number) = 125*25 = $3125
Shoes =  4 x100 = $400

Total ~= $3500

Emergency Funds/Buffer = $1500

I wouldn't feel comfortable without having a buffer.

Also if you cut your expenses really close you have to start denying
yourself things early on until you know you have enough money to make it.
Its nice not to have to worry if you can afford that extra restaurant meal
or that extra beer when you hit town.
Also - I didn't have to ever worry about skimping on meals - like what I
should buy because it cost less.  I was able to buy food that I felt like
at the time.

Note: I didn't actually spend $3500 on the trial for food as I had some
shipped from home -this was for reasons of variety rather than cost, I
don't think I actually saved any money with the food shipments - but I do
think I ate better because of them.

Note: on the AT I had one doctor visit that was pretty pricey (thank
goodness I had insurance).   I jokingly told the wife it was the most
expensive nap I ever took as I fell asleep in the ER and they just let me
sleep there.  Thought I had Lyme but it out to be something else.  Couple
of days of fever and night sweats, no energy, and complete lack of appetite
(lack of appetite is really very worrisome on the trail).  They couldn't
find anything wrong and I just ended up getting better a few days later.

I saw several folks on the AT bail due to not having enough money to
complete the trip.  It was always a very sad occurrence.  It must really
hurt to be 2/3 of the way thru the trail still enjoying it and feeling
healthy and have to leave because you ran out of funds.


Of Course some folks spend much less and some much much more.  YMMV,  HYOH,
etc

Day-Late






> I just saw a post that gave a low-dollar cost for a thru-hike at $500.
> SURELY they must mean just extra money spent on the hike on zero days, not
> the overall cost.  Can you eat 5,000 calories a day for $3?  No way.
>
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> Will someone please post their OVERALL cost for thru-hiking?  I am a novice
> planning a thru-hike in 2013.  That means I have to buy almost all the gear
> PLUS trail food, transportation from MO, etc.  I'm guessing it will be
> somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000.   I would love to be wrong as I am on
> social security and it ain't much!
>
>
>
> An honest, reasonable answer would be appreciated!
>
> .



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