I need input on budgeting. Curious as to budgeting. I am going solo, but input on this subject is much needed. Interested in food cost, hotel/hostel stays. What to really expect and minimum amount needed realistically.
bono
Budgeting Help - Appalachian Trail
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#2
The general rule of thumb is about $1.50-2.00 a mile, but I have known supercheap hikers who did the AT on $600 dollars (they had lots of friends who helped them out with goodies though) and others who have spent as much as $10,000. It really depends on you and what kind of hike you want. Are you buying ahead or buying along the way? Do you drink or smoke? Do you have good gear, or are you taking cheap stuff that might need to be replaced along the way? How much time do you have for your hike? A three month hike and an eight month hike will have different costs, obviously. Do you like frequent town breaks, or do you plan to sweep through town in a few hours? The more town stops you plan, the more money you’ll spend, whether you intend to or not. You get hungry! And while some areas have lots of cheap hostels (i.e. PA), in New England, you’ll pay for your lodging. Then there’s Luck (and good training): can you prevent injury? A lot of folks end up spending an unexpected week or more in town nursing blisters, tendonitis, or waiting out a snowstorm.
Spirit Walker
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#3
I can send som food ahead and buy some to keep the menu eatable. No drinking or smoking, I have excellent gear.
The hike could run between 6-8 mths depending on cash. I dont plan on hotel stays, but if the price is right definetly hostels and I can stay in my tent for that matter if I can charm my way into a spot. I do not require more then a tent or shelter. I do not plan on hanging in town too long. Towns closer to the trail I can go in and get back out. As far as injury I am planning on averageing 7-8 mile days till Damascus where I will take my first nice long break, as Damascus is a mental goal as well as supposedly being friendly and cheap. I will avoid Hot Spring as I understand it is a Hiker Trap and expensive. I shouldnt get an injury if I take it very easy till Damascus. I do not want to starve but I have limits on what I will spend. 40$+ motels are not an option. If i can find cheaper hostels, it is there that I will rest and recharge.
Maybe this will give some insight to my kind of hike. So you guys can help me get an idea on what to expect and where to expect it. Money is not as much of an object as it is just trying to make it on a very modest amount of money. I am want to keep it simple and shy away from alot of creature comfort. Help!!!
Also
bono
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#4
If you don’t plan on being in towns for too long, you won’t spend as much money. That’s very true.
You can’t really avoid Hot Springs, as the trail goes right down main street. But you can get away with going cheap in Hot Springs. Stay at the campground - a tent site for thru-hikers is $5. A lot of people went to the Spa to soak in hot tubs or get a massage, which was what made that town expensive. Just pass this up if money is an issue for you, although I would highly recommend a massage.
As for being a hiker trap, any town can turn out to be one if you let it be. I admit that I ended up staying in Hot Springs for 3 nights. But I wasn’t just sitting in town; I did some slack packing and was getting shuttled by the outfitter in town. Set a goal to get out of town by whatever day, and make yourself stick to it if your worried about ending up in a “hiker trap.”
The towns I stayed in the longest were Hampton, TN 7 days(I stayed with someone in town after I sprained my ankle.); Hot Springs 3 days; Wythville,VA 4 days(not on the trail, got a hotel room for free from a fellow thru hiker’s wife when I sprained my ankle for the second time); Waynesboro, VA 5 days (where I hurt my ankle for the third time and decided I was finished).
There are many places that you can do work for stay at. The only place where I did this was in Knoxville, MD at the Inn 230 (after leaving, I went back and hiked some more.) a hostel I would highly recommend. They have an organic vegtable garden that you can help with. Although you might end up feeding the chickens, which is fun to watch. 
I hope that any of my babbling helps you out.
Pushing Up Daisies
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#5
Great info! As I am leaving soon I hope anyone that reads this will put there 25cents in. All types of information are appreciated. Also including your estimated cost would REALLY be cool. I am going to wear this one out so be warned. Gotta keep it on the home page or the subject dies.
Info on Mail Drops and recommendations are also of great interest to me as well.
bono
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#6
Bono, where’s that address? The best tip we can give you is enjoy the hell out of yourself because you only get to do it once unless you’re messed up or have rich parents. Or, have the folks at home make the minimun on your card and be real with what you buy. A lot of what you spend is feel good items; hot food, a dry warm hotel, that titanium pot. At some point you’ll get that way especially when you get hungry. HUNGRY = not happy! EAT. And eat well. It’s okay to splurge in town on food 'cause you’ll need it. Although that $105 bucks in Gatlingburg at 'Fridays was a little much, heh heh. Borrows some green from who ever if you need a little and you’ll be happy. My wife and I used about $4000, but that was some new gear, some hotels, quality food and a large amount of “sugardaddying” the croo. We like to help out the less fortunate, shall we say, so when we come arcoss a friend that eats oatmeal four times a day HE/SHE will get dinner on us at least once.
Do not avoid Hot Springs, stay at Elmer’s, he rocks…weird but rocks. I don’t think he does dinner now, it was killer, he may still, but the stay is cool. If he does dinner don’t be one second late when he rings the bell.
he mail drops work but you had better love the food you sent a lot. We made most of ours…we threw out most of ours after the first three months.
Oh, about the town stay, as above; town is for rest, laundry and eating + washing your narsty butt. After the second zero you start to fall off the edge physically. After a month of hundred mile weeks two days off are like getting the flu, all your stuff gets tight and stiff and all that eating, ugh. You’ll be carrying ten more pounds in the 'ol drain line and it will take a while to get into shape again. Usually about two days back on the horse. Keep it to a day if you need a zero and not more than three if you get a cold.
Not our business but can we guess in what age group you fall? Keep it to whether you grew up the John, Paul George and Ringo or not? :>) The reason I was asking is your mention of getting injured. It’s not so much a matter of age or condition, although current problems can be worsened by the pounding every day, but even starting out as a couch potato, after two months you will be in as good a shape as anyone else out there. Just start out mild, 8-10 miles a day for the first week or as much as is comphy with out seizing your calves and work up. Some days or great and some are hell.
Don’t forget to learn yogying skills.
Bushwhack
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#7
Don’t use Montabello as a drop. It’s way the frick off the trail down hill three miles. Unless you have to get eats, the general store is cool. It’s just a long walk. Look at our mail drop list, it was fine other than we learned to send what ever to the nearest place that you’ll be staying, like a hostel instead of the PO. trailjournals.com/rudolf, what ever is closest to the trail as you may or may not be sending something out.
Bushwhack
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#8
Bono, you’ve been asking tons of questions which I think is good. The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to succeed. Just don’t plan everything to the T. Before my wife and I departed we actually had a day by day schedule of where we wanted to be. When we got behind after the first week, we started stressing and trying to figure out ways how to catch up. “Yeah, we’ll pull a 20 over the bigelow’s, skip our drop in Rangely…” A week later we threw out the schedule, took a step back, and started to really enjoy ourselves. It’s hard going from a type A personality to a type B. Just my advice.
My cents on cost, zero days etc. When we came back from our journey all of our friends said, “What agreat vacation you had” Hiking the AT is not a vacation, its work. And like any work, it is good to have a weekend here or there. When you feel like you need a break, take one. Real easy to get burned out. It often requires that you take a step back, remember why you’re actually out there, and get motivated again. Nothing like dealing with people gawking at you in town to see how good life on the trail is. I would say budgeting is up there with planning to a T. Try not to worry about it and enjoy yourself for as long as possible. My wife and I spent 4000 total. We stayed in couple hotels (married people need a private room every now and then), ate our faces off, and enjoyed the beer. A hiking buddy we hiked with for more than half the trip spent 900. She enjoyed the hostels, the ramen and her Little Debbie cakes. If you’re not drinking, avoiding hotels, etc you’ll be closer to the 900 mark.
Mail Drops - we used mail drops extensively the whole trip and wish we didn’t. Unless you are freeze drying gourmet meals, have special diet restrictions, or you desperately need Textured Vegetable Protein you can find everything you need in the full service grocery stores along the trail. Use the handbook or another guide to figure out what towns have full service resupplies. There are a handful of towns which are better to get a maildrop in. Monson, ME is the big one. I can’t tell you how many times we were actually running to town on Sat morning to figure out the f-ing PO’s in the boonies are closed all weekend. Then you find out the woman who works behind the hotel desk is the post master during the week. Too much stress to deal with.
One more thing… Not trying to get you hurt, but 7-8 mile days all the way to Damascus is a bit conservative. Well, now I’m thinking you’ll be in the snow. Maybe 7-8 miles is reasonable. I don’t know. Just throw out any schedule you have and wing it.
Grimace
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#9
I guess if you’re painting your way north as we found one artist you could go that slow. I think I would freeze to death from lack of activity. I crawled a twenty-three in Va. with a blown knee. How about the Moon Walk? 7-10 in the snow would be good as we managed 11 in 11 hrs. But we had feet not inches. Postholing with a pack! What fun. :>(
BW
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#10
I have bought no food at this time. Are these numbers including food and/or drops or just what was spent while on the trail. At 1000 that would be 5.55$ a day just on food with no other costs. Seems like I would eat more then 5 and half bucks worth of food a day on average.
Also…reasoning behind these questions is so I don’t get surprised that I have overshot my budget. My plans are to not be tied to post office schedules, stop and rest/wash/interact in towns when needed, and to basically go with the flow. I anticipate being pretty much alone for much of the first month or so. Seems that if two can travel for 4000 then I should be pretty comfie with around 2000? I know the addage two can travel almost a cheaply as one.
Side note: Learned last night that a draft collar is a beautiful thing.
bono
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#11
You are ready. Going with the flow is the best mojo, so let the trail come to you and you shall be rewarded.
Bushwhack
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#13
As far as the subject of mail drops goes:
Before I left for the trail this year, I kept hearing that many past thru hikers wouldn’t use mail drops if they did the trail again. I considered doing it this way, and then thought I’d better be safe and send my self mail drops anyway.
What a mistake. I was buying food in towns along the way even if I had a drop, and eventually told my mom to stop sending me the mail drops(except the Girl Scout cookies, of course). Ended up dealing with with boxes of food in Ziplock bags when I got back. I’m eating some of that food now that I am home, so that I don’t end up the wasting money on the food I bought for the trek.
Next year when I am out on the trail, I won’t have any mail drops. If there is a place that I think that I need a mail drop, I will forward food ahead.
As for Montebello as a mail drop (if you are going to do mail drops) it is off the trail a ways, but there is a place in town that will pick you up from a pay phone near by and they also feed hikers for free on certain days and times(without the obligation to stay). There were many messages in the shelter registers before you got to the town. Don’t know if they are going to do that again this year, though.
Pushing Up Daisies
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#14
I think what honked me off was Wingnut saying it was a slow hitch to town. Duh, with a locked gate and a road to noware but someone’s cabin. The store had super eats, though and the guys at the fish hatchery were fun. Gave us some boot dressing and a tour.
Bushwhack
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#15
Look at the link below. This is a copy of resupply suggestions from Baltimore Jack (Jack Tarlin). IMO this is one of the best thought out and presented list of options for the AT. Gives you ideas and options for both mail drops or town supply.
http://www.trailquest.net/atresupply.html#springer
Moose
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#16
no one has mentioned the cost tomail boxes. One box cost me $30.00 to mail I stopped maildrops. I will have my daughter send anything I can’t pick up but I can’t think of anything except home made cookies. Happy hiking
cowboy
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#17
Oh yeah, that. If you do send something send it Priority, the PO will bounce it at no charge, or they used to, to some other PO up trail. Still pricey to send a ten pounder that’s for sure.
Bushwhack
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#18
Didn’t get your email…here’s the address…
jkrudolf@hotmail.com
(unless your address happens to have some funky extension like bono@homemortgageforyou.com
Bushwhack