How much does it usually cost to do the AT…PCT??? I have not seen it posted anywhere, I am sure that town days cost more, but if you limit staying in town except to resupply it obviously costs less…just an approximate if you will…thanks so much
Peapop
It can vary greatly depending on how much you want to live it up on town stops, gear resupply… I spent about $4000 on the PCT in '05, but that includes gear,having to come off trail for a couple weeks, airfare home from Canada and some unexpected longer town stops due to doctor visits. I know another couple who spent about $1500 each but never, and I do mean not a single time, paid for lodging. Most people will tell you to average $1 per mile, not including the gear you start with, a fair estimate I’d say.
ducky
do some searches for this question, too, and you’ll find a ton of stuff.
$2300-$5000 is a good range, just depending on how well you want to live.
be sure to overestimate the cost of your trip, though. most everyone always talks about how they’re going to skip town stops and never get a hotel and all that stuff, but it’s not reality. it’s easy when you’re clean, rested and not hungry to say it, but a different matter when you’re hiking.
0101
I wound up spending $12,000. This was half my being a hotel-whore and half to me ordering my gear over the internet without ever trying it on. I probably have $1,500 in gear I never used because I didn’t bother to do enough research. I also took 20 days off the trail in the month of August and spent a lot in the process to hike in northern Vermont and the Adirondacks in New York. I also took nearly two weeks off for Trail Days and probably dropped $500 there on beer and other necessities. Then there was Washington, D.C., Boone, Radford, $10 a day at least in the Shenandoah NP, Vermont (God, Vermont was expensive for me) and many, many more places where I stopped and lived it up like a king for a day or maybe two and in the end it all added up. By the time I finished I could no longer keep track of my zero days. I am sure I took close to three months off total over the span of seven.
So I spent a fortune and now my reward is that I finished the trail and with something like the AT it’s really easy if you don’t have to budget anything. All you gotta do is keep your chin up through the rain and you’ll be a 2,000 miler. I say this because I am currently planning my 2008 thru-hike and I am hoping to hike with AT LEAST $6,000 in my account before I leave. With this I also am planning several mail drops with small amounts of cash in them so I’ll avoid the money in the bank as much as possible. I am hoping it’s more like $8,000.
My mail drops will consist of freeze dried dinners for 75% of the trail, gear and cash. I’ll be mailing myself small bundles of cash that I’ll pick up roughly ever 10 days. I have even accomodated for the towns I believe I’ll spend more in and am sending myself more money to those places. Erwin, TN is one, Duncannon, PA is another and twice in Vermont I get large sums of money. This is to either to buy new shoes or to get laid (I know a girl in Vermont).
Altogether I’m mailing myself $690 cold hard cash, I have spent $700 so far on gear for next year, I still have another $425 to spend on the freeze dried meals, and I have to buy new boots. Totals about $1,200 I have yet to spend plus shipping.
I imagine the trail will end up costing me $3,000 for just the time that I am on trail. I hope to have enough in the bank to settle down somewhere when I finish, so I’m shooting for $10,000 in the bank before I leave.
There, my 2008 trail story so far.
Oh and I’m hiking with a dog, so that will cost me more this time thru.
nobody
Six months, or twenty-six weeks, is a common amount of time to hike the AT. Using the twenty-six weeks figure, $2,600 allows you $100 per week, which is manageable; while $5,200 allows you $200 per week, which is luxurious. In either case, equipment and transportation would be extra. In other words, the $100-$200 weekly is for food in forests and towns.
Conan
Conan
Nobody…wow…I can’t even imagine spending that kind of money doing the AT…incredible…I am sure you enjoyed yourself…Good luck to you on your next ‘at-venture’
Thanks for all the info…It puts things in a much better perspective for me…happy hiking
Peapop
Expense for the each town stop:
Mail (for bounce box for maps, etc) $10 + Lodge $50 + Town Food $25 (pizza, etc) + Buying Trail Food $40 = $125
$125 times 26 weeks= $3,250
It is a very conservative estimate; for example, it costs more to find lodging in the north of AT. Also, if you take zeros and have additional town stays, you have to add them to the total expense. I have met many hikers who have run out of money and thus, ending their hike earlier than they anticipated. You can hike spending less money, but you have to budget carefully and stick to the budget. It is not easy.
Jill
THANK YOU! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, finally a sound pat advice and quote.!
Year after year, people always throw out that dollar a mile bullpoop. and then these young guys have it so tough when they realise that they did not have enough money to finish the trail.
Personally I would add another 5% on top of that. This is a trip of a lifetime for many people and they deserve honest answers about cost.
Another tidbit- I think it is fairly cheap until you get north of Virginia.
Good job
And I think Mr. Nobody reminds me of this feller in 05’ by the name of TDS (Totally Different Subject) Now he was a hoot, traipsing off to Mardi Gras, and “checking out” Yellowstone during his “thru hike”
jack bailey