How mch money - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

I know what the say about the cost per mile, but I have $2000 dollars, can I hike the whole trail with this amount of money.

fatback

#2

You can do whatever you set your mind to do. The dollar a mile figure is at least 15 years old, but I know people who have done the AT for $600-1000. However, there is a tradeoff. If you go low budget, you will have a much more spartan hike. There will be fewer and shorter town visits, no beer, less pizza, etc. What you will need to do is get in and out of town as quickly as possible so that you aren’t tempted to spend money. Avoid getting caught up in groups - they tend to go to every town possible. Right now you probably can’t imagine how alluring towns can be with real food, hot showers, clean sheets. A basic spartan hike means you buy your on-trail food, eat an occasional meal out and avoid motels. That can be perfectly enjoyable. More money means a more relaxed hike, a few or a lot of extras, and more cushion in case things go wrong (gear changes, medical bills, or time after the trail when you don’t have to be working). But that cushion is a luxury, not a necessity.

Ginny

#3

Make use of hiker boxes and work for stay. These things willl really help your budget. Also try to remember that things get more expensive as you go north so stick to a budget. If you have a few maildrops before hand this helps too.

Nokia

#4

Dear Fatback:

$2,000.00 divided by six months or 180 days equals $11.11 per day. That’s a tight budget.

$2,000.00 divided by four months or 120 days equals $16.67 per day. Still tight, but better.

And in both cases I assume almost all your money is going to food.

Its do-able if you adopt a spendthrift, hiking as the prime activity, approach (much like Ginny described).

Years ago, this was the primary approach.

Odd now that it should be, apparently, the exception.

You can do it. Once you set your mind a certain way and get clear on your approach, you’ll be fine.

Sincerely–Conan.

Conan

#5

You probably want to check out the whiteblaze.net for article called Ideas for an Inexpensive Thru-hike by Weathercarrot, posted on 13 Nov 2003. It is doable like others said, but you need to be vigilant to stay within your budget. One of the major reasons for not finishing thru-hike is running out of money. Good luck. Here is the link:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/article.php?p=22959&postcount=1

Bluebird 2004

#6

I bought all my food locally (no mail drops) and spent about $20 per week for food. Another $20 a week for 1 or 2 night’s lodging. Another $10 a week for a couple cheap town meals.

It should be possible to hike the trail for $1000 at this budget. I, however, only stuck to it for a few months, from Florida to Virginia. When I got back to the AT I started hangin with my peeps. By Virginia I had abandoned the budget.

You can buy all your gear and hike the whole AT for $2000
if you can stick to a budget.

-dirtnap

dirtnap

#7

  1. Hotels. These have become more popular as time goes on, especially with big crowds.

  2. Alcohol. See above

  3. Expensive gear. People always want the latest micro-ounce gadget made of new & improved unobtainium. Try shopping at Wally World when your gear wears out.

Although I love a hot shower & a day off as much as the next person (45 zero days in 04), the only place to spend money is in town. The longer you are there, the more weight you will drop from your wallet. Let me reiterate the strategy of staying 2-4 miles from town, getting in by 9am & doing your resupply/mail/laundry in time to leave by 3pm. In a lot of towns, especially the smaller ones up north, you might feel more of a sense of accomplishment in that you did make some miles while doing everything you needed to. Sometimes I felt that I spent more than I should have by getting into town late, eating out, spending on 2 nights lodging instead of one, etc.

That said, dont forget to put your feet up once in a while & enjoy life.

30-30

30-30

#8

Can you hike the AT for $2000? The answer is yes, provided you limit your town expenses. With $2000, you probably will not be able to afford many hotel rooms, and too many meals in restaurants. Since many days off are taken in towns, that also means that you will not be doing much of that.

Also, another way to reduce costs is not to take fewer days off than most.

There are some posts on whiteblaze about hiking on a budget. You might check them out.

Peaks