The itch - Appalachian Trail

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#1

i know it’s only september… but i can’t wait… ( i have to wait, i have to save $) but i don’t want to.

I went out for a rainy dayhike today and it was so beautiful. the mountains were full of mist and fog… i was so jealous and sad when i realized the hike was over and i had to get back in a car and get on a highway. i love the sound of rain on my tent. i can’t wait until that’s just my life…

any other 2005’ers getting the itch?? or am i crazy?

by the way, anyone ever notice that the mountains to sea trail gets spooky and eery as you go further north? or is just me?

also, financial question… (ok this is a random scattered post, sorry) when people say they save, say, $3000 for the trail, what is that for exactly? does that include health insurance payments? i’m going to do a moderate amount of maildrops (vegetarian) so i guess that is a separate amount also… or is that included? i’m confused. sadly. help please.

greenie

#2

think the hiking itch is bad now? the month before you go you’ll be bouncing off walls.

as far as cost, i spent roughly $50 a week for food shopping exclusively at grocery stores ($50 is probably above average, but Snickers bars ain’t cheap). But apart from that, cost is really all about trail towns and zero days. Figure this for a single day:
Breakfast in town: $8; Lunch: $10; Dinner: $12; Beer: $20
Split a motel: $30 ($15 for a hostel).

that being said, cost is all about you and if you’re able to suck it up and leave town the next day or not. for me (and many others) the first two months cost the most because there was always be a big crowd of hikers in each town and it can be hard to pass up that fraternity. If cost is an issue, do more neroes --an easy 5-10 miles into town in the morning, hit a hostel or motel, and do 5 miles out of town the next evening. if you need a day to rest, it’s great to pack extra food out and take a day off in a shelter.

hope that helps some. i’m hiking again in 05, too. i’ll see you out there.

0101

#3

Hikers usually spend at least $3000 to hike the AT. That includes food purchased along the way, hostels and hotels in towns, replacing footwear and gear along the way, beer, snickers.

It doesn’t include initial purchases of gear, travel to the start, and from the end of the hike, insurance premiums, and other such expenses.

Peaks

#4

This topic is covered a lot here, but basically this is the deal.

Look through the Companion, which I think is the easiest and most accurate thing out there, and get a basic idea of what you think you MAY spend at stops along the way for lodging, (Be it hostels, or hotels), and then average in what you think it will cost over that to buy yourself a couple of good town meals, and maybe a Movie or what have you, as movies on the AT are my itch.

Then, figure in what you plan on spending on gear, (Which in all honesty, once you have a set up, you can use the same thing for the whole trip), but a lot of folks have a urge to spend more on new gear because everyone around them is getting a new pack, tent, tarp, poles, garbage, or what have you…ignore the urges to be part of the “Joneses” and that alone will save you a monkey-butt load of cash.

You say you are doing maildrops, which I never use, only an envelope filled with travelers checks, thus saving expensive postage costs, and not having a bundle of food I will be sick as hell of in a matter of two months…which you will see happen to your hiking peers.
Or at least buy a lot of random things, and spread them out so you are not getting the same food every drop…cuz you will get sick of Tofu, no matter how yummy it is.:oh

The excitment level will not go away, once the bug bites, it do take a chunk, and it will alter how you live your life in many ways after the trip.

You can go about it in many ways…party all the time, waste a lot of money, enjoy the (as stated above) fraternity feeling of towns, and end up sleeping off hangovers while the months pass you by and you realize that you are living exactly as you did at home, only dirtier.

Or you can simplify, which this trip will show you is the true essence of finding out about who you are at the core, the truth in the simpliest of forms without distractions that remind you of why the hell you wanted to escape from the stupidity of ignorance in the first place.

Both ways are fun, one is just a lot more spiritual, as you will spend more time alone if you go at it in the sense of not worrying about if you can make it to the town where the hikers a week ahead of you are partying, instead of breathing in the discipline that comes with passing up the party in favor of nature, interactions with others at a nondrunk form, finding out who you are, and lots of other beautiful things that this trip will give you that will more then make up for the pain that comes along with it.

I wish you luck, and know that what you are doing is important, and do not worry about anything other then the day to day acceptance of what the trail brings, and see the next mile, not Katahdin, cuz it will be there when you get there.

Lion King
Hikin’ My Own Hike since 98

walkingwithdfreedom.com

Lion King

#5

If you follow Burn’s example, you’ll need 14k to reach Harpers Ferry.

Cheers

Cheers

#6

for the great advice. i was kinda hopin the insurance would be included in that amount though. darn.

as for vegetarian food… i plan on using a lot of recipes from the book lipsmakin vegetarian backpacking. they are great recipes w/ a lot of variety… and it gives you weight per serving. in case anyone was interested.

it’s another rainy day here… :cheers

greenie

#7

I constantly have the itch and hike some every week as a result. I live to be out there.

Regarding money, hiking is very cheap, in fact it doesn’t cost anything, it is those zero days in motels and all the pizza huts and so forth that cost most of the doe. Just stay away from them and you will save tons of money. It’s not the hiking that costs money, it’s the gear and food and … The hiking is free.

Just hit town to restock and then hit the trail again. You can eat well on 50 bucks a weeks. If thru hike last six months, then that is only 200 bucks times six or 1200 bucks and it can be done for that easily. Bottom line, don’t let the trail towns suck you in. You can spend the entire hike on the trail without staying a single night in town and shelling out those big bucks.

See you out there. :cheers

Maintain

#8

I have the itch bad. Zero and I are finalizing plans for the PCT next year and all this planning has me itching for Campo worse than I was itching from the mosquito’s in New Jersey on last years hike! :slight_smile:

Yo-YO

#9

The itch doesn’t go away. The more you scratch it, the worse it gets. Sorry!

Re: Money - how far you live from the trail will partly determine how much you will spend on postage. Cross country postage was at least $20/box. We sent few boxes. If you live in Virginia, you won’t spend as much. Insurance varies on the individual. Because it would have cost us about $500/month for the two of us, we didn’t get any. On the CDT we had an accident that cost about $600 in ER expense - we came out ahead. I don’t recommend it though. In the $3000 total, some include gear, some don’t. Some include travel, some don’t. Obviously, that will also vary depending on how far you live from the trail, whether or not you flip flop and whether or not you go home for any reason (some want to attend family weddings, graduations, funerals, etc.)

One thing - if at all possible, have extra funds for after the trail. Most people don’t want to go back to work for a while after they finish hiking. January is typical for a lot of thruhikers. Can you afford to live for three months after the trail? Also, while it is very possible to hike on the cheap, and it has some real advantages, it is also nice to have the freedom that comes with a little extra in the account so you can enjoy extra time off, movies, concerts, rafting trips, etc. For many, this is a once in a lifetime experience - why not enjoy it fully? You don’t have to use every penny; it’s just nice to know the money is there if needed.

Spirit Walker

#10

Yes the itch is being scratched, I spent 3 days on the AT this weekend. Beautiful views from Bear, Race and Everett mts. in CT and MA. Started counting down to 05 hike at 457 and recently it was 200. Hope to see you out there greenie.

socks

#11

yeah, it’s possible to avoid motels in every town and just hike out, but quite often I’d get one not because I wanted the bed, but because I needed a shower.

0101

#12

Itch-itch-itch-itch-itch!!
It’s all I think about. I keep having to find new peeps to talk to about the upcoming hike because all my family and friends are tired of hearing about it. Are you getting alot of eyes rolling up? I get that a lot because they’ve heard so much about this hike. Somewhere between the first and second week of Feb.2005, Keith and I will get started. Goals are great! Life is great! Seize the day!

The Great Whazoo

#13

having written and lost the longer verson of this, I will say that I too thnk of not much else but my upcoming hike starting in early March. I research gear, read trail journals and White Blaze and question all thru hikers I meet when I am out day hiking in the Whites. I have now ordered my new pack, a ULA P2 and my Nomad tent is waiting to have the seams sealed. Looking for a warm light weight sleeping bag. I weighed my 25* bag and it was over 2 lbs. I want a lower* and lighter weight. Lookng for feed back on that one.

Sleeveless

#14

Sleeveless, check out the new Mountain Hardwear 25* bag. I can’t remember the name of the bag but it cost’s around $240 and weighs in at around 1lb 8oz. A really light weight, low volume down bag. Seems a good bet for a six month trip, without having to worry about switiching it out a few times. It’s gonna be my next bag.

Cheers

Cheers

#15

Ho Ho Ho and away I go o/a 24 Feb!!
This will be sooo much more fun than the investigation of two people I was assigned during my last 5 months of a 28 year AF career. I can’t hardly wait to begin “the agony” of rain, cold, achy back and feet, etc.
Remember: The ability to move and freedom are as one!!
GAME 2005

Big Daddy D

#16

The itch is bad. Once you’ve got it, the only thing you can do is hike the Trail. I read up on the AT and checked all the forums but about 5 months before I left for Springer I got it so bad. It was time and I couldn’t concentrate on anything, school was going through the motions, just thinking about hiking. (hardly anything has changed). Once it gets you, you gotta go do it. Every spring the itch comes back and frankly it never leaves you

A-Train

#17

Ok, maybe not a gas. When we were planning for the trail, we wanted to make money a non-issue. We both had around $5000 each saved up. For my hike, it cost me about $1500 for gear and about $3000 for the trail (that includes travel to Springer Mt and insurance for 6 months). Insurance was around $400. Money spending fluxes a lot on the trail. At the beginning you spend A LOT of time in towns (hotels, hostels, restaurants, etc), so lots of money is spent there. After we got going, I spent about $8 a day on JUST FOOD. About $60 a week on food. I was also eating up towards 5000 calories a day. Aside from fuel, if you are REALLY trying to save money, that’s the only real cost. Sure, if equipment breaks, you need to have it fixed. I would recommend getting stuff at REI or LL Bean or someplace that takes gear back for a full refund if it doesn’t work. Gear that works on a dayhike might not work for long distances. Prepare for your hike. PREPARE! Don’t take 60lbs of Walmart gear thinking that you’ll be ok. At Neels Gap you’ll dump your gear into the hiker box and spend $1000 on all new equipment. Saw it happen MANY TIMES. Anyways, I could ramble on for hours… Just my 2 Lincolns…

Dave and Miranda

#18

If at all possible, get to one of the Gatherings or to a Ruck. There you will be able to talk to a lot of other past and future thruhikers. It isn’t quite scratching the itch, but it helps a lot to be able to compare notes and ask questions with people who really do understand exactly what you are going through.

Ginny