Is it still possible to do a thru-hike for under $1500?

[CarlZ993]

It is theoretically possible to hike very cheaply. I met a hiker - Cody Coyote - on the AT in 2013 who was basically a transient kid who had been hiking up & down the AT for several years. His food was basically what he could scrounge out of hiker boxes & other handouts. I also met the afore-mentioned Grandpa who was also hiking on the cheap (in blue jeans, no less).

I'd recommend budgeting more money rather than less. I'd dare say that no one ever said that they couldn't complete the AT due to having too much money. I've seen people have to bail due to running out of money.

To also minimize expenses, start later (assuming NoBo thru; less cold-weather gear = lighter pack), hiker longer hours/miles, and finish the hike quicker. Less time on the trail = less money spent.

Good luck on your hike.

[MuddyWaters]

A few years ago I could eat for $7 /day. Now it is at least $12 it seems on the trail. Restaurant food is crazy now too. Hardly ever stay under 20 for a restaurant burger, fries, shake, tax, tip. A single town overnight will run $100 .

[Coffee]

I've met hikers on very low budgets and some can pull it off. I met a hiker shortly before Muir Trail Ranch on the JMT who was basically flat broke. Somehow he managed to resupply from the hiker barrels with enough food to finish the trail (I'm assuming he finished since I never saw him again after I took a zero at MTR). But the hiker barrels at MTR were amazingly full due to many JMT hikers sending way too much food. Most hiker boxes I've seen elsewhere are pretty limited.

For a comfortable hike with town food and staying at a hostel about once per week, $1,000/month works. That's my planned budget for the PCT next year. But I think that $500/month is possible for someone who is really willing to give up almost all town amenities. For me that would degrade the experience but some people won't be bothered by it.

[rocketsocks]

A few years ago I could eat for $7 /day. Now it is at least $12 it seems on the trail. Restaurant food is crazy now too. Hardly ever stay under 20 for a restaurant burger, fries, shake, tax, tip. A single town overnight will run $100 .

Man that's cray money...you gotta learn to pull a "Namath" once in a while


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Cg-ggsVC4

[Sly]

A better question would be why would you want to? Find another job or save another year and have enough money to make sure you won't have to quit prematurely.

[Ktaadn]

Who knew Joe Nameth liked mustard that much?

[Coffee]

A free night of locally sponsored lodging in a very secure facility is also possible with that resupply approach!

[Grampie]

Next to getting injured, lack of funds is the biggest reasons folks give up on a thru-hike. A thru-hike is a great experience. Save some money before you try it. Grampie-N-> 2001

[RED-DOG]

Yes it was possible to do it for 1500 back in the 80's but this is not the 80"s due to inflation i don't think it would be possible today, I personnally have hiked the AT three times the last was in 2012 and i spent $5700 and i am a really frugal spender when it comes to money, My advice to you is to count on spending atleast $5000 thats for gear, Transportation to and from, food, Hostel/Hotel and anything else. it's best to have too much than not enough

[squeezebox]

I bought a small pick up truck in 88' for $6K. Now probably 3X that. AT probably the same.

[Coffee]

The CPI for food is the most relevant inflation measure. The 20 year average is 2.6% annually which seems modest but indicates that food is 67% more expensive now than in 1994. So a budget thru hike that cost $1,500 in 1994 might cost $2,500 today, or around $500/month. That seems doable for someone hardly ever staying in towns or eating in restaurants.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/datafiles/Fo...Iforecast.xlsx

[MuddyWaters]

The CPI for food is the most relevant inflation measure. The 20 year average is 2.6% annually which seems modest but indicates that food is 67% more expensive now than in 1994. So a budget thru hike that cost $1,500 in 1994 might cost $2,500 today, or around $500/month. That seems doable for someone hardly ever staying in towns or eating in restaurants.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/datafiles/Fo...Iforecast.xlsx

Could be, if they didnt change it intentionally to understate inflation. They have been doing that for years. Same way with all inflation measures.
Replace steak, with ground beef, etc.

But also, farming and food prices change too over time. Today, there are few small farms, food is imported from other countries and grown on mega-farms in South America by american companies. A lot of food is produced cheaper than ever, which throws a kink in the validity of any comparisons.

[garlic08]

You will blow 20% of your budget in one town stop at some point during the hike, and that might just end the hike right there.

That reminds me of my zero day in South Lake Tahoe on the PCT, my first long hike. My wife urged frugality, but I convinced her to splurge a bit. Two nights motel, setting up four resupply boxes and mailing them, new shoes and a new shirt, meals out.... As we hiked out of town, I tallied up the bill and it came to over $700! And we didn't gamble, or even drink alcohol.

$1000/month has always worked for me, and that's living comfortably as a middle-aged guy with a credit card. That seems to be a good average from what I've seen--many spend way more, a few spend way less. Of course, then, the variable becomes how fast do you hike. If you're starting out on the AT, you don't know if you'll have a four month hike or a six+ month hike.

[DavidNH]

if you want to have any fun at all.... and visit towns and go to restaurants (and everyone does that) then NO it is not possible to thru hike on 1500$.

[Old Hiker]

There seems to be two schools of thought here:

1. Be very frugal - it probably can be done. This, to me, means you rely ONLY on yourself and your OWN resources. If you don't have the resources, you wait until you do.

2. Be a mooch (my word) and beg from other people and/or hope you can scrounge from other people's castoffs (hiker boxes). Begging is MY word - to me, it means standing there, looking hungry and waiting for someone to be guilty enough to offer you part of what they have. Going with a group, KNOWING you can't afford the pizza and hoping someone will chip in for your share. Etc, etc, etc.

I'm burned out on people with their hands out.

[Bronk]

I don't view hiker boxes the same as begging, yogi-ing or asking for charity or even mooching. Most of the food in there ends up there because newbies carry way too much food out of inexperience or their maildrops have too much food or they are tired of eating what is in them. Not sure if its still the case today, but 10 or more years ago the folks at Neels gap told me that much of what was put in their hiker box was thrown away because there was simply so much deposited in there on a daily basis. If people don't use it it will be wasted. If you're not picky about what you eat you could probably go all the way to Damascus without buying food.

[rafe]

Nothing wrong with taking anything out of a hiker box. That's what they're there for. On the other hand, it would be a bit presumptuous and kinda dumb to plan a through-hike around them.

[Poedog]

There's a guy this year heading south who's budget is $1 a day. Passed him at Kincora last week and he's still sticking to it. He spent 150 on gear, and has 150 for food. He's in Erwin right now. Does lots of work for stays.

[jawnzee]

if you want to have any fun at all.... and visit towns and go to restaurants (and everyone does that) then NO it is not possible to thru hike on 1500$.

I personally have all of my fun on the trail.

I'm not sure of the exact expenses for my PCT thru, but my trip that summer was 200 days, PCT being 120 of them, and the total trip cost was just a bit north of $2000. So the PCT was likely <$1500. I worked at Jimmy John's for a few months and lived really frugally and saved up around $4500, got back to normal life with a healthy reintegration fund over $2000. I didn't keep good numbers on it because it didn't matter how much I had budgeted, I would just spend as little as possible.

I look at calorie/$ as well as calorie/ounce. On the trail I went for a food budget of $8/day, allowing for $2/day random things fund. No shipping resupply boxes. No big spending in trail towns, made easier by being a vegetarian and not drinking alcohol and preferring to sleep outside. Would drink a half gallon of milk and eat a bunch of fruit and vegetables and then get back out to the trail as soon as possible. Had fun

[cbg]

As an old fart I wouldn't even consider the idea of thru hiking the AT without $5000.00 in the bank and a job awaiting me when I return from the trail. If you don't have a job waiting for you when you complete the hike you probably need another $2500.00-$3000.00 extra in the bank. What you are doing is taking a once in a lifetime working vacation and not only do you not want to be miserable but you don't want to be a mooch to those hiking with you. Every AT thru hiker that I have ever spoken with has expenses for food, lodging, transportation, broken equipment, etc...along the trail. While it's not inexpensive, if done correctly it will more than likely be something that you remember fondly for the rest of your life.

Good Luck!!!