It's so cheap to hike the AT!!!

[middle to middle]

It was fun reading all the mail and shopping and trying stuff. I recall early in hike stopping and making a pile of stuff and leaving it in middle of trail for someone else. At one point my UPS guy idolized me with all the good stuff I was getting from such great suppliers. The process of what I needed and could do without was very interesting. Also as a senior retired guy with money contrasted to thy young poor people just starting in a career with no money. The trail hardening process managed to dispense with the unnecessary. I managed to unload everything even the tent going to a tarp. Coffee and alcohol were two things I never really wanted to give up.
I was in sales and a very personable guy who thought he wanted solitude. Not so I was very lonely most of the time. Great time all considered.

[TX Aggie]

The mountain men were after beaver. Good money in beaver pelts, at the time. Overtrapping beaver may have been mans first man made ecological disaster. All those damns and natural flood control went with the beaver. All in search of profit. Money is the root of all evil.

According to the dinosaurs a meteor, not man, was responsible for the greatest ecological disaster on earth.

All about perspective.

As for greed: it's that same "greed" that is now responsible for the most efficient management of hunting lands and wildlife since before the time of the plains Indians.

[AfterParty]

I spent a lot. Maybe 2500-3000 took me a year to accumulate everything I have. Did my first 14 mile of many 1000s to come. I had virtually no gear so I bought some stuff and traded some of what I had or sold it. Then got better stuff. Lighter stuff would be a more accurate statement. I will be in peak physical shape on day 1. Its how I roll. Does it matter that I spent so much no could I have done the trail for less absolutely without a doubt. Might have been less comfortable an struggled mentally but still could be done. I do have some things to sell that I have eliminated from my pack. So the number is not necessarily accurate.

[Dogwood]

Being a NEWB to LD hiking/thru-hiking and gear knowledge I spent almost entirely at Campoor in 2005:

Pack: Osprey Aether 70 L $110(left over, 70% off original price)
Sleeping bag: Slumber Jack 25* synthetic $80
Shelter: Eureka Back Country 1 $100
Inflatable pad: Thermorest Prolite 4 long $80(no longer made)
Cookware: Snow Peak Mini Solo Ti kit $50
Stove: Snow Peak Giga $30
Water treatment: AM 2 part Drops $10
Maps: complete AT mapset $40(bought used)
Shoes: started with Vasque Breeze mid cuts $120 went with lighter version of the Breeze for second pr, FREE replacement by Campmoor HAND DELIVERED in NJ!, two pr the entire AT compared to others using light wt trail runners who used 4 pr at $100+ each, we finished at the same time)

Clothing I already had.

Ballpark it at $700.

As I evolved, as you will too!, traded out the over temp rated BULKY HEAVY Slumber Jack for a Montbell Super Stretch 850 FP down sleeping bag and the Osprey Aether 70L for a Granite Gear Vapor Trail pack. In New Hampshire splurged on a Marmot Helium 15* down bag that IMHO was better in thye 2005 version than later versions.

While gear facilitated being able to ramp up MPD avgs it's only one factor of which I'd estimate accounted for about 1/3 of this ability while on that AT NOBO.

[Dogwood]

I was discussing fishing lures and equipment with a friend of mine several years back and he said something pretty profound: "Some lures are designed to catch fish, and others are designed to catch fisherman."

You can spend as much or as little as you want on gear. There are quite a few on this forum that spend far more time shopping for gear than they do hiking. Using the stuff is the only way you're going to figure out what works for you. I try to do one big purchase a year so that I'm cycling through my gear every 5 years or so. Which means if I make a bad purchase I'm just living with it for a couple years. But I don't make many bad purchases anymore...I'm on the other side of the learning curve. I always tell newer people to start with inexpensive gear and then upgrade one piece of gear at a time...otherwise you end up with $3,000 to $5,000 worth of gear and you're only using about $1500 worth of it.

I think you're better off starting with a dirtbag $300 set of equipment and upgrading...that way you're not spending a lot of money on a hobby you might not even like, and if you decide you do like it you're getting some experience before you blow lots of money on stuff you don't know much about.

This is a very reliable AT approach for NEWB LD hikers. IMO, NEWBS can make the gear mistake that has them ATTEMPTING TO BECOME gear wonk perfectionists or attempting to fulfill a gear Nirvana wish list pre hike.

"There are quite a few on this forum that spend far more time shopping for gear than they do hiking. Using the stuff is the only way you're going to figure out what works for you."

THIS ^^^

"I think you're better off starting with a dirtbag $300 set of equipment and upgrading...that way you're not spending a lot of money on a hobby you might not even like, and if you decide you do like it you're getting some experience before you blow lots of money on stuff you don't know much about"

THIS ^^^

[FiftyNine]

I joke with my friends that after I bought everything, got new gear, keep adding gear, changing gear, I could've gone on a six month cruise.


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[egilbe]

According to the dinosaurs a meteor, not man, was responsible for the greatest ecological disaster on earth.

All about perspective.

As for greed: it's that same "greed" that is now responsible for the most efficient management of hunting lands and wildlife since before the time of the plains Indians.

The keyword was man made

[fastfoxengineering]

Gear is just a means to an end. Its just stuff that gets you to katadhin.

I think a lot of experienced hikers spend good money on gear because that gear makes them more efficient and helps them achieve goals.

Noone needs a $350 tarp or $400 sleeping bag. But after you use one for 6 months you may or may not see the merit in it.

When people look at my hobbies and go dude you have like $10,000 worth of hunting, hiking, firearm stuff.. that's ridiculous.

Well I usually look at my affordable Toyota Tacoma and then see they're driving a brand new GMC that they owe triple the amount on than what I spent on my hobby equipment.

It's all relative.

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[b-square]

The keyword was man made

Man is an imperfect being - and to expect perfection is a fools folly. We learn from our mistakes and evolve to a more perfect existence, with the knowledge we will never get there.
Same goes for gear.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I think a hiker can equip very well for under $1500, and maybe even $1000 if they're willing to shop sales and clearance on last year's models, buy used gear, and/or carry a bit more weight. You don't need to spend big $ on Cuben this and that, Patagucci clothes, or Ti pots, etc. A quality down bag or quilt is generally the biggest expense and the one thing you can't go too cheap on. And having said that, Grandma Gatewood pretty much makes even that a false assumption.

[TX Aggie]

It's really interesting to see the light/ultralight debate from a historical perspective. It would be interesting to see what the average pack weight was 20, 50, 80 years ago. And it's not just pack weight, it's the little things like shoe/boot weight and materials. Clothing. Food. Water.
All cotton or wool materials. Leather or metal canteens. No cook stoves, just fire starting gear. Metal cooking gear tied to the outside of their packs.

That's why I'm so fascinated by the Great Weight Debate.


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[H I T C H]

I have read that an extra pound of footware equates to 5 extra pounds of pack weight.


Hitch

[lonehiker]

A person can easily achieve a sub 20 lb base weight for under 1,500.

[Maineiac64]

Well in the last year I have bought 2 tents, 3 sleeping bags, a hammock, 3 packs, 2 sleeping pads, 3 pairs of boots, 3 sets of hiking poles, 4 water filters, a stove, cook pot, and all manner of clothes and acessories. Then I got into fly fishing too.

[Greenlight]

I only wonder how long it will be until someone comes out with a Dyneema duff-sack that you line with a cheap felt liner and fill with leaf litter to use for a sleeping bag. And before y'all tear me apart, yeah, I know it rains, and you shouldn't disturb that layer, and this and that and all the rest...still an interesting thought.

[Pondjumpr]

.... Then I got into fly fishing too.

Ha, Ha. Good luck with that! I did the same about 3 years ago. I love it but MAN.... $$$$$ (I just got into Saltwater Fly Fishing last year) Get good gear with lifetime warranty. You will blow through the cheap stuff early on, meaning as soon as you use a nicer rod, reel, waders, shoes, etc.

I stopped trying to add up $ costs on my gear for outdoor activities many years ago. What I do, however, is look at meals at restaurants, hotel stays, etc. in terms of how much gear I could buy. Take my lunch for a week, buy a piece of gear with money saved. There are much worse places you could spend your time and money.

[greensleep]

I only wonder how long it will be until someone comes out with a Dyneema duff-sack that you line with a cheap felt liner and fill with leaf litter to use for a sleeping bag. And before y'all tear me apart, yeah, I know it rains, and you shouldn't disturb that layer, and this and that and all the rest...still an interesting thought.

There is a company that sells a wind shirt with pockets/chambers designed to hold leaves, crumpled paper, etc., effectively becoming a "puffy" jacket. Don't remember the name.

[Dogwood]

I'm finding this thread topic, " It's so cheap to hike the AT!!!" so ironically titled given the OP never left the driveway and found not enough space for all his "stuff" inside or on a backpack.

[Bronk]

I don't care what this dude says, he didn't abandon his plans because he couldn't fit his food bag in the pack. Its the equivalent of cancelling a trip to Europe an hour before your plane leaves because you can't get your suitcase closed. There's more going on here that's probably none of our business, but he never owed us an explanation and he didn't have to come on here telling fables about why he decided not to go. A simple "its just not the right time in my life, maybe next year" would have sufficed if he felt he had to say anything at all.

[Bronk]

Or maybe this whole thing was a big joke and this guy is laughing at all of us...if so, well played :-)