Cost of Hike Threads

[johnnyjohnson2043]

I'm sure that there are a number of threads already somewhere out there but darned if I can find them. I must not be using the correct search terms. All I'm looking for are real number from real people about how much it cost them to hike. I know that the ATC says $1000 on average but I am certain that I've seen much lower numbers from people on this very forum. I even saw one website that mentioned something like $1.50 per mile which seems a little low to me but I'm sure that someone has done it. I'm hoping to hike for $500-750 per month. I am limiting my in town visits to supply runs only as much as possible which I definitely didn't do on my last hike. Any numbers from anyone out there would be helpful or if you know where to find a thread that already exists on this subject I'll take that, too. Thanks in advance!

[johnnyjohnson2043]

After I wrote this post I realized that $750 per month is about $1.50 per mile for 5 months if I'm doing my math right...So that's not as low as I thought it would be...

[trailmercury]

5x750=3750
Not enough, I would say minimum 5k. 7-8k to be pretty comfy and 10k for a cushy hike
if you have to wait another year to save, the trail isn't going anywhere
as always HYOH

[MuddyWaters]

$1000 / mo isnt bad number.

Yep, some can do it for $1500. Mooching, work for stay, hiker boxes, and be real thrifty.

Unfortunately that doesn't mean you can. If the only way to find out is to take that risk..... Is that what you want to do?

It's a vacation.

One of the top reasons people quit.... Is they ran out of money.

If you want to spend less money stay out of towns, hike faster.

[Odd Man Out]

Search hint. Use Google and search "Whiteblaze" plus what you're looking for. Many people report better luck searching with Google than the in-house search engine.

And doing a thru-hike budget per month makes sense. Faster hikes are cheaper. Also you have to compare apples to apples. Some people include gear in their budgets. Others may included gear replacement. Some may include transportation to/from the trail head. Others may only include money spent on supplies while hiking (food/fuel). Another reason it's a hard number to pin down.

[MtDoraDave]

Don't forget to "budget" into the cost of your hike any bills that need to be paid while you're hiking; like a mortgage, health insurance, or student loans.

[MtDoraDave]

^^^Assuming thru hike. ^^^

To go hiking for a week costs me about $500. Gas, shuttle, road food, hiking food, stove fuel.

[Gambit McCrae]

Haha Muddy beat me to it...Less money= hike faster. If you are not a drinker/ tobacco user that will help as well as what you do on your zero days. Another good tactic is to try and always have a hiking buddy on the trail. If you can split a hotel room/ shuttle/ resupply options 2-3 ways it will save money.

$750 a month = Apx 188 a week...Which I think is very doable while on the trail IF you do not have "At home expenses" to cover while hiking like car payment, rent, utilities etc

[evyck da fleet]

I’d suggest looking back at your old hikes and figuring out what you realistically would leave out if you did it again to determine your budget. Would you splurge in ten towns again or would it be two or three this time?

i could also make an argument for not having a hiking partner to slow you down. Hostels charge per person and hitching, if you can’t walk into town, is free. (although I always ask if I can offer something).

[peakbagger]

If you have never done a long distance hike, realize that most folks will get cravings for town food. Maybe you wont but many do and the businesses in trail towns have years of experience in tempting hikers to feed the craving. Its easy to drop a weeks worth of hiking costs in one afternoon in town. Spend a night like all the folks you may be hiking with and odds are you have spent more than the entire wood hiking.

[LittleRock]

The biggest expense for most LD hikers is taking a zero day/staying in town. You can minimize this by instead doing "nearo" days. Stop a few miles from town, walk in early to resupply, shower, do laundry, etc, then walk out and camp a few miles down the trail. It takes a lot more discipline to do it this way, but it will save some serious $$$.

[HooKooDooKu]

Based on the title of the thread, I thought this was going to be a discussion of how much you've paid for your hiking cloths.

[full conditions]

The impact of inflation is pretty staggering - I did my thru in 1976 for 830.00 - although to be fair, I had no debt or expenses at home to manage (high school student), I took very few zeros (four) and I was too young to drink.

[Puddlefish]

Pre-hike, I planned on about $1,000 per month over 5 months. I enjoy being in the woods, more than I enjoy being in towns.

In practice. The hiker hunger kicked in, and I initially managed to to buy better healthier foods at grocery stores, and get right back on the trail. Then it was a glorious multi breakfast meal at a Huddle House... and lots of food from grocery stores. Staying at a $10 a bunk hostel completely removed from civilization, spend $50 on frozen pizza, nuts, bars, pastries, microwave sandwiches, and breakfast treats. Yeah, I still loved the woods more than I loved towns, but the food was in the towns! Hiker hunger didn't actually trash my budget however, I pretty much planned for that in advance, and I wasn't surprised.

The real problem. Injuries. Twisted a knee, took a zero. Aggravated the knee, decide I should take a few zeros, hike less miles, let it heal... zeros are boring, get impatient and get back on the trail... and blow out the knee. Hike over. Pay big bucks for a shuttle to the nearest airport, pay big bucks for the flight home.

I never ran over my budget, but I had to get off the trail to avoid trashing my budget. Make your budget, whatever it is, but keep a reserve for emergencies to get yourself home from the most inconvenient part of the trail.

[Odd Man Out]

Don't forget to "budget" into the cost of your hike any bills that need to be paid while you're hiking; like a mortgage, health insurance, or student loans.

But then again, if you take into account the money you can save by canceling your car insurance, home internet and cable TV subscriptions, and add in the money you don't spend on gas and entertainment (that you would have spent if you weren't hiking), you might make a profit.

[Runner2017]

Last October staying at Davenport Gap shelter in the Smokies, I met three SOBO thru-hikers. One of them just graduated from college and attempted his thru-hike on a $1500 budget. All the way from Katahdin to the start of the Smokies had only cost him less than $700, he told me. He said he hadn't stayed in any hostels but had just taken showers there, and he hadn't indulged himself in towns, no visits to restaurants/bars. His supplies were mainly from mail-drop hiker-box, and dumpster-diving. He did spend some money to replace some gear tho.

[MuddyWaters]

But then again, if you take into account the money you can save by canceling your car insurance, home internet and cable TV subscriptions, and add in the money you don't spend on gas and entertainment (that you would have spent if you weren't hiking), you might make a profit.

Perhaps.....if you had no income at that time whilst incurring those expenses.

[MuddyWaters]

Last October staying at Davenport Gap shelter in the Smokies, I met three SOBO thru-hikers. One of them just graduated from college and attempted his thru-hike on a $1500 budget. All the way from Katahdin to the start of the Smokies had only cost him less than $700, he told me. He said he hadn't stayed in any hostels but had just taken showers there, and he hadn't indulged himself in towns, no visits to restaurants/bars. His supplies were mainly from mail-drop hiker-box, and dumpster-diving. He did spend some money to replace some gear tho.

Theres a fine line between between hiker and hobo.
Eating leftovers off strangers plates, and dumpster diving crosses that line.

Yeah, a ton of good food gets thrown away. Its shameful teallt.

[randy.shopher]

My general rule of thumb...take half as many clothes and twice the money as you think you will need.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[evyck da fleet]

That brings up another point about the figures you hear. Often those ultra small budgets don’t count all the money they spend to buy and mail their drops. If I ignored my food cost I could make those claims too.

dumpster diving and using hostel services without paying cross a line for most hikers.