The Logistics of finances on an AT thru hike

[somers515]

The title of this thread is a play on my trail name Logistics. I figured I would make a post in case anyone asked me how much my hike cost me. I kept track of every expense I made while on trail using the notes app on my phone and just tallied it up now that I'm back home. I was not frugal about this hike as the challenge of the hike was hard enough for me! I also for a couple of reasons always took private rooms over bunk rooms when available. You can absolutely spend less than this. I always direct people to Mr.MoneyMustache if you are looking for ways to save money - his blog allowed me to retire early so I could even do this hike. You got this.

Total spend 10,750 (almost exactly a 5.5 month long hike)
HF to ME spend 5,841
HF to GA spend 4,909

Breakdown:
Mail Drops 374 (this is just mailing costs, since I wasn't home to log the expense of the food that went into it, this will be a separate thread)
Backpacking Food 403 (supplementing what was mailed to me)
Eating/Drinking Out 2252 (I actually didn't eat out as much as others, but at 375 a month, more than I do in "real life")
Inns/Hostels 4906 (my biggest splurge, stayed at several hotels and almost always took a private room)
Gear/Fuel/Misc. 1811 (I started with all my gear but changed a few things out, includes my 4 sets of hiking shoes/superfeet)
Shuttles/Train/Airfare 1004 (includes one train ticket to Harpers Ferry, other one was a gift, and my airfare back home)

Hope this is helpful to someone!

[garlic08]

...I always direct people to Mr.MoneyMustache if you are looking for ways to save money - his blog allowed me to retire early so I could even do this hike. You got this.

The reference to MMM caught my eye. My wife and I retired at age 40, 26 years ago, following the Mustachian lifestyle before there were blogs. That was a prime age to get into a lot of bike touring and long distance hiking.

I kept a similar breakdown on my AT hike, but that was in 2008 so it no longer applies. I hiked a frugal hike, with a like-minded partner I could share rooms and other expenses with. It cost me quite a bit less that the average at the time, which was about $2/mile. The benchmark back then for "real cheap" was $1. A friend hiking the same year spent over $4.

[somers515]

The reference to MMM caught my eye. . ..

Interesting, thanks Garlic! It was this whiteblaze website that first introduced me to MMM many years ago so I owe a huge debt of gratitude to whiteblaze. Someone mentioned gift-truces in a thread and I was like wait a minute, money = freedom and freedom means I can go on long backpacking trips whenever I like and a few years after that I retired at age 43. I've always been surprised there isn't more overlap between FIRE and long distance hikers.

I definitely wasn't frugal on this hike though so don't turn me into the MMM early retirement police. : ) A hiking partner is great for splitting rooms and shuttles etc. but I still very much commend you for doing a long distance hike and also doing it frugally! If backpacking has taught me anything it's that you actually don't need a lot of material things to be happy.

[peakbagger]

Always good to see some real data. No doubt if you had a way of including food costs it would be much higher. I think the days of sending food drops has come gone due to number of options for resupply along the trail (except north of Glencliff)

Once I made a career change in my forties I really liked what I was doing so early retirement wasnt a goal. I did go to part time a few years earlier than my goal and fully retired at 63. I would have done so a year earlier, but Covid delayed a couple of projects and I wanted to see them through. /

I have run into several folks over the years that mix long distance hiking with frugal lifestyle and skills that are in demand and portable. EMTs are in incredible demand and do not require a college degree, just the right temperament and a succession of courses and tests. Once they get certified they can work anywhere and they can get seasonal gigs that allow them to bank up a lot of bucks to go hiking assuming they have frugal lifestyle. Skilled tradesmen are the same.

[RiverbirchHiker]

Thanks for sharing these financial details! I have been slowly section-hiking the trail, but look forward to the freedom to complete a thru-hike in the future (would be after retirement, which is many years off). This is helpful in imagining what kinds of choices I would make.


Ranger (blogger--Beer in Beautiful Places) just posted this detailed video on the costs of her 2023 thru-hike:
"MYTHBUSTING: AT Budgeting Rules Vs What I ACTUALLY Spent"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0W8gZ3qK0