Help a beginner hiker prepare for a 2014 PCT thru-hike attempt

[Danny Vickerman]

Hi everyone this is my first post, about 2 months ago i read the book "Cactus Eaters" documenting a couples PCT hike and really fell in love with the idea of doing a thru hike myself. Over the past 2 months i haven't been able to get it off my mind and have lurked around on the forums and YouTube and read a few more books. For a while I thought of doing a 2015 thru hike but i recently realized I can actually attempt one this year if I get my **** together, so I ordered yogi's guidebook and some gear and will be attempting it in a few months if all goes well.

I have no hiking experience and limited outdoors experience and would like help preparing both experience wise and gear wise for the PCT
I live in bend,Oregon and have good access so some hiking trails including part of the PCT and was planning to hike a overnight or more at least every other week to prepare for the pct and get used to and test gear. I also follow the paleo diet more or less, which will likely be hard to maintain on the trail, I fully accept that im going to be eating more grains but I want atleast half my diet to be protein and fat, if anyone has any ideas on that aside from mailing pounds of jerky im all for it.

Here is my accumulated gear so far:
(Keep in mind I am on a fairly strict budget, hoping to spend less than 3 grand on the entire hike including any gear purchases, which I think is reasonable) (Im also looking for more UL-ish Gear)

Thermarest Z-Lite SOL Sleeping Pad
Klymit Insulated Static V Camping Pad (I am not sure if inflatable or not is the best)
Thermarest Compressible Pillow
Osprey Exos 46-Litre Backpack
Military Modular Sleep System (Likely to change, is fairly heavy)
Sawyer Squeeze
Polycro Ground cloth

...And that's it, im a open book for new gear, the main item I feel ill need help with is clothing, none of my clothing is remotely suitable for this hike
Any recommended reading, training trails or places to buy gear on the cheap or whatever else you feel i may need to know is appreciated, thanks

[Malto]

Forget the gear. Get out and hike as soon and as much as you can. You have no clue if you even like hiking or not. After a few trips then worry about honing things down for a thru hike attempt.

[CarlZ993]

Note: My PCT experience is hiking from Lake Tahoe to Mt Whitney (~400 miles of the CA Sierras). I thru-hiked the AT this year. My desert hiking experience is in AZ & UT.

You got to do a lot of hiking & backpacking under your belt. I saw quite a few thru-hikers on the AT being complete rookies to backpacking & still successfully complete it. I think the shelter system and close access to towns helped in that process. You don't have that same system out west.

Also, I think your $3,000 budget for gear & the trip isn't realistic. I think you'll probably spend much more than that on just the trip. Gear would be even more.

Close-cell foam sleeping pad is bomb-proof. But, not as comfy to sleep on. It looks like you already have purchased two different pads. One is an inflatable that weighs 25 oz or so and the other is a close-cell foam that weighs 14 oz (assuming 20X72 size). If I had a tight budget, I'd sent back the Klymit pad for a refund and use that money to help purchase other gear. The Z-lite will work.

As you know, your sleeping system is heavy. The military doesn't do lightweight. Except their rifles (lot of plastic). If there is one area where you should consider splurging, it would be on the sleeping bag. Beg, borrow, or buy the best down sleeping bag you can. I'm partial to the Western Mountaineering bags. Top notch. But, bring your wallet when you make your purchase.

Your filter is a good choice. Lots of thru-hikers use that model. I used Aquamira (two-stage system; two different compounds that are mixed together, wait 5 min, place in your 'dirty water,' wait 15 min & then it is potable). Assuming you don't damage it somehow, your filter will be cheaper than Aquamira over the course of the thru-hike (use at least $15/mo of Aquamira... more in the desert).

Cook system? If you want to go real cheap, buy a 12 cm Imusa pot (about 1 liter capacity) @ Walmart for $3 or so, & fashion a foil lid (pie plate or heavy duty aluminum foil). Make a catfood can alcohol stove. More foil or flashing to make a windscreen. You're set. Want to spend more money, you can get a titanium pot (0.7 to 1 L). Even a canister stove (Pocket Rocket or something of that ilk).

Tent/shelter? I'm partial to a cottage industry single wall tent that is fully enclosed & bug-proof. Lot's of people make them. The silnylon tents are made by many different vendors. Most require hiking poles as their structure. For more money, you can get one made out of cuben fiber. But, those are pricey. Since you're new to backpacking, I wouldn't recommend using a tarp.

Headlight? Get one. Don't use a flashlight. Petzl, Black Diamond, & Princeton Tec make some good LED headlights. From my experience in the SW (& some of the PCT blogs I've read), you will do some hiking in the dark to avoid the heat (SoCa). I'm partial to the Petzl Tikka XP - 2. Regardless of the one you pick, I'd recommend you get one that has a red light option to it. If you ever share a tent or a shelter w/ someone, the red light is much kinder to others. The white light wakes people up.

You're young. Follow your passions. Enjoy it. Happy trails.

[Lala1008]

Re: food- it's all about nuts and seeds, raw is healthier

[Danny Vickerman]

Note: My PCT experience is hiking from Lake Tahoe to Mt Whitney (~400 miles of the CA Sierras). I thru-hiked the AT this year. My desert hiking experience is in AZ & UT.

You got to do a lot of hiking & backpacking under your belt. I saw quite a few thru-hikers on the AT being complete rookies to backpacking & still successfully complete it. I think the shelter system and close access to towns helped in that process. You don't have that same system out west.

Also, I think your $3,000 budget for gear & the trip isn't realistic. I think you'll probably spend much more than that on just the trip. Gear would be even more.

Close-cell foam sleeping pad is bomb-proof. But, not as comfy to sleep on. It looks like you already have purchased two different pads. One is an inflatable that weighs 25 oz or so and the other is a close-cell foam that weighs 14 oz (assuming 20X72 size). If I had a tight budget, I'd sent back the Klymit pad for a refund and use that money to help purchase other gear. The Z-lite will work.

As you know, your sleeping system is heavy. The military doesn't do lightweight. Except their rifles (lot of plastic). If there is one area where you should consider splurging, it would be on the sleeping bag. Beg, borrow, or buy the best down sleeping bag you can. I'm partial to the Western Mountaineering bags. Top notch. But, bring your wallet when you make your purchase.

Your filter is a good choice. Lots of thru-hikers use that model. I used Aquamira (two-stage system; two different compounds that are mixed together, wait 5 min, place in your 'dirty water,' wait 15 min & then it is potable). Assuming you don't damage it somehow, your filter will be cheaper than Aquamira over the course of the thru-hike (use at least $15/mo of Aquamira... more in the desert).

Cook system? If you want to go real cheap, buy a 12 cm Imusa pot (about 1 liter capacity) @ Walmart for $3 or so, & fashion a foil lid (pie plate or heavy duty aluminum foil). Make a catfood can alcohol stove. More foil or flashing to make a windscreen. You're set. Want to spend more money, you can get a titanium pot (0.7 to 1 L). Even a canister stove (Pocket Rocket or something of that ilk).

Tent/shelter? I'm partial to a cottage industry single wall tent that is fully enclosed & bug-proof. Lot's of people make them. The silnylon tents are made by many different vendors. Most require hiking poles as their structure. For more money, you can get one made out of cuben fiber. But, those are pricey. Since you're new to backpacking, I wouldn't recommend using a tarp.

Headlight? Get one. Don't use a flashlight. Petzl, Black Diamond, & Princeton Tec make some good LED headlights. From my experience in the SW (& some of the PCT blogs I've read), you will do some hiking in the dark to avoid the heat (SoCa). I'm partial to the Petzl Tikka XP - 2. Regardless of the one you pick, I'd recommend you get one that has a red light option to it. If you ever share a tent or a shelter w/ someone, the red light is much kinder to others. The white light wakes people up.

You're young. Follow your passions. Enjoy it. Happy trails.

Thanks ill look into it, im curious how much the hike will really cost I heard 3-4 grand is a good estimate and alot of people do it lower, i know someone where im at that did half of the pct last year and is going to finish up this year, he thinks 3 grand will be plenty but maybe that's for more experienced hikers? Im also curious i have food stamps and i wonder if some of the bigger trail towns accept them, that way i could do more of a hybrid system that wont totally break the bank, my food stamps will really add up over 5 months, if you could do a sample cost breakdown id appreciate it, i should get my guide in the mail today or shortly and will be trying to pull as much information as i can from it especially on the cost side of things

[Coffee]

I'm planning a PCT thru hike in 2015 with a budget of roughly $8,500.

The direct costs I'm planning on for a 22 week hike are:

Travel expenses to/from West Coast: $400
Travel/shuttles to towns during trip at $20/week avg: $440
Food on trail: 6 days/week @ $15/day: $2,310
Food in towns: 1 day/week @ $50/day: $1,100
Lodging in towns: 1 day/week @ $100/day: $2,200 (hostels might be cheaper where available)
Gear replacements during the trip (I already have my existing gear): $1,000
Mailing/resupply costs: $500
Miscellaneous at $25/week: $550

Total: $8,500

Granted some of the expenses are discretionary particularly the lodging and food in towns, and maybe gear replacement won't cost a full $1K. But I honestly can't see how the costs can be $3,000 for the entire trip.

Now, the good news is that I estimate that I will not be spending about $3,000 over that 22 weeks that I would normally spend in my day-to-day life (gasoline, groceries, eating out, etc). So the net cost of the trip is really more like $5,500. And I'm planning to keep my home vacant while I'm away. If I rent it out while I'm on the trip, I believe that I could almost entirely offset the entire cost of the thru hike!

[Danny Vickerman]

I'm planning a PCT thru hike in 2015 with a budget of roughly $8,500.

The direct costs I'm planning on for a 22 week hike are:

Travel expenses to/from West Coast: $400
Travel/shuttles to towns during trip at $20/week avg: $440
Food on trail: 6 days/week @ $15/day: $2,310
Food in towns: 1 day/week @ $50/day: $1,100
Lodging in towns: 1 day/week @ $100/day: $2,200 (hostels might be cheaper where available)
Gear replacements during the trip (I already have my existing gear): $1,000
Mailing/resupply costs: $500
Miscellaneous at $25/week: $550

Total: $8,500

Granted some of the expenses are discretionary particularly the lodging and food in towns, and maybe gear replacement won't cost a full $1K. But I honestly can't see how the costs can be $3,000 for the entire trip.

Now, the good news is that I estimate that I will not be spending about $3,000 over that 22 weeks that I would normally spend in my day-to-day life (gasoline, groceries, eating out, etc). So the net cost of the trip is really more like $5,500. And I'm planning to keep my home vacant while I'm away. If I rent it out while I'm on the trip, I believe that I could almost entirely offset the entire cost of the thru hike!

The big costs i see that i could mostly cut out is food and lodging in town, i kind of have to since im real poor and young, my travel expenses and mailing expenses will be a bit cheaper than yours because i live in oregon aswell, but i am starting to see 3 grand is pretty tight, i think 5 grand would probably be a better number in this case, I was warned that town expenses are the real killer, and if i can avoid them it'll be alot cheaper.

[Coffee]

I think that $5,000 is definitely possible if "town expenses" are minimized. But I think that is hard to do. My longest hike so far was the John Muir Trail this summer and it would have been mentally very difficult for me to not partake in every restaurant opportunity I came across. Where I could have really cut back was on some of the lodging that I splurged on in a way that I wouldn't on a 5 month trip.

I did meet a few people who were on pretty strict budgets including one guy who literally had almost no money at all and was able to resupply entirely from hiker boxes and by getting unwanted food directly from other hikers. However, this was in late August/early September when the hiker boxes were pretty full and might not be the case earlier in the season.

[q-tip]

I have extensive gear lists for U/L-Lightweight Summer and Lightweight3-Season (models, weights, costs), food lists and more. If you are interested, send me a PM here with your email address and I will forward them to you. Good Luck.

[Mags]

Something I wrote that may help.
http://www.pmags.com/pacific-crest-trail-planning-info

As far as expenses...here's something I wrote for the AT. Logic still applies I think. Reverse Boston and Seattle.

As mentioned, an average thru-hike costs about $1000 a month once on the trail. If you take a longer hike, you will need more food, probably incur more town costs and may need to replace more gear.
A good, rough equation for overall expenses is this idea:
COST OF GEAR TO START + TRANSPORTATION TO TRAIL + (MONTHS ON TRAIL * 1000) + TRANSPORTATION FROM TRAIL. = ROUGH COST ESTIMATE

The cost of your initial gear and transportation to and from trail will differ from hiker to hiker. Do you already have the gear? Or is this your first long hike and buying all new lightweight gear? Do you live in Boston with (relatively) easy and cheap transport up and down from either termini or are you coming from Seattle and need to get some expensive flights to and from each terminus (or a long ass bus ride!)
I feel pretty comfortable on the $1000/mo figure once on the trail. This figure includes food, town stops, and some typical gear replacements (shoes and socks come immediately to mind).
These figures are for a middle of the road hike. People who want more luxurious accommodations vs hostels, take side trips with car rentals (Hey! Let’s check out some Civil War sites for a few days), expensive restaurant meals vs a burger and beer, etc. will spend more.

More thrifty hikers, esp those with experience and know the AT well, might be able to go more frugal at ~$800/mo. (And, as always, I am sure there are exceptions. )

Between now and your thru-hike attempt, GET OUT THERE AND BACKPACK.

As Malto said, see if you enjoy backpacking. You'll get to dial in your gear more, see what works for you and it is (hopefully) more fun than talking about gear.

[Venchka]

Forget the gear. Get out and hike as soon and as much as you can. You have no clue if you even like hiking or not. After a few trips then worry about honing things down for a thru hike attempt.

^^^^ Do this. You live in an area with endless hiking opportunities.
Log off WhiteBlaze. Turn off your computer. Hit the trails. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn what works for you. Too bad about buying the pack now. You probably should have bought it last. No worries. You bought a decent pack. When the time comes, and you know what you need, be prepared to spend more than you thought you could spend on a GOOD, LIGHT, DOWN sleeping bag. You can find really good bags on sale online. One more time: Buy a good bag. You will be in it every night for several months. High quality down bags last a long time. Buy quality once. Shelter is the other thing you will be using a lot. Many nights you won't need any shelter at all. Other nights you will need all the shelter you can carry. Choose wisely.
Keep hiking. Come back next year. Tell us how your progress is going.
Good luck. Be safe. Have fun!

Wayne

[Venchka]

Oh good grief.
................................... Never mind. I was not here.

Wayne

[quasarr]

I agree with others that $3k is really low and $5k is more reasonable but still low. Some people are true hobos who can thrive with a diet of mystery powders from hiker boxes. But if that is not you, you will really regret having a low budget. You don't want to be "that guy" who pigs out at a trail angel's place and doesn't contribute any money. You don't want to be the only one in town who can't afford to visit the bar or pitch in for pizza delivery. Or worse, you go to the bar anyway and run out of money in California!

Unfortunately, money problems are often a reason why people have to leave the trail. So start saving now!!

For gear, Mags also has a really good post to get you started, with cheap options for gear and clothes.

http://www.pmags.com/lightweight-backpacking-101

[Dogwood]

Hi Danny. Welcome to WB. Nice to have you here. I think I know where you are at. You remind me of myself and SO many others when they were contemplating their first hikes/long hikes. As a result of reading Cactus Eaters, eliciting opinions from excited eager hikers, living in Bend(HUGE outdoors city, located not far from the PCT), going through some life transitions(food stamps, finance issues, not working for pay or limited working for pay, I will not assume things or be judgmental about this scenario), etc.

First, DO NOT just peruse PCT related/hiking books/materials like Cactus Eaters, PCT Trail Journals, etc as they are generally stories based on OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES, which can assist in preparing for a PCT thru-hike but are not true more objective PCT thru-hike prep materials/books like Yogi's PCT Guidebook, the Wilderness Press PCT Guidebooks, Mag's Quick and Dirty Guide to hiking the PCT, etc.

Second, I absolutely concur with everyone else that said do some hiking on multi-night trips BEFORE you get into the deep end of the hiking swimming pool preparing for a 2700 mile multi-month 3 state hike. You don't absolutely HAVE TO do this but others, as well as myself, who have done much hiking, think it wise. Bend OR is a GREAT GREAT place in which to explore multi-night hiking options.

AFTER, you do that, no matter how you proceed, KNOW THIS - don't get so caught up in the minuteia of a hike!, which can easily happen particularly on a eager to offer opinion based website like WB. You do not NEED to know everything in order to have a safe happy hike. Give yourself room to evolve as a hiker and in life. Could that really be what's at the heart of you wanting to thru-hike the PCT - a desire to evolve for the better? Do KNOW this is possible on shorter hikes as well! A shorter hike(multiple nights), say in the Three Sisters on the PCT, can not only only assist you preparing for a MUCH longer PCT thru-hike, but help get you clearer and better organized in your overall life. Could this possibly lead to a more stable happier safer better prepared PCT thru-hike achievement? Give yourself room to get things wrong and to make mistakes. They will happen. Unplanned for scenarios occur in life and on a hike, especially a longer hike. As long as you don't get seriously hurt, die, or unnecessarily infringe on others you'll be OK. Especially, grasp the ability and mindset to adapt, be appreciative, and laugh. I bet you'll become more creative, be aware of more options, and feel more in control of your destiny as a result. It's my contention a step upon step precept upon precept approach to hiking as in life will take you farther.

Wish you well young man.

[Miner]

People who have never backpacked before have hiked the length of the PCT (I hiked around one such person in 2009), but most don't finish because they find it wasn't what they expected or they had the wrong gear and had a miserable time. Do your self a favor and do some multi-night hikes to see how you like it and to start to iron out some of the issues with your gear as you start to pick it out. I tested out all of my gear before I left for the PCT in less than ideal weather so I had confidence in it. Going lighter is more enjoyable, but does require a little more knowledge to make it work when the weather turns bad. Forums like Backpackinglight.com are more geared towards UL if you decide to go that route and want specific advice. Reading trail journals (trailjournals.com or Postholer.com) can help as you can start to identify with certain hiking styles and gear choices that can lead you in certain directions in your gear searches.

Yogi's guidebook comes with a planning guide which features several different hiking styles and gear choices which is a great start for those without a lot of long distance hiker experience. You don't need to plan out the entire hike ahead of time as most resuppling can be done on the trail on a weekly basis. Yogi's guide will tell you the places that you have to mail a box to and how to go about it. You can wing a thru-hike to a certain extent as long as your gear is mostly dialed in.

California is expensive (especially hotels) and you will often want to eat well in town. Hikers get obsessed with eating "real" food and will often do bigger miles or get up at really early hours just to make it into town a little earlier so they can eat. Plan on having plenty of money for this. $5000 is a good figure for most people. Some can get by with less and some spend more. The more you have, the less stress you'll have later. Running out of money is a common reason for people leaving early.

[Geo.]

Lots of good advice there. Though some of the 'total' costs seem a bit high to me. But maybe that's inflation!
One of the hidden costs (and the biggest if you're employed) is adding in loss of earnings while on the trail and off work... I didn't like to think of that one at the time.
Apart from initial gear set up, my only unavoidable costs were getting to the trail and then once on the trail, food and replacing a pair of boots that didn't make the distance. If you have a decent enough tent then you can flag any accomodation costs which is what I did in the main. There is always somewhere you can pitch a tent on the PCT. As someone mentioned, you can factor in what your daily living cost would have been even when not hiking and that takes some of the sting out of it.
Make these items the best you can afford to - footwear, sleeping bag, tent, pack and keep them as light as is practicable. My total hiking experience prior to the PCT 'thru' was a three day circuit dummy run taken locally which painfully showed that my intended boots were too small. So it's a good idea, as others have also mentioned, to get in some hiking prior to the event and see what works. The other requirement is attitude. Really wanting to complete the hike and keeping a sense of humour are going to be aces.
So once you have your gear sorted, you're the transport, you're carrying your accomodation and with a bit of luck your only necessary expense will be food - and you'll never be able to get enough of that. Get your gear, get enough money you estimate you'll need for food then double it and you'll be right!

.

[Colter]

Forget the gear. Get out and hike as soon and as much as you can. You have no clue if you even like hiking or not. After a few trips then worry about honing things down for a thru hike attempt.

Good advice.

[sbhikes]

I have no hiking experience and limited outdoors experience and would like help preparing both experience wise and gear wise for the PCT
I live in bend,Oregon and have good access so some hiking trails including part of the PCT and was planning to hike a overnight or more at least every other week to prepare for the pct and get used to and test gear. I also follow the paleo diet more or less, which will likely be hard to maintain on the trail, I fully accept that im going to be eating more grains but I want atleast half my diet to be protein and fat, if anyone has any ideas on that aside from mailing pounds of jerky im all for it.

It's going to be winter around there in Bend. Just remember the PCT isn't going to be quite that cold. A 20 degree bag will be just fine for the PCT but might lead you to believe it isn't based on winter hiking near Bend.

The Osprey Exos isn't a bad backpack, but I don't think it can handle a 30+lb load, can it? I also have heard that it tends to fall apart before an entire thru-hike is completed.

Don't feel you have to do an entire thru-hike. If you don't have enough money, maybe you'll have enough to just walk home. That would make for an awesome and extremely long adventure that would not be lacking any any aspect of the thru-hike experience.

The hike is not about gear, by the way. You'll probably mail home more gear than you plan on adding over the next few months. The hike is not about camping, either. It's not a camping trip. You will get up and be hiking around 6am and you'll stop hiking by 6pm or even later. Some people will continue hiking into the evening. You won't be having campfires, sitting around in camp, lingering over coffee and dinner. You don't even change your clothes. You hike, eat, sleep and poop and that's about it.

As for your diet, you should start dehydrating meat right now. The best way to do it is to make slow-cooked pork tenderloin, chicken breast or beef tenderloin (if you can afford it.) Lean meats. You can also dehydrate cooked lean ground beef or buffalo. Cook the meat first, then shred the slow-cooked stuff, then dehydrate. You will need probably a pound a day of fresh meat. I don't know what that works out to after dehydration. You want dehydrated cooked meats because they taste good and can be eaten no-cook. Sometimes there may be fire restrictions and/or you won't want to light a stove.

You will probably want to season some of this meat before or after you dry it. Make some of it into chili or curry before you dehydrate it. Dehydrate some marinara sauce or other sauces to add separately. Then you can just assemble some meat, some flavor and some starch and veggies and then drown it in olive oil just before you eat it.

There are recipes out there for pemmican. It is not a very tasty food, but it does provide good energy on the trail. It's delicious when cooked into other foods. You can save time by purchasing rendered beef tallow online rather than making your own, then dry cheap lean beef from the grocery store. For pemmican you dry the meat uncooked.

You can dehydrate your own vegetables or you can purchase freeze-dried vegetables from various online services. I have dehydrated tons of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes. It takes a lot of potatoes to make enough. Recently I have found something called "flattened rice" at an Asian market. I think it would make a good base for relatively paleo meals. Along with instant mashed potatoes. You can find instant potatoes that aren't full of chemicals if you look. Green vegetables end up not being all that palatable on the trail. They simply don't provide enough nutrition, bulk or calories to make them worth it. So it's better to buy freeze-dried and just add it to your starch, meat and fat to make it look pretty.

You can make various kinds of paleo "granolas." You can find recipes online for this. Super high calories, way more than regular granola. Eat it with trail yogurt, if you like!

Fill up the rest of your bag with nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, salamis, cheeses and other typical stuff.

Here are pictures of some of my food from when I went no-cook last summer:
https://gossamergear.com/wp/tips/bac...-no-cook-foods

[ratherbclimbin]

I agree with others that $3k is really low and $5k is more reasonable but still low. Some people are true hobos who can thrive with a diet of mystery powders from hiker boxes. But if that is not you, you will really regret having a low budget. You don't want to be "that guy" who pigs out at a trail angel's place and doesn't contribute any money. You don't want to be the only one in town who can't afford to visit the bar or pitch in for pizza delivery. Or worse, you go to the bar anyway and run out of money in California!

Unfortunately, money problems are often a reason why people have to leave the trail. So start saving now!!

For gear, Mags also has a really good post to get you started, with cheap options for gear and clothes.

http://www.pmags.com/lightweight-backpacking-101

I don't see how so many people budget so highly for things like lodging and food in town. Me personally I am comfortable with a much lower budget forgoing all of the unnecessary town luxuries and "pizza and beer." I guess it all boils down to your priorities and goals. Is your goal to stay in a motel at every town and go to the bar or is it get in and out of town in a hurry. Personally if I wanted a mattress id much rather stay home. Weathercarrot has a great article on how to do the AT on not.much more than 1100 dollars. Definately much different trails but the premise to save money is the same. Good luck and Congrats on finding a passion for the outdoors.

[leaftye]

I don't see how so many people budget so highly for things like lodging and food in town. Me personally I am comfortable with a much lower budget forgoing all of the unnecessary town luxuries and "pizza and beer." I guess it all boils down to your priorities and goals. Is your goal to stay in a motel at every town and go to the bar or is it get in and out of town in a hurry. Personally if I wanted a mattress id much rather stay home. Weathercarrot has a great article on how to do the AT on not.much more than 1100 dollars. Definately much different trails but the premise to save money is the same. Good luck and Congrats on finding a passion for the outdoors.

Budgeting is not the same as spending. Budgeting high is insurance. You don't have to spend all that money. It's a smarter way to go than budgeting low and finding out on the trail that you should have budgeted more.