The Cost of a Thru-hike

One of the most common reasons people dropout of their thru-hike attempts is running out of money. It turns out that quitting your job for a six month vacation is never a strong financial decision and it is difficult to estimate the cost of a trip with so many unknowns. Fortunately with enough saving and preparation, we’ve resolved that this will not be an issue for us.

 

The rule-of-thumb for AT thru-hikes is that it costs roughly $1,000/month of hiking. Of course, there are some variables that fluctuate wildly, such as the length of the hike and how exorbitant the trips into towns are. Additionally, some hikers carry lingering “real-world” expenses onto the trail, like rent or health insurance. Amy and I decided it would be interesting to track our expenses down to the dollar, including all past purchases we made for the gear we are carrying, “real-world” expenses, and whatever we spend on resupplies, hotels, shuttles, and beer at restaurants (this one might add up).

 

We have budgeted $6,000/person for a total of $12,000 for us both to hike the entire trail. This is a number we would feel comfortable spending, however we expect to spend below this amount. This number includes only on-trail expenses and should suffice whether it takes us four months or even six months to complete the trail. Arguably, an upside to starting the trail in May (relatively late) is that it forces us into a six month completion window, which means we will not be able to spend seven or even eight months meandering along, staying at every town on the trail for three nights. This completion window should not only motivate us to finish in time but also save us money. It is also important to mention we have saved over our budgeted amount, but plan to use this money as a crutch when we return. In a worst case scenario, we have emergency funds to cover any unexpected expenses in addition to our budgeted total.

 

 

Preparation

 

I quit my job of three years as a Software Developer to hike this trail. It is a daunting commitment to transition from a steady paycheck to quite literally being homeless. Amy, on the other hand, will have just graduated from college with a computer engineering degree and has been forced to delay accepting job offers while she hikes. In either case, we feel confident in our careers to return to job market in the fall without too much hardship and decided it is well worth the risk for the opportunity of a lifetime.

 

We were able to extend our current housing lease in Pittsburgh for six months, now conveniently expiring on May 15th, just two weeks after our start date. This is easily our biggest expense and the cost of each month on trail should be significantly less than a single month’s rent payment with utilities. Regarding all of our “stuff”: we are in the process of selling or donating as much as possible. Our goal is to not have to pay more to rent a storage locker, which can cost hundreds of dollars per month. Fortunately, my parents and Amy’s brother have been very supportive and have offered to store bins of possessions we are keeping for after the trail. We sold Amy’s beloved Subaru Impreza and are left with my old Scion Tc which we plan to leave parked in my parent’s driveway (thanks again).

 

Monthly Payments

 

We have limited all extraneous monthly payments and subscriptions, such as cancelling car insurance, Amazon Prime, and video streaming services. We are keeping Spotify as invaluable trail entertainment, and potentially an Audible subscription. Otherwise, the only monthly payments will be for our phone plans, health insurance, and travel insurance. I am turning 26 in July, which means I will only be able to mooch off my parents health insurance for half of our hike. I will be relying on WorldNomad travel insurance for the final two months, which covers accidental injury and illnesses on trail. Amy’s insurance is fully covered (woo!).

 

• Phone bill (Alex): $50/month x 5 = $250
• Phone bill (Amy): $15/month x 5 = $75
• WorldNomad Travel Insurance: TBD
• Spotify Duo: $13/month x 5 = $65

 

Actual Total: $390

 

 

Starting Gear

 

As avid backpackers for many years, we already owned the large majority of gear required to hike the trail. Most of our gear purchased specifically for this hike were upgrades for lighter weight or higher durability so that it survives until Maine. Still, we thought it would be worthwhile to note the cost of all of the gear in our backpacks when we set off. My LighterPack contains the itemized cost of all of my gear (Note: the listed cost is what I personally payed for the item, not the MSRP). I was able to minimize the cost by buying almost every expensive item used from gear trade forums, such as /r/ulgeartrade, or from an REI Garage Sale. I excluded the cost of my smartphone and camera, which are (somewhat ironically) the most expensive items on the list. Mostly everyone owns a smartphone already and the camera is largely unnecessary, so the list reflects what I spent on actual “hiking” gear. A rarely mentioned perk of hiking with a partner is that we are able to share some of our gear, most notably our tent, which reduces both our carried weight and the overall expense.

 

Items marked with a green star indicate they were purchased specifically for the Appalachian Trail, that is, I likely would not have bothered upgrading my old gear if I wasn’t going to be hiking for multiple months. The most notable piece of new gear is the Zpacks Duplex, which I purchased second-hand for $400. I already owned everything not marked with a star. Contrary to the high price tag of my gear list, I believe it is fully reasonable to build a solid starting gear loadout for the AT from scratch for about $1,500.

 

 

• Alex’s gear: $2,164
  • New gear: $688
  • Existing gear: $1,476
• Amy’s gear: TBD
  

 

Actual Total: $2,164*

 

 

Transportation

 

Amicalola Falls State Park is about an hour and a half drive north of Atlanta, GA. We booked one-way flights from Pittsburgh to Atlanta for 7:00am on April 30th. Due to TSA restriction, trekking poles are not permitted to be carried on planes and we will need to check a bag. From there, we have arranged to be picked up and shuttled to the approach trail by a reddit user on /r/appalachiantrail who runs a small shuttle service. He has offered to transport thru-hikers for free which is very generous.

 

Once we start hiking, transportation will be difficult to estimate. Often times, towns will be far enough from the trail that we will need to find a ride. This can be accomplished through hitchhiking, as many of the towns have strong hiking communities that aid thru-hikers, or by arranging a shuttle through various businesses that offer such a service. Detailed information about hitchhiking/shuttle expenses will be included in the attached excel sheet.

 

Once we reach Katahdin… we really do not know how we are going to get to home (or where we are going at all). The nearest airport to the northern terminus of the trail in in Bangor, ME, about an hour and a half south of Baxter State Park. We will plan on paying for a shuttle from Millinocket, ME (just outside of Baxter) to Bangor, ME through the Appalachian Trail Lodge but prices fluctuate based on timing and number of hikers per shuttle. From Bangor, we will probably fly home to Pittsburgh.

 

• Two one-way plane tickets from PIT to ATL: $178
• One checked bag: $30
• ATL Airport to pickup station: $14
• Shuttle from ATL to Amicalola Falls State Park: $0
• Estimated on-trail shuttles: $500
• Estimated shuttle from Baxter State Park to BGR: $200
• Estimated two one-way plane tickets from BGR to PIT: $300
• Estimated one checked bag: $30

Estimated Total: $1,800

 

Actual Total: TBD

 

 

Food

 

We are estimating food resupply costs to be about $10/person/day. This is based on our prior backpacking food costs and information provided by past AT hikers. Trail food is typically cheap, calorically dense, and heavily processed. The specifics of what we consume will vary based on what is offered in each town. We anticipate shopping at Dollar General regularly, supermarkets on occasion, and relying on limited hostel offerings when necessary.

 

Going to restaurants is a category with a major influence on the total cost of a thru-hike. It is hard to resist the temptation of a hot meal when going into town, and for the most part we plan to eat out as often as we can. We have accepted that this will cost us more but it can unironically increase our chances of finishing the trail, as the effect on morale of looking forward to that next good meal is one of the greatest boons of backpacking. If our average restaurant bill (after tip) is $50 and we go out to eat six times a month, we would spend $300/month on restaurants.

 

• Estimated food (resupply): $620/month x 5 = $3,100
• Estimated food (eating out): $300/month x 5 = $1,500

 

Estimated Total: $4,600

Actual Total: TBD

 

 

Lodging/Showers

 

We plan to stay overnight in hotels and hiker hostels every couple of weeks on the trail. Most likely, this will align with our “zero days” where we do not hike at all and allow our bodies to recover. The cost of hostels has risen dramatically over the last few years and we expect to pay between $60 to $120 for both of us to stay the night. Sometimes, groups of hikers choose to split the cost of a hotel room together to save money, which can make hotels even more affordable than hostels, which generally charge per head. We also have a few friends and connections along the trail where we can post up for the night for free, which will be a great option when it works out.

 

We might pay a few bucks just to shower at a hostel when we are not staying the night, though this should not amount to any significant expense.

 

• Estimated lodging: $300/month x 5 = $1,500
• Estimated showers: $50

 

Estimated Total: $1,550

Actual Total: TBD

 

 

Replacement Gear

 

Pretty much every item in our packs is susceptible to needing replaced at some point. Whether it is normal wear-and-tear, getting ruined from the rain, or accidentally being dropped, it makes sense to budget a little extra for all replacement gear. The most predictable expense will be replacing our hiking shoes. We use trail runners where the tread and soles typically wear down to “unusable” around the 1,000 mile mark. We plan to replace our footwear every 800 miles or so, which means a minimum of three pairs of shoes each. Since we already own our first pair, we anticipate needing to buy four total pairs. Other gear that commonly breaks is water filters, inflatable pads, pillows, ponchos, and electronics.

 

Besides replacements, we may find some gear inadequate and want to upgrade. Maybe our jackets aren’t warm enough, or we get sick of manually inflating our sleeping pads and want to switch to foam. Though we are fairly confident in our starting loadout, we have a few hundred set aside for upgrading our gear.

 

Sometimes, we will need to send gear back home and must account for shipping costs. This might happen in the case of wanting an upgrade or if the weather warms up in the summer and we do not need as many layers, for example.

 

• Estimated replacement gear: $600
• Estimated upgraded gear: $300
• Estimated shipping costs:  $100

 

Estimated Total: $1,000

 

Actual Total: TBD

 

 

Total

 

If you’re interested in how wrong our estimates are going to be, follow this post as we update the actual costs of hiking the trail. Costs marked with (*) were purchased before the trail and thus not factored into our $6,000/person budget. The graphs below will reflect our total spending and average daily spending. Keep in mind, all numbers are for two people, so consider dividing in half for a better individual metric.

 

Estimated Total: $8,400

 

Actual Total: TBD