[pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in town?

[Julian Plamann]

The subject of thru-hike cost that has been floating around on the list for
the past week or so has got me curious about something.
Are there any former thru-hikers that managed to spend the majority of their
zero days+nights on the trail itself? I'm talking somewhere in the range of
5 or less nights spent at hotels or in hostels. I may be wrong, but I think
I remember reading somewhere that Billy Goat spent every night sleeping
under the stars on at least one of his thru-hikes. I also recall reading a
few comments in Yogi's handbook of hikers saying they wished they had taken
more on-trail zero days.

I say this in anticipation of my upcoming thru -- not as a plan by which I
can save money, but rather because I've always been more comfortable
sleeping under the stars than in an enclosed room. That said, I also know
well the feeling of occasionally needing to get the type of clean that can
only come from a hot shower and freshly laundered sheets.

-Julian