[pct-l] The cost of hiking

[Bill]

Breezed this thread and not sure if I saw this, but for myself the biggest
expense for long distance hiking is the loss of salary.   If I could off-set
that loss with a dramatic cutting back of expenses it would help to minimize
the impact.  However, with a mortgage wife and two children those expenses
continue whether I am working or not.   When it comes to the expense of the
hike, I could argue it is about free.  I would eat regardless of whether I
was hiking or not.   Not as much for sure, but not as cheap either.  I guess
if I averaged in the occasional hotel and in town restaurants, it would be
more expensive than being at home.  Not by much though, as I am also not
taking on new home projects or toys that I would likely be buying if I
stayed home.

All that being said, the loss of income with continued expenses at home is
the big one.   I would guess to say that at the end of a thru-hike I would
have $28,000 less in savings than when I started.

Pink Gumby

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Bruce Harvey
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 7:59 PM
To: Donna "L-Rod" Saufley
Cc: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] The cost of hiking

A hearty second from me on train travel after finishing a hike.   
After spending four and a half months getting from SoCal to Canada,  
36 hours getting back home by train was for me a less abrupt, more  
relaxed recompression to non-trail life than an airplane flight would  
have been.  Rode Amtrak all the way from Vancouver to LA after '07  
hike, with an overnight spent in Seattle at the Green Tortoise hostel.
geezer

On Nov 28, 2008, at 10:26 AM, Donna L-Rod Saufley wrote:

> I second your recommendation for Amtrak as an alternative to  
> flying, hitching, or Greyhound.  The Coast Starlight departs from  
> Seattle and travels all the way into Los Angeles Union Station,  
> with many stops along the way.  From there the Pacific Surfliner  
> will get you all the way to San Diego.  It's comfortable,  
> reasonable, and fun!
>
> L-Rod
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com  
>> <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
>> Sent: Nov 28, 2008 8:26 AM
>> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] The cost of hiking
>>
>> A surprisingly hefty expense was post office business. If you can
>> minimize that, you'll save.
>>
>> A huge and avoidable expense for me was a rental car I got to go from
>> Bishop to Santa Barbara. If you feel like quitting the trail, don't
>> do it in Bishop. You can't get anywhere from there. Well, not easily,
>> cheaply and southward at the same time.
>>
>> And as nice as it sounds from the comfort of your home to avoid
>> staying in motels, I don't know that I could have avoided it. It was
>> the siren song of a hot shower and the promise of a few hours
>> completely supine in front of the TV that got me to shell out the
>> bucks. Plus I needed a safe place to store and spread out all my
>> stuff while I resupplied. As time went on, however, I did get into
>> the groove of the trail and being a vagabond so I think if I had
>> continued longer on the trail, that expense would have diminished.
>>
>> On the plus side, train travel home was surprisingly inexpensive and
>> comfortable. I recommend it to anyone looking for a way home who can
>> do that by train.
>>
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