[pct-l] thru-hiking on a budget

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

I was rather profligate in my spending last year. This year I won't  
be. My data entry and retail jobs this year haven't exactly padded my  
savings account. It sounds like at least Patti is also trying to hike  
on the cheap.

In trying to figure out how to save money, the only thing I could  
really come up with is not spending the night in hotels. Hotels  
themselves are not necessarily all that terribly expensive, and if  
you share a hotel they can be quite cheap. But they invite going out  
to eat and staying extra nights.

If I use town stops simply to resupply and get back on the trail,  
maybe stopping for one good meal filled with healthy veggies and  
fruit, and using a sun shower when I'm craving cleanliness, the hike  
shouldn't cost much more than being home and out of work. There would  
be the added weight of carrying the sun shower and some soap, but  
that doesn't sound too bad.

The other thing I think I wasted money on was mailing things. I  
mailed a lot of things home that maybe I would have been better off  
just throwing in the trash. The bounce bucket was expensive, too. I  
really relied on it, but perhaps I can do without it. Or rather,  
without a specific one that follows me the whole trail.

Other than that, I can't think of anything that would really reduce  
expenses. Does anyone have any other ideas?