[pct-l] Hello

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

I would budget $250 a week
  Assume you hike 6 and rest 1 day a week. Assume you hike 20 mile days or
120 miles a week -- a 22 week PCT trip
  Assume 5 meals in town and 16 on the trail. Allow $15 per town meal and $3
for each trail meal. Food costs come to $125 per week. Allow $15 for postage
 Assume 2 nights in a motel at $50 per night or $100 week
 Total comes to $240 a week. Add $300 for gear/footwear. Total trip cost $5600

  In actuality, you will spend much than this if you opt for camping on
someone's lawn while in town and make use of Mickey D's dollar value meals.
Top Ramen will cut your trail food costs to about 24 cents a day, not to
mention the huge savings to found by checking out the Post Office hiker
boxes. Beware the green noodles -- they MAY be corn pasta -- they may just be
old. And make sure the spices aren't moving. So total food costs on the
budget plan come to $15 while in town and $1.44 for a week's worth of trail
food. That's $16.44 per week for food and $0 for lodging. (I'm certain some
purist out there has already accomplished a thru PCT hike with 0 nights in
town) Not only that, but your food savings are compounded because the more
time you spend on the trail, the less time you have to eat a McTasty burger
combo ($3 vs. an 8 cent Ramen) and the less time it takes (mercifully) to get
to Canada!

    Now the super budget super purist plan is based on the belief that the
only reason to visit a town is to pick up 19 Ramens (think of the postage
savings)! and have a dinner and breakfast at Value Meal prices. We're talking
less than $200 for the whole trip(counting multiple vitamins) or about $7.50
a week
  So, there is a plan for ANY budget