[pct-l] money clothes etc.

[vivek1111 at hotmail.com (vivek aggarwal)]

As far as how much money one needs: the average I hear is $1 per trail mile. 
  My advice is try to save $2,000 before you head out.
Theoritcally, you could get by with $150.  but you'd probably be pretty 
miserable if that is all you had.  A hiker in 2000 also thought they would 
eat only the meals they packed and included extra food for the time in town- 
they soon learned that was not realistic.
After a week on the trail you'll find it very difficult to turn down a 
restaurant meal.  Meals are sometimes more expensive in trail towns.   Also 
as the trip progesses you'll grow tired of the food you packed months ago 
and buy alternative stuff in town. You'll problably pick up little things 
like apples,  ice cream, candy, cheese, peanuts, matches, maybe mosquito 
repellant, new hat, maybe call home, etc.  You'll probably stay in more 
motels in Oregon and Washington when its wet.
Although very nice and I wouldn't have missed it for the world, its easy to 
spend $50-100 at places like VVR.
Ideally its nice to have a little cushion for when you finish- it sometimes 
takes a bit to get back into the working world.  One couple I know got 
turned back at the Canadian border because the Canadian border patrol 
thought they looked like bums and didn;t have enough money to prove 
otherwise.

I carried only about $50 cash. Most places took Visa, but more took only 
debit cards or cash.


As for what to wear when doing laundry: wear something, even rain gear if 
you have it!  Most places don't allow you to do laundry in the nude, no 
matter how good you think you look- you don't.

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