[pct-l] RE: isn't hiking free?!?

[kdpo at gottawalk.com (Ken Powers)]

A couple of observations from our experiences:
A heavier pack would keep you our of town more because you would be slower.
Eventually you would hit those towns though. I definitely feel lighter
translates into faster. On our day hikes we carry almost nothing and can
average over 3.5 mph. On our thrus we average about 2.5 mph. You just have
to find the point at which you will start sacrificing comfort to go faster.
Oh, it doesn't always have to be faster either - try longer days. I can't
tell you how many hikers of the AT thought we were fast even though they
passed us on the trail day after day. When they stopped late in the
afternoons we kept getting our miles until dark.

Does speed come with a cost. Probably, but there are ways to outfit yourself
cheaply if you want. We have found that food can be bought cheaply in
groceries or expensively as backpacking food from outfitter types. Make some
of your equipment. Shop thrift stores and garage sales. Be creative.

We feel that the $2600 figure is way out dated. The thru hikers we met
hiking for $1 per mile were hitting hiker boxes hard, begging food from
other hikers, etc. Not our way of  provisioning. Eric is right that you can
save money while on the trail, but for some the mortgage payments,
insurance, ... just keep on coming in every month.

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eric Lee (GAMES)" <elee@microsoft.com>
To: "Bluce Ree" <bluceree_superstar@yahoo.com>;
<pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 12:53 PM
Subject: [pct-l] RE: isn't hiking free?!?


Bluce wrote:
>
With this in mind, is ultra-light hiking perhaps more
costly? Would a heavier pack offer more luxury thus
keep you away from hotels and diners? Does speed come
at a cost?
>

That might be true, but I think it's more the goal and mindset of the
hiker than the particular style of hiking that determines overall cost.
When your goal is to thru-hike, you do everything necessary to
accomplish that goal.  Using ultralight gear usually helps.  Freely
spending money in certain appropriate ways also helps.  For some people,
long-distance hiking might be about zero-cash-flow living but that's not
what it's about for me (though I do appreciate the simpler living of a
long hike).

Anyway, I suppose it's a matter of perspective.  I go through a shocking
amount of money each year to support myself, my wife, and my four kids
in our standard American middle-class lifestyle.  When people talk about
spending a dollar a mile for a thru-hike ($2600 over ~5 months, a pretty
realistic figure for most people), heck, that sounds pretty darn close
to free to me!

Eric
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