There’s a vicious rumour circling around on the internet. It says that, in order to embark on a long distance thru-hike, you need to spend upwards of at least $4000-$5000 on hiking gear. I’m here to tell you why this vicious rumour is absolute bullshit.
I would also like to touch upon the fact that everybody seems to think that whilst you are actually, physically on the trail, you’ll be spending at least $1000 per person per month. Again, this is bullshit.
First things first, let me just clearly summarise:
There is no reason you’ll need $10,000 to go on a 4 month hike. That’s just crazy.
For some perspective, here are some facts about my hike.
MY HIKE
My partner and I hiked 1000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. It took us just over 3 months across the summer of 2018. We started in May, and ended on the beginning of August.
We went really slow.
When we were walking, we were walking at pretty standard average of 3 — 4 miles per hour. Our downfall, however, was the towns along the way; we spent way too long in town.
We would spend our time lounging in motels, and eating out at restaurants and fast food chains. Essentially, we found it way too difficult to tear ourselves away from the comfy motel bed and the greasy food.
As we were only hiking for just 3 short months, we weren’t tied to any requirements to get to Canada before winter started. We had no real place to be, and no time schedule.
So, we spent a long time in town.
This meant we spent A LOT more money in town than the average thru hiker. So our on trail budget was probably a great deal higher than most others that complete a long distance hike.
MY GEAR
Around a week before beginning my hike, I had just got home from almost 12 months of backpacking around Asia. This meant that, not only was I a little strapped for cash, but I was also strapped for time; I had just over a week to get everything I needed.
So, I shopped primarily at discount sporting goods stores and Amazon.
I took the old, tattered backpack that I had used as I travelled around Asia, and I took just one pair of new hiking sneakers. I bought cheap hiking poles and a small stove off of Amazon.
In total, I spent around $200.
I don’t regret any of my gear purchases. Everything I bought lasted the entire three month hike, and most of it has come with me on other, similar adventures since then (and is still going very strong).
ULTRALIGHT OR NOT ULTRALIGHT?
This is always the first thing that crosses potential thru-hiker’s minds:
“If I buy cheaper gear, how will I be ULTRALIGHT?!”
And the answer to this conundrum is this: you won’t.
The phrase ‘ultralight’ hasn’t been around very long at all. A few years ago, there was no such thing. It was ‘lightweight’ and ‘not lightweight’. That was it.
And before that, it was all just ‘backpacking’.
Now, everyone has jumped on this new craze of thinking that you can only be capable of backpacking comfortably if it involves carrying a 4 pound bag. It’s just nuts.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter what your gear weighs.
The thing is: you don’t NEED to be ultralight (or lightweight or super-ultra-lightweight). It’s not a compulsory requirement to having a good time on trail.
In fact, there is nothing to stop you from bringing a 50-pound backpack and still having the adventure of a lifetime (and spending a fifth of the price doing it).
If buying expensive, lightweight gear isn’t an option for you, then don’t buy it. It’s as simple as that.
Don’t waste 4 years of your life saving for a 5 month thru-hike, just because that’s what everybody else does. Spend a fraction of the price buying slightly heavier gear, and hike this summer (or next summer) instead.
You’ll have an incredible time, and you’ll have more summers to spend hiking other trails with your newfound perspective on backpacking and adventure travel.
HOW TO SPEND LESS ON: TRAVEL
Being from London, my travel to and from the trail was considerably more than most other hikers. Being the budget-savvy backpacker that I am, I booked my flight around 6 months in advance.
This saved me HUGE amounts of money. I also went with the budget airline of Norwegian Air, and booked the return flight from Oakland (and then rented a cheap, $45 car to get to Oakland airport) in order to save even more.
The simple rule here is: if you’re flexible — with dates, location, airlines — you can save yourself massive amounts of money.
I’ve seen a lot of estimations online for travel to and from the trailheads, and they all seem to be pretty high. Obviously, depending on where you are coming from/going to, your travel costs will be significantly higher or lower than someone else.
That being said, don’t be afraid to travel on budget airlines and make use of budget car rental agencies where possible, to avoid huge taxi and train fares (car rental in the US is considerably less than in most other countries, so use that to your advantage!).
HOW TO SPEND LESS ON: CLOTHING
A quick Google search for “Pacific Crest Trail gear” brings up pages of extensive lists that are suggesting nothing but over-priced, branded clothes.
I don’t want to sound like a middle-aged mum of teenagers, but, there really is no difference between the branded and unbranded clothes. To an extent of course.
Some of the expensive, branded stuff is a little lighter. That’s basically it.
As long as you don’t compromise on the quality, there is no reason you can’t get thru-hiking clothes that cost 10% of the price, but perform in exactly the same way.
Now, back to these packing lists put together by other hikers. Why are we being told to spend $75 on a pair of Patagonia running shorts, when an unbranded $7 pair will suffice just as well?
One website (second result on a “Pacific Crest Trail gear” Google search), recommends a pair of $120 rain pants! Rain pants?! Even if you did need a pair of rain pants (which you probably won’t), why would you be spending $120 on them? Especially when there are places (Amazon for example) that sell them for less than $10.
Just remember that — unless you want to, of course — you don’t need to spend more than $50 — $100 on ALL of the clothing needed for your hike. Just be smart about it.
HOW TO SPEND LESS ON: THE BIG FOUR
If you’re going to spend a lot of money on any one area of your thru-hiking gear, then it should be on one (or more if you can afford it) of these items.
Aptly named ‘the big four’ by a lot of folks, these 4 items take up the most space and weight. Saving weight on one of these items makes a much larger difference than small savings on all other gear combined.
Essentially, if you invest your dollars here, this is the biggest weight-saving-per-dollar-spent.
Having said that, if you can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on each (or any) of these items, never fear. There are some perfectly adequate alternatives available.
BACKPACK:
POPULAR AND EXPENSIVE — “Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest“: $365, 34.9oz.
CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE — “ULA OHM 2.0“: $210, 34.5oz.
I took a backpack with me that I had previously used to backpack around Asia, so my bag was heavy (but cost me nothing extra). That bag is a “Vango Sherpa” that cost just $75, but does weigh around 2kg (70 ounces).
TENT:
POPULAR AND EXPENSIVE — “MSR Hubba Hubba NX2“: $450, 3lbs 8oz.
CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE — “REI PASSAGE 2“: $120, 4lbs 13oz.
Update: REI are no longer selling this tent on their website, but are still selling the 1-person alternative.
My partner and I bought the REI passage 2 for our 3 month hike, and we were very impressed with this tent. Obviously, it is a little heavier than the competition, but for just over $100, it was a great investment. We even took this same tent on a 3 month bikepacking trip down the West Coast this year, and it is still going very strong.
SLEEPING BAG:
POPULAR AND EXPENSIVE — “Western Mountaineering Alpinlite: 20F“: $600, 1lb 15oz.
CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE — “Kelty Cosmic 20“: $170, 2lbs 8.9oz.
I originally took a very cheap Decathlon sleeping bag with me, with an extra liner to keep me warm at altitude. But honestly, I later bought the ‘Kelty Cosmic 20’ bag during a 3-month-cycle-tour down the Pacific Coast Highway the year after (which I now love and think was an awesome investment).
SLEEPING MATTRESS:
POPULAR AND EXPENSIVE — “Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite“: (Regular size) $180, 8.8oz.
CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE — “Therm-a-Rest Z Lite“: (Regular size) $45, 10oz.
I actually used a ‘Karrimor Folding Sleep Mat’ that I bought from SportsDirect in the UK. It is essentially a budget Therm-a-Rest Z Lite, and only cost me around $20.
HOW TO SPEND LESS ON: THE TRAIL
Depending on which trail you’re on, up to 90% of your thru-hike will be spent on the trail. The other 10%, you’ll be in (or very close to) a town.
When you’re on the trail, you will have NO access to ANYTHING that costs money. No access to motels, fast food, 7 eleven, beer, candy, soda… no access to anything.
That means that whilst you are on the trail (up to 90% of your hike), you won’t be spending a dime.
Now, of course, you’ll need to spend money before you leave for the trail. You’ll need to spend money in town on food and luxuries you’ll want with you (beer, Fireball, candy, coffee etc.) whilst you’re on trail. That can be a big expense.
But, it can cost you no where near as much as most people estimate.
WHAT TO EAT
I personally ate a selection of what most people would refer to as: basic backpacker foods. You’ve probably heard people talk about these before. They are no secret:
Ramen, oatmeal, Rice Sides, tortilla wraps, peanut butter, Idahoan mash, tuna packets, granola bars, Pop Tarts, Clif Bars, cous cous, mustard, gummy candies and instant coffee powder.
Note: your instant coffee powder does not need to be $10 Starbucks sachets (Nescafe works just as well).
My average cost-per-meal was between $0.50 and $1.50. Compare this to freeze dried meals, such as Mountain House, and I saved around $6 — $8 per meal.
That’s a lot of money over a 4–5 month period. Money that could be better spent eating burgers and sleeping in motel beds!
WHAT ABOUT TOWN?
Town is the part of the hike where I really believe you should splash the cash.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be completely exhausted and smelly by the time you reach the next town. And, you’ll have been thinking about that hot shower and those clean motel sheets for days on end.
My advice: spend a day in town splurging, and feel 1000x better because of it. My partner and I genuinely enjoyed our hike much more because we allowed ourselves to splurge in each town.
WHERE I STAYED: Quite simply, I stayed in the cheapest place in town. If it was a $60 motel, that’s where I stayed. If it was a $150 Best Western, then that’s where I stayed.
Because I went with my partner, it was cheaper for the two of us to stay in motels than if I was hiking on my own.
However, in a lot of towns we passed through, there was also the option of staying in a hostel bed, camping, and even staying with trail angels.
WHERE I ATE: Again, I usually ate at one of the cheaper places in town. Most of the time I would eat fast food, as that’s what I had been craving anyway.
I did, sometimes, eat out at restaurants, although I did prefer to eat at bars (again, because of the greasy food cravings).
It is also completely possible to buy microwave meals and heat them up in your motel room, as a cheaper option.
Essentially, your thru-hike will cost you whatever you want it to cost you.
Your gear won’t cost you anywhere near as much as most other people estimate it will, IF you are willing to sacrifice some weight savings.
Take everything you read on the internet with a pinch of salt.
It’s disheartening to hear that people are saving for years and years in order to get the money to complete a hike.
Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail was one of the most amazing things I have ever done, and we want to enable people to be capable of hiking it too.
There is no reason you’ll need $10,000 to go on a 4 month hike.
And on the same note, if you don’t think you’ll ever be able to afford a thru-hike, hopefully I have helped you re-think that theory.
