norts wrote:AT about AUD$9K ; PCT about AUD $11K
That figure doesnt include initial set up of gear or flights but does include replacement/change of gear.
You can do it alot cheaper. I like a motel to myself every now and then and I use alot of freeze dried meals. I drank a fair bit of alcohol on the AT but alot less on the PCT, think that was to do with who I was hiking with and the culture on the AT.
Dont tell yourself you wont stay in towns , you need those town stops to recharge your self. Also you need to allow for injuries and illness, I had to get of trail for both on seperate occassions and each time was for about 4 days.
The PCT was harder mentally (your time frame is alot tighter so you are always conscious of having to keep going).
The AT was much harder physically( the climbs are steeper and the tread is alot rougher)
Weather on both trails was a burden. I had to get off trail a couple of times on both trails because of snow storms.
AT - lots of rain ( no rain no pain no Maine) humidity in Mid Atlantic States was a big surprise and very draining, lots of thunderstorms in the afternoons.
PCT -The heat of the desert (dont forget your umbrella) and heavy water carries was hard work. I had a low snow year in the Sierras so was pretty lucky. Also just got to Canada before the first major snow dump.
Planning
It is handy if you can find someone in the US to be your back up, to hold gear that is not needed and to send it on when you do require it, ie snow gear maps etc.
AT - you can basically get on the trail and just start walking, just need a good guide book In '14 most were using AWOl. You dont need to plan resupplies. Hint always check your guide when you get to roads , never know if there is a little store half a mile down the road, you dont want to miss out on sodas and ice cream
PCT - You need to plan some food drops, I mainly bought as i went but sent food drops to a few spots) I just sent food from a large town just before. I used Yogis guide book and Halfmiles and guthooks phone apps. I also carried paper maps and a compass. The trail most of the way is easy to follow and you need to really only need basic navigation ie do i go left or right at this trail junction. I also used a resupply company for some food drops, Sonora Pass resupply, there is also Zero Day Resupply.
CDT- People say that you should only do the CDT after gaining experience on another thru hike first. I am doing alot more planning for this one , there is alot of alternates for the trail so I have alot of maps. and trying to plan where to resupply and where to send food is going to be an involved process.
Hope this helps
Taz
Awesome info thanks mate, yeah i have a few friends in the US and canada that are going to help with resupply dumps and gear holding for me, and lucky enough to have a few friends in the yukon that will be helping as well ( ones even going to go to the extent of a supply drop via chopper for for a few bottles of bundy rum
), weather doesnt really bother me, it never really has for some reason lol just one foot after another until it starts getting dark lol, at the moment im doing a day by day "rough" route map kind of thing, gives me an idea of where ill be ( basically doing 25km sections, some days might walk more or less, but it gives me a rough idea of whats around, where to wild camp, where the towns are that i can resupply etc etc )
im planning on spending a week in most big towns to recoupe and regenerate ( when i say a week i mean between 3 and 7 days depending on the town ) and to assess injuries if any, alsso to go through gear and resupply or replace.
that budgets pretty good actually i had around $12,000 pinned for each trail ( except the trans canada and i havnt worked that one out yet ), as my friends say give me a can of baked beans and a loaf of bread and ill feed an army for a week
, i pretty much know how much ill go through a day with previous hikes as an indicator, at one time i wanted to see how much food i could carry on a multi day hike ( 15 day hike ), was able to carry 11 days worth, mostly freeze dried meals, water supplied from the trusty MSR guardian, going to try and limit the food carrige to about 7 days so i can carry more winter gear, but we'll see
