Finances and the Appalachian Trail with Sam and Mike

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On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Sam, Financial Gym client. She is joined by Mike, another Financial Gym client.

Podcast Notes

  • Sam has been a Financial Gym client since 2017, and she is the reason Mike discovered The Gym. Mike joined in May 2019.

  • Mike discovered the love of the outdoors a couple years ago and set his eyes on the Appalachian Trail (AT). He followed many through hikers online, including Sam, and heard about the Martinis and Your Money podcast on her social media.

  • Finances and hiking are two of Sam’s passions. She hiked 2,000 miles of the trail in 2018 from Maine to Georgia. When she started at The Gym, her goal was to hike the AT. Every goal is a financial goal.

  • Having worked with Joy for a year, it has reframed how Mike thinks about money. Hiking the trail isn’t just a big investment of energy, it is also a financial investment. Mike doesn’t have a date set yet, but he hopes to start the hike in one to two years.

  • Sam was good with money before joining The Gym, but she was driven by a fear. She wanted to save her money and not spend it.

  • Mike already has a tent and a sleeping bag and he is hoping to use these to stretch his budget, but his estimate is that he will need $3,000 to $4,000 for reasonable gear.

  • Sam spent about $2,000 for gear and of that, she really only needed $1,300 of gear. She had a lot of hand-me-downs. There were a couple pairs of shoes she bought and didn’t end up wearing and she was worried about finding a job after the hike, so she hired someone to help her with her resume.

  • On trail, hiking can take three months, if you are really fast, to six months, which is more reasonable. Sam’s hike was about 4.5 months. A lot of people hike the northbound route, going from Georgia to Maine.

  • Sam did the flip-flop route, where she started in the middle and went north and then she had her dad drive her back to the middle to hike south. Sam only stayed in a hostel once during her northbound hike. The first half, 74 days, she spent $1.98 per mile, or $31 a day. The second half, her cost was $2.50 per mile, or $48 a day. She was alone more on the second half and she wanted to sleep inside and eat comfort food.

  • Sam chose to hike in this manner to avoid crowds and she couldn’t decide which way to experience the trail.

  • Sam is very frugal off trail, but when you are hungry and cold you are more likely to spend more for food. She gave herself that wiggle room, but it was more than she planned. She planned to do the hike, including gear, for $5,000, but her total was $7,600. She would plan to spend more on a southbound hike or going north in February, because of the snow. 

  • Sam’s average annual expenses are around $20,000 and for 2018, which included her hike, her total expenses were $11,000. 

  • Many people will do shakedown hikes, where they take their gear and test it out to prepare. Sam had about five nights of backpacking experience before she decided to do the hike. Sam hiked about 10 miles a weekend and she made sure she had 1,000 feet of vertical elevation gain every time. You don’t need a lot of training. You will make it or break it in the first two weeks. 

  • Injuries can happen at any time, which can be financial and trail ending. Sam got sick on trail and she had to adjust. She traveled without a stove, because of the weight and the cost. Sam wouldn’t do anything differently. Her sister is the same size as her and she taught her a lot about gear and hiking. 

  • Expect to buy four pairs of shoes or boots and about $500 for gear incidentals on the trail, and start with the gear you have already. 

  • From a financial perspective, the difference between going northbound or southbound isn’t that great. If you are through-hiking, there is more camaraderie going northbound and you can camp with other people most nights. Southbound is less crowded. Watch the typical start dates of each.

  • Section-hikers go out and come back every single year because they aren’t doing it all at one time. 

  • Mike wants the experience of hiking the full 2,000 miles at once. He has grand aspirations of triple crowning, which means completing through hikes on the big three trails: Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT). The AT is at the top of his list and second is the CDT.

  • After joining The Gym, Mike realized that it is easier to set and achieve day-to-day goals. Everything is now done with intent and purpose.

  • Through hiking and working with The Gym really puts into perspective what you actually need in life and what you really need to buy.

  • A good article of gear is a buff, which is a cloth headband because it is multipurpose.

  • Sam’s worst time was when she didn’t talk to anyone for a couple of days. It is important to have day-to-day conversations, even for introverts. 

  • The pandemic and quarantine has accelerated Mike’s desire to start hiking. 

Resources Mentioned

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