20 Tips for Spending Less Money on a Thru-Hike

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Don’t run out of money on your thru-hike! Even if you are on a very tight budget, you can still complete a thru-hike on a shoestring. Below are some strategies I have used for spending less money while on the trail. This post does not include strategies for saving money before the trail, such as on gear, but is focused on reducing those on-trail costs, which can sneak up on you if you aren’t careful.

1. Hike Faster

The most effective way to spend less money on the trail is to hike faster. Fewer days on trail means less time away from work. It also means you have lower food costs and fewer recurring costs like health insurance to deal with. Although it might not sound like it, hiking faster doesn’t mean you have to increase your pace. It just means you have to cover a few more miles each day. You do that by hiking longer. When the summer days are long and you are in peak hiking fitness, you can hike an extra 3 miles per day just by walking one more hour before setting up camp.

On the PCT, hiking 3 extra miles per day shaves 23 days off the length of your hike. Taking it a little farther and adding 5 miles per day shortens your hike by 35 days. That is a full month of expenses you’ve saved.

2. Nero in and out of Town

(Nero=nearly zero, meaning a low mileage day). Rather than staying in towns overnight, camp just outside of town and go in early in the morning. You can spend the day in town getting resupplied, eating town food, charging your devices and getting chores done. In some towns you can even get a shower somewhere. Then, in the afternoon or early evening, hike a few miles out of town and set up camp. Avoiding hotels can save tons of money, yet you can still feel like you got in a nice rest day with good town food.

3. Skip Town

Hike for longer stretches between towns. If you skip town altogether, you also skip the restaurants, beds, and all the other various temptations in town that cost money. There is nothing to spend money on out in the woods.

There are a few things to consider for this approach. First, you’ll have to carry a little more food to sustain you for longer stretches. Also, you’ll need enough power to go longer between recharging opportunities. If you are hiking in the American West, you can supplement with a lightweight solar panel. On a more shaded trail like the AT, maybe a slightly bigger battery pack. Your pack will be a little heavier with this approach, but it can be a very effective way to reduce your spending, so long as you have the willpower to not go into town.

4. Mail a few boxes ahead

When in larger towns with a real grocery store, mail a box or two ahead to small towns with limited and expensive resupplies. The shipping is cheaper than mailing the boxes from home (which I assume is farther away) and you don’t have to rely on anyone at home to send you packages. This can really save on food costs through very small towns without proper grocery stores.

For example, in Tehachapi on the PCT, many hikers take advantage of the supermarkets to prep and mail themselves food boxes through the Sierra. Many of the resupply points in Washington are also limited and expensive, so stopping in Bend or Portland to mail a few boxes ahead can save some money. There are a handful of spots on the CDT where mailing a box is cheaper, check out my mail drop guide for more details. While this isn’t really necessary on the AT, some people do send themselves a box to Monson for their 100-mile wilderness section as the options in town are expensive.

5. Raid the hiker boxes

On a trail like the Appalachian Trail, I imagine a particularly frugal and resourceful hiker could probably feed themselves for the bulk of the trail, and even upgrade a lot of their gear, by relying entirely on hiker boxes. I have resupplied entirely from a hiker box a few times in a pinch on both the PCT and the CDT. This approach guarantees you’ll be eating a lot of oatmeal, but food is food. There is also a surprising amount of gear to be had, especially early on in the hike as a lot of hikers abandon the trail and in many cases abandon a lot of their practically brand-new gear.

6. Talk to Strangers

Anyone can become a trail angel, they just might not know it yet! One time, in an unexpected snowstorm, a hiker we knew hitched a ride into a bar in town. After chatting with some of the other patrons, he made out with a free beer, a free place to stay for the night, and a ride back to the trail in the morning. Similarly, when we were hiking through the Three Sisters Wilderness on the PCT, there were a lot of weekenders out on backpacking trips. Most of them brought too much food and were eager to unload some excess weight. We would take a break in the vicinity of these clean hikers and their heavy packs, and mention to one another we were getting low on food, making sure they were within earshot. Next thing we knew, people were dumping food out of their packs, offering us more than we even wished to carry. Nice stuff too – Mountain House meals and other expensive treats!

When people find out what you’re doing, they usually get excited and want to help. Don’t be a mooch, but accept the generosity and kindness of others and pay it forward when you can.

7. Don’t pay full price for shoes

Every year, shoe companies issue new models in early summertime. All the old models inevitably go on sale. If you have a shoe you like, wait until the new model comes out and buy a few of the old ones at a discount. Brick-and-mortar stores will run through this old inventory more quickly, but if you shop online you can find the old models often for years after they are discontinued, and they get cheaper as time goes on.

8. Set a weekly budget.

No matter how much money you have managed to save for spending on the trail, you can make sure it lasts all the way by following a budget. It’s really quite simple. If you have saved $3500 to cover your on-trail costs, and you think it will take 6 months to hike, that is about 25-26 weeks. Divide $3500 by 26 and you have a weekly spending target of $135. This is plenty to keep yourself fed, and you can use the leftovers for everything else: a hostel bed, a burger in town, replacing broken gear. If you overspend one week, you’ll need to make it up in the following week(s) in order to make sure your money lasts. Having a weekly budget can help guide you in deciding what you can or cannot afford while you’re on the trail.

9. Get hotel rooms with kitchens and use them to cook

I think that splitting hotels rooms is such an obvious money saving tip that it doesn’t warrant a spot on the list. But splitting a hotel room with a kitchen sure does. Especially if you are having a zero day in town and spending 2 nights, you can save a lot of money by going to the grocery store and cooking meals in your kitchen, rather than going to a restaurant.

10. Hike with people who have similar habits and budget to you

If you are on a strict budget and trying to avoid towns, but you are hiking in a group who wants to take a zero day every town you pass, you’re going to struggle. It might be hard to hike away from people you are having fun with, but the trail is filled with all kinds, and eventually you will find people with similar spending habits to yours. This will help you keep on track.

11. Ask for a Hiker Discount

Especially at outfitters along the trails, a hiker discount is common. But, it might not be well advertised. It never hurts to ask.

12. Carry real soap

Most hikers seem to prefer to carry hand sanitizer, and it does have its advantages. But, soap has benefits. Sometimes, you go to the laundromat and there is no soap. Sometimes, there is no laundromat. Hiker hostels and pay-to-use showers may not provide soap. You have to either buy some, or go without.

Let’s talk hiker trash. We’ve done laundry in a lot of sinks. I did laundry in the shower the employees let me sneak into at the Yellowstone Lodge. Paul washed his feet in a public restroom sink. We took a sink shower once or twice in a laundromat restroom. I’ve done laundry in the field with a ziplock bag. Having the ability to wash up in the field can also help you stretch out your time between towns. A little bottle of soap makes all of this possible.

13. Ask for Trail Angel Lists

In trail towns that are very familiar with the trails (examples: Hot Springs on the AT, Wrightwood on the PCT), some local businesses keep lists of trail angels and services they are willing to provide. This can help you find a free shuttle, shower, or place to stay. Sometimes all three in one! There are also tons of trail angel groups on facebook, so that is always a good place to go for resources as well.

14. Read the FarOut comments

If you don’t have it, you should definitely get the Far out app. Read the comments on the app – you may learn about trail magic, trail angels, or very hiker-friendly businesses. Some businesses will allow hikers to camp in their “backyard.” Other businesses do not really like hikers. The app comments can provide you these details and save you some trouble.

15. Check out the Library

If you are trying to hop in and out of town without staying overnight, chances are you need to charge up your batteries. You probably would like to get on the WiFi. Usually, you have to patronize a business to get access to their power and internet. Typically this isn’t a problem – hikers are happy to spend money on town food and local businesses are happy to let them use the outlets. But maybe you are trying not to spend money. If there is a library in town, go talk to the librarian and tell them you are hiking and ask if you can use the WiFi. Libraries have always been very welcoming in my experience and allowed me to charge my devices and loiter quietly for a few hours.

This isn’t the only way the library can save you some money on your thru-hike. If you have a valid library card, you can use it on the Libby App to borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free.

16. Bring a rapid charging power plug

A battery bank can take a very long time to charge. Make sure that you are bringing rapid charging plugs so that you can charge up as quickly as possible and get out of town sooner.

17. Check the bear boxes

Sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you hike into a campsite with not a soul around. You open the bear box, and you see cans of food. Or, better yet, food in a more lightweight package. It’s been abandoned, so you can have it if you’re willing to carry it. Don’t do this if there are cars or people around, because then you can’t be sure it doesn’t belong to them.

18. Bring a sewing and patch kit

You don’t have to know how to sew well, but knowing how to thread a needle and sew a basic stitch is a very useful skill to have, and you can stretch a lot of extra life out of your gear by repairing it.

19. A little preventive maintenance and care goes a long way

Trail runners have a tendency to rip in the same areas after a couple hundred miles. If you see this starting, or you know exactly the spot it is going to happen, you can delay the inevitable with a little shoe goo or superglue.

Lightweight gear, by nature, is delicate. It can also be quite expensive. And it can last a little or a long time. Take care of your gear. It will last longer if you do.

20. Check your temper/Don’t throw stuff

I have a memory of Paul having a frustrating morning on the PCT while packing up camp. I was sitting outside the tent eating breakfast while he was inside struggling. Suddenly his bear canister came flying out of the tent, as he had launched it in anger. It flew out in a high arc, hit the rocks and rolled way down the hill. Fortunately for Paul, he didn’t break it. But you know what hikers do often break in anger? Trekking poles! I myself am guilty of this offense – you might notice from my photos that for half of the PCT I only had 1 pole. Not only that – I broke my sunglasses too. I met a guy who broke his tent! That was an expensive temper tantrum. Don’t take your anger out on your gear.