Expenses on the PCT

PCT guidebook author "Yogi" says that PCT thru-hikers spend between $2500 and $5000 on their hikes, not counting previously purchased gear. Obviously, if I'm aiming at spending under $500 a month, then I'm in a very rare category of low-budget thru-hikers. What does the breakdown of expenses look like for PCT hikers? How do they manage to spend so much money?

This podcast interview with British thru-hiker "Ben" helped clear things up for me. He says that a three-day supply of food at a typical supermarket in a trailside town cost between $30 and $40. I should note that this was in 2006, and that both the interviewee and his hiking buddy are the same height as I (so maybe our appetites match, too?). This matches what I was expecting: roughly $12 a day for food supplies using the buy-as-you-go strategy. 

Ben spent $4000 total on his trip, which lasted 134 days. Presumably about $1500 was spent on food for the trail, judging by the numbers he gave. The rest was spent on hotel rooms, restaurants, and in-town feeding frenzies. Perhaps a few hundred was spent on new gear (such as replacement running shoes). Judging from the interview, I would estimate that the hikers spent 25 nights in hotels, spending an average of $80 per night in town: $40-50 per person for a room (lodging in California is really expensive) and $30-40 on food splurges. From what I've read, $20-30 is a normal sum for a big thru-hiker dinner in a trailside town. 

What does this mean for me? Hopefully, I will be able to limit my expenses to $400 a month on store-bought food and $70 a month on a fresh pair of Inov-8 trail runners. I am not attracted to hotel rooms and prefer to sleep outside for free. I can maintain my personal hygiene as I go rather than letting it slide until I hit town. Avoiding restaurants may be a bit more difficult. Rather than going in for a $25 dinner, I can get a variety of appetizing foods from the supermarket and splurge on that instead. 

Cooking on the PCT

What are the cooking options on the PCT?

1. No stove, no cooking. Lightest option in terms of cookware, and makes the eating process as quick as possible. However, the use of exclusively no-cook food may end up adding weight, since these foods may contain more water. Also, it is somewhat easier to tire of uncooked dry foods. 
2. Gas stove. Adds a lot of weight: stove + fuel. Finding fuel canisters along the trail may be problematic. Compared to the no stove option, hikers with gas stoves will find themselves carrying approx. 300 or more grams on average. 
3. Alcohol stove. The stove itself weighs almost nothing, but HEET is sold in bottles that may be heavier than backpackers would like. However, HEET is readily available in nearly all trailside towns. Total average weight of cooking gear could be even more than that of a gas stove setup. The solution would be to obtain small amounts of alcohol at a time (filling up a smaller bottle and pouring out the rest of the HEET that I don't need), keeping the average weight of the stove equipment to 150 grams or less. 
4. Esbit stove. Stove weighs almost nothing, and fuel tabs, while expensive, are significantly lighter than alcohol. Getting fuel tabs on the trail may be problematic.
5. Wood stove. The Bush Buddy weighs about 140 grams, which makes it a lighter option than gas or alcohol stoves. It's fun to use, and fuel is unlimited, but cooking time may be greater than with other stoves. Also, hikers have to learn to deal with smoot on their pots. 
6. Cook fires. Lighter than even a wood stove, but perhaps not as efficient or manageable as a special stove. Soot may be an issue.

Mailing fuel

Here is an excellent article on shipping fuel and combustibles to PCT hikers by mail. Basically, all fuel types can be shipped, but only if certain precautions are kept. This makes it possible to mail smaller amounts of fuel to oneself while on the trail, reducing the average carried weight of one's stove setup significantly.

My choice

Originally, I needed to make a decision in favor of either my Bush Buddy wood-burning stove, or an alcohol stove which would weigh next to nothing. When I realized that I may have to carry around more HEET fuel at any given time than I needed, I decided to stick with the Bush Buddy. With my MSR Titan 0.85 L pot, my cooking setup would have come to 275 grams. I had also been considering taking my 2 L pot, whose larger size makes cooking big meals easier, as well as using the pot for washing one's body (though I can do a full body wash, including hair, with just a 0.85 L pot). 

Then I did some soul-searching. On the CDT in Colorado, my girlfriend was generally in charge of the cooking (I would usually light and feed the stove). When I'm on my own, I don't have a lot of patience for cooking meals and tend to skip cooking whenever I feel at all rushed. I don't know that I'm going to often feel like taking long breaks specifically to cook, and I'll probably gravitate towards quick-cooking foods anyway. For my needs, 275 grams of cooking gear seems like overkill. 

What I've finally settled on is a single 1 liter pot -- the K-Mart grease strainer (pot) -- which weighs in at 107 grams without the strainer part. It costs $7 and seems to be sold at any K-Mart store. It is superior to the Walmart grease strainer because the lip is rolled outward, not inward, and thus will not catch food. Both pots are made out of aluminum, which is lighter, but somewhat more malleable than titanium. Removing the lid handle, as many people do, saves a trifling 6 grams, but some ease of use is lost, so I put it back on. The pot is wider and lower than my MSR Titan and seems to be a more usable shape for both eating and washing. When I want to make some hot food, I'll build a cook fire and set the sufficiently wide pot across two stones over the fire. If practical, I may carry a few Esbit solid fuel tabs on each section to avoid having to build (and extinguish) fires. Either way, I save about 170 grams of cooking gear and have a setup that better fits my actual needs. Basically, all I need is a pot, and most of the time I won't be heating anything in it. 

My single utensil is a long-handled titanium spoon which weighs 10 g. I love the long handle and find I never need a fork during my backpacking trips anyway. 

ADDED MARCH 4:

I still have some doubts about this decision as I think about my nutritional needs. I've recently discovered some inexpensive dehydrated meals that are full of nutrients, and I can't cook those three times a day on Esbit tablets (expensive!). The jury's still out...

Electronic Devices

Here are the electronic devices I plan on taking with me:

1. 2 Flashlights: the lamp piece of a Petzl XP Tikka (will clip to my belt for night hiking); one Photon Freedom (emergency; this tiny button flashlight burns out too quickly to be of much use).
2. High Gear Summit altimeter watch: this isn't a necessity, but I enjoy noting day and nighttime temperatures (if the watch is off me), and the altimeter is good for orienteering -- it can help tell you where you are on the trail and how much you have to go. The compass is very useful (I'll have a tiny backup compass, too, since the watch needs occasional recalibration), and the barometer is nice, but not a necessity. I'll also carry a spare battery.
3. Canon G7 camera with spare battery and wall charger: not the lightest setup, but good pictures are very important to me. I'll recharge one or both of the batteries when in town (say, when online at the public library -- they recharge in under 2 hours), and I'll be able to immediately upload a few of the better pictures from the previous section. 
4. RCA 2Gb MP3 player (Walmart, $35): for long-distance hiking, I prefer an MP3 player that runs on a single AAA battery and has a USB port so that I can download podcasts or radio programs during my hike, and any files or edited photos that I want to carry around with me. This MP3 player also allows for voice recording and has an FM radio with recording capabilities. During my Colorado thru-hike last summer, my girlfriend and I enjoyed listening to music and other recordings for about an hour a day, especially on days when we weren't feeling perfectly happy. Now that I'll be hiking solo, that could go up to a couple hours. 

What I'm not taking with me: cell phone, GPS, pocketmail, solar charger, etc. 

Preparation Update

Permits

Today I mailed off the forms for my permits (see earlier post). I decided to pay the $15 for the Mt. Whitney permit just in case. U.S. wilderness authorities aren't exactly known for corruption and embezzlement, so I don't feel bad contributing a bit beyond what is absolutely necessary. Now I just have to remember to send in my ADZPCTKO application in March when it becomes available.

Printing PCT maps

I went to a print shop to find out about options for printing out Halfmile's free PCT maps. I learned it would cost me $50 to print all the California section maps on regular 8.5'' x 11'' paper, with two maps on each side of the sheet. This would be the optimal solution, as you can still make out all the detail and have to deal with 4 times fewer pages than if you just printed out all the maps straight. $20 of the $50 would pay for the work of arranging the pages so that they print at half size.

I had tried to paste the maps into a Word document to make it easier to print two maps to a page, but this drastically reduced the print quality. The same map printed at half size from the original .pdf file printed out crisply. 

I decided to take my girlfriend up on her free printing privileges as the university and just print out double-sized, full-size maps. $50 is too much for me. 

Once I print out the maps in a couple weeks, I'll start making notes on them regarding water sources and towns -- information that I plan on gleaning from the web. I'm hoping I don't have to pay for any guide books. Really, all I need are detailed maps, reliable information on water sources, and info for post offices, food stores, and public libraries in trailside towns. All of that is available online. I don't see why I'd need any more than that for my hike, even though everyone says to get the guide books and Yogi's guide. 

Exercise

I've been going to the gym off and on since fall, and did a strenuous 9-day hike in the Peruvian Andes in January, so I'm in decent shape. With the PCT little more than two months away, though, it's time for a daily concerted effort to get in the best shape possible. I plan to mix running with stair steps, cycling, and elliptical machines (sp.?) to give my legs a full workout, in addition to the standard upper-body stuff. I don't want to overstrain my knees running every single day, and these other machines will focus on muscles that are used when hiking, but not when running. 

Poles or no poles?

I have not decided yet whether I'm going to take trekking poles on the PCT. I've found that the umbrella trumps poles hands-down, and most of the time I don't use the poles anymore. Shielding myself from the sun is more important. The reason I might take them is to help my knees on downhill segments. However, I think my knees strengthen up after a while, and by just slowing my pace I can do fine. Plus, the PCT is gently graded, unlike trails in Crimea (Ukraine). 

UPDATE 18 FEB: I've tentatively decided to leave the poles at home. If I find I need them, I can have them mailed to me.

Value of trekking poles

I recently happened across an article in the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of Men's Health magazine that talked about the fitness value of trekking poles. It cited research that said that people who used trekking poles had a 6% higher heart rate (e.g. 106 bpm vs. 100 bpm, or 141 bpm vs. 133 bpm) and a 10% higher oxygen consumption rate while walking at the same speed as people who did not use them, but they did not report a higher subjective level of exertion. I have done little mini-experiments on myself, just observing my sensations when hiking at a certain pace with and without poles, and came to similar conclusions. It takes a lot more energy to do with the arms what one can easily do with the legs (i.e. propel oneself forward). This research suggests that trekking poles increase cardiovascular fatigue; however they may reduce other kinds of fatigue. See the links below for more details.

Here are links to research reports regarding the use of trekking poles:

- hiking downhill (with and without poles)

- hiking uphill

- physiological response and exertion

- load carriage expenditure

These studies suggest that poles reduce impact on the lower body and slightly reduce perceived exertion, despite a small increase in heartrate. 

Trip financing

I'm probably going to have to sell off some more of my fancy backpacking gear to finance my thru-hike. With no rent or various living expenses to pay for the duration of my hike, I suspect I will actually be spending a little less per month than if I stayed where I am now. 

Planning My Hammock Bug Net

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was planning on sewing a bug net for my hammock. The hammock I will use on the PCT is the ultralight Grand Trunk hammock, which weighs around 12 oz and costs $20 at Campmor.com. 

I went out and hung my hammock the other day to determine the exact size of the bug net I will need. I want to keep it as small and lightweight as possible. I arrived at a bug tube circumference of 200 cm (6.5 feet) as optimal for my needs, and the length of the net would need to be slightly longer than the length of my hammock fabric, so 10 feet long. 

Design

Rather than sewing a tube out of a rectangular 6.5' x 10' piece of bug netting, I can taper the foot end of the net and save some weight. After all, I only need to enter through one end of the net. The other end can have a 2'' diameter opening, and that will be enough to slip it over the end of the hammock. 

I have to keep in mind that I will probably occasionally be sleeping on the ground in this netting as well, so it has to be usable for that as well. 

I have decided to put a side zip on the bug net. I've reviewed the experience of other hammock campers who've sewn similar nets, and I think a 4' to 6' long side zipper will make it a lot easier to get in and out of the bug net. Also, I won't ever have to take it off the hammock when packing up, unless I spend the night on the ground. 

Now, if I'm always using the side zip, then I might as well taper the head end of the net as well, right? Or am I going to want to leave that end open so that I can pull the netting over my head in a standing position? :)

Final question. It might be a good idea to sew the bottom half of the bug net with windproof lightweight fabric such as Momentum or standard 1.1 oz nylon. This way, the hammock body is protected from wind as well as bugs. If it is hot and the wind is welcome, the bug net could be rotated to have all netting on the windward side of the hammock. However, I've decided against this option for simplicity's sake. I'm unsure of how it'll work in practice, and I only have one shot to sew the bug net. 

I just ordered all the necessary materials from thru-hiker.com: 5 yards of 60'' wide noseeum, an ultralight continuous coil zipper with 2 double-pull zipper sliders, some draw cord and cord locks, and hydrophobe sewing thread for this and other sewing projects. 

Final result

I decided to stick with the tube shape and not taper anything, because that would make it significantly harder to sew. The net has a long 7' zipper along the side that can be shifted under or over the hammock as necessary. Thanks to my mom for a fine sewing job. 

PCT Podcasts

I've really enjoyed listening to podcasts related to the PCT. They give me a ton of practical info and fire me up about my upcoming adventure. Here are the PCT-related podcasts I've been able to find on the web (please write me if you know of any more):

• Trailcast.org - episodes 25, 24, 18, 16, 15, 12
• PracticalBackpacking.com - episodes 25, 23, 15, 10, 8, 7 
• Ben and Billy's PCT thru-hike >> these are especially superb and useful
• Yo-Yoing the PCT
• Thru-hiking the PCT at age 10 >> a bit less relevant

I like to download these onto my MP3 player and listen to them 2 or 3 times apiece while exercising. I think they provide a clearer view of the PCT experience than written texts.

Inov-8 Trail Shoes for the PCT

I'm a big fan of Inov-8 trail running/walking shoes. I wore 315s on my Colorado hike last year and was pleased with them. I've also hiked in 320s (good) and have held models 295, 270, 212, and 312 in my hands. 

Best models for the PCT

A lot depends on the person, but I think I need thicker midsoles on my shoes for long-distance walking. Inov-8s have 3 degrees of midsole cushioning. Here are the models with the greatest amount of cushioning that are appropriate for the PCT (i.e. trail runners, but with no gore-tex, which impedes breathability and slows drying):

• Roclite 305 
• Roclite 320 
• F-lite 335

Each of these models generally costs $90-100, unless you find a great sale (more on that later). In order of likely breathability: 335 (most breathable), 305, 320 (still dries pretty quick). Reverse that order for durability of uppers (important for rocky sections of trail)

Here are some other appropriate models with a bit less cushioning than the above:

• Roclite 295
• F-lite 300
• Roclite 315

These all cost about the same, too. (note to self:  runningwarehouse.com  stocks 3 of these 6 models - 295, 305, 315 - in my size at prices between $70 and $75.)

Finding deals on Inov-8 shoes

Here are some websites to follow. You should never have to pay full price for Inov-8 shoes!

• shopping.com, amazon.com, spadout.com - good places to start, because they track prices in many shops (but not all)
• runningwarehouse.com - 295 and 315 usually cost around $70, with no sales tax and free delivery (note to self: if you order by phone - 1-800-606-9598 ("Terra") - they can ship to general delivery addresses, but they "assume no liability for the package". So I can wait till I get on the trail to order new shoes, and see whether I'll need size 13 or 14.)
• eBay.com - you never know what will be selling
• backcountry.com and backcountryoutlet.com - selection varies from week to week; can have some awesome deals; free shipping over $50
• zappos.com - small discounts; has large selection of models
• zombierunner.com - occasional sales; has large selection of models
• runbargains.com - occasional discounts
• gearzone.com - occasional deals; free shipping over $100

Sizing of Inov-8 shoes

Almost everyone recommends going up half a size compared to your other shoes. Also, most people's shoe size increases when hiking in the desert and/or hiking for more than a week at a time. For me, that means wearing size 13, possibly 14 for long-distance hiking. Since I don't know how much my feet will expand (they didn't expand as much over a month in Colorado as people said they would), I'll try to put off buying new pairs of shoes till I'm a month or so into the trail.