Via this link you can access my excel sheet with all expenses. I usually wrote exactly what I spent the money on, except for food, I just entered the values. Hope this helps. :-) docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14CXonVG53fCnuZ8V4Ugf0mGg0pAv0W7_/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=100345739666826890399&rtpof=true&sd=true
I'd say you did the hike quite inexpensively. I spent about as much as you did and that was 18 years ago. I'd saved up a lot, so didn't have to be very frugal when on trail. For my hike, the biggest expense of a hike wasn't in what I spent, it was the opportunity cost of not working during the time on trail. Losing 6 months of wages, pension credits, seniority, etc was far more than what was actually spent out of pocket on the trail. Your experience post trail with finding work is exactly why I advocate for having 2-3 months of "home" expenses saved in addition to trail expenses - one needs that reserve to be able to get back to "normal" once back home. Even if you come back to a job (I had a sabbatical so went right back to work 2 weeks after getting home) it can take several weeks with the pay cycle to get money coming into the bank account. It's also good to plan in, and save for, a week or two once you get back home to do nothing - re-entry can be a challenge for some people. Another factor for northbound hikers that southbound probably doesn't see nearly as much - fall weather. Have a reserve of money so that waiting out weather in Washington is an option. At Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass, we took extra zero's to wait for bad weather to pass, rather than going out into cold rain. My tramily and I could afford to do so - better than getting out into 35F / 1C cold rain for several days in a row. Town food - what you said, and more. Town food can be expensive. Mrs Token and I will get cooked chicken from the grocery deli (baked or fried) and salad in a bag from the grocery when traveling. We can have a nice dinner for under $10 a person in town. If a starch is needed, there's always a loaf of fresh bread in the bakery, or some instant mashed potato. That said, the allure of town food on a plate, with a fork, knife and spoon, is hard to resist.
@@Token_Civilian very good point! I didn’t mention the opportunity cost. For me of course this was lower as I’m early in my career but for other people the opportunity cost can be quite high. I also didn’t think about the potentially more severe weather in fall for NOBOs. Especially in Washington where there’s not many options to stay in some places, this can also add up. There’s a lot of great advice here, thanks for your comment :-)
@@tifacoba I actually already did the GR11 and GR221. This year I want to hike the Alta Via and maybe join a friend for a section of the hexatrek. Nothing big for now :-)
Edit to flights, get a jaw flight/ticket to Seattle and from San Diego/LA/San Francisco preferable with United Airlines upgrade to normal economy and reschedule your return for free. Worked great for me. 7:00 😂😂😂
Vielen vielen Dank für die Aufschlüsselung der Kosten!! Ich will den pct dieses Jahr laufen und spare seit 4 Jahren 😅 Jetzt weiß ich, womit ich rechnen kann und worauf ich achten sollte! 🙏
@@_Terc_ I updated my German debit card (Mastercard) via my bank to have no fees for currency exchange or getting cash at atms (had to pay anyway because the US bank charged approximately 4$ per transaction). I only used the Mastercard, no proper „credit card“. Never had any issues. :-)
Hi Helena, Thank you for your videos. I followed you from the beginning on instagram and it was an amazing journey! I will be doing the PCT SOBO this year (can't wait !) . So I have two little questions: Which phone subscription did you subscribe (I'm also from EU) ? How did you get to Hart Pass from Seattle? I don't see any budget for that in your excel. Thanks a lot 🙂
@@Oliviervn hey! Thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that! 💛 so excited you’re doing the PCT sobo too, that’s amazing!!! I had a phone plan by USmobile. I did that because I could get an eSIM there, activate online and it was quite cheap. The reception in Washington was not great, other people had better reception than me but I didn’t care because I only wanted to use my phone in town if possible. A trail angels called Dan drove us from Sedro-Woolley to Mazama. Maybe he also offers his service this year. I found him via Reddit :-) otherwise with public transport it’s quite a long journey! But possible.
@@helena_hikes Thanks for your swift reply 🙂 I'm super excited to start the trail and following you on Instagram was torture as I wanted to be there already :D. Your videos confirm my choice to do the PCT SOBO. I found your conversation on reddit :D would you advise me to try going through Dan ? I was planning to take public transport to concrete and then hitchhike along route 20 to Mazama. Thanks again for the videos. I look forward to the next one!
Hi! Another sobo here. I hitched from Burlington to mazama and maybe I was just really lucky, but it was super easy. One hitch after 5 minutes to the gas station in Sedro Woolley where I approached a nice looking guy with a LOT of outdoor gear in his car (I interpreted that as a green flag) and he could take me all the way to Mazama. There’s a lot of traffic to NorthCascades NP so you might have to switch car there, but I think it’s possible. From mazama there’s several trail angles offering shuttles for 20 usd, you can figure that out once you’re there. Or you can hope for the best and hitch, but I do t think there’s a lot of traffic. Just a few day hikers
@@dawnslight98 oh man haha! I’ve heard that a lot. The travel health insurance was definitely on the cheaper side but I saw this one recommended by a lot of international thru hikers and luckily I didn’t need it but whenever I contacted them, they replied very quickly and were nice and helpful. :-)
@ it wasn’t EU specific but they asked for my home country. It’s called safety wing. Very similar to world nomads, but those actually didn’t have insurance for someone from Austria, was quite weird…
@@eroscoe92 yeah I understand they charge a little bit for long rides because they have to drive to the trail and back but then at least they should be transparent upfront 😅
Via this link you can access my excel sheet with all expenses. I usually wrote exactly what I spent the money on, except for food, I just entered the values. Hope this helps. :-)
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14CXonVG53fCnuZ8V4Ugf0mGg0pAv0W7_/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=100345739666826890399&rtpof=true&sd=true
I'd say you did the hike quite inexpensively. I spent about as much as you did and that was 18 years ago. I'd saved up a lot, so didn't have to be very frugal when on trail.
For my hike, the biggest expense of a hike wasn't in what I spent, it was the opportunity cost of not working during the time on trail. Losing 6 months of wages, pension credits, seniority, etc was far more than what was actually spent out of pocket on the trail. Your experience post trail with finding work is exactly why I advocate for having 2-3 months of "home" expenses saved in addition to trail expenses - one needs that reserve to be able to get back to "normal" once back home. Even if you come back to a job (I had a sabbatical so went right back to work 2 weeks after getting home) it can take several weeks with the pay cycle to get money coming into the bank account. It's also good to plan in, and save for, a week or two once you get back home to do nothing - re-entry can be a challenge for some people.
Another factor for northbound hikers that southbound probably doesn't see nearly as much - fall weather. Have a reserve of money so that waiting out weather in Washington is an option. At Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass, we took extra zero's to wait for bad weather to pass, rather than going out into cold rain. My tramily and I could afford to do so - better than getting out into 35F / 1C cold rain for several days in a row.
Town food - what you said, and more. Town food can be expensive. Mrs Token and I will get cooked chicken from the grocery deli (baked or fried) and salad in a bag from the grocery when traveling. We can have a nice dinner for under $10 a person in town. If a starch is needed, there's always a loaf of fresh bread in the bakery, or some instant mashed potato. That said, the allure of town food on a plate, with a fork, knife and spoon, is hard to resist.
@@Token_Civilian very good point! I didn’t mention the opportunity cost. For me of course this was lower as I’m early in my career but for other people the opportunity cost can be quite high.
I also didn’t think about the potentially more severe weather in fall for NOBOs. Especially in Washington where there’s not many options to stay in some places, this can also add up.
There’s a lot of great advice here, thanks for your comment :-)
I agree with you about Trail Angels not being a good "Trail Angel". Charging people for a ride is not being a trail angel, it is being a taxi.
Bedankt
Good info and great advice. Thanks!
Next project?
Maybe something "easy" and doable in a grown up working life. Lycian way, gr20, GR221, West weg?
@@tifacoba I actually already did the GR11 and GR221. This year I want to hike the Alta Via and maybe join a friend for a section of the hexatrek. Nothing big for now :-)
Edit to flights, get a jaw flight/ticket to Seattle and from San Diego/LA/San Francisco preferable with United Airlines upgrade to normal economy and reschedule your return for free. Worked great for me.
7:00 😂😂😂
Vielen vielen Dank für die Aufschlüsselung der Kosten!! Ich will den pct dieses Jahr laufen und spare seit 4 Jahren 😅 Jetzt weiß ich, womit ich rechnen kann und worauf ich achten sollte! 🙏
@@lindabck631 freut mich, dass es hilfreich ist. Hab auch viele viele Jahre gespart dafür 😅
Thats pretty good. I cut costs by doing neros. Just get in, get resupply, and hike out a mile/two and camp
@@jakeva9802 absolutely! This strategy also worked very well for me :-)
Hello! How did you go about choosing payment options? Did you use your regular debit card, or did you open a new US bank account to pay for things?
@@_Terc_ I updated my German debit card (Mastercard) via my bank to have no fees for currency exchange or getting cash at atms (had to pay anyway because the US bank charged approximately 4$ per transaction). I only used the Mastercard, no proper „credit card“. Never had any issues. :-)
@helena_hikes That makes sense, thank you for the info! Also will you by any chance make a video why SOBO vs NOBO? :)
@ It’s already planned ;-) hehe
@@helena_hikes I feel like a kid copying someone else's homework when they have done all the research for you 😂 much appreciated!
Hi Helena,
Thank you for your videos. I followed you from the beginning on instagram and it was an amazing journey!
I will be doing the PCT SOBO this year (can't wait !) . So I have two little questions:
Which phone subscription did you subscribe (I'm also from EU) ?
How did you get to Hart Pass from Seattle? I don't see any budget for that in your excel.
Thanks a lot 🙂
@@Oliviervn hey!
Thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that! 💛 so excited you’re doing the PCT sobo too, that’s amazing!!!
I had a phone plan by USmobile. I did that because I could get an eSIM there, activate online and it was quite cheap. The reception in Washington was not great, other people had better reception than me but I didn’t care because I only wanted to use my phone in town if possible.
A trail angels called Dan drove us from Sedro-Woolley to Mazama. Maybe he also offers his service this year. I found him via Reddit :-) otherwise with public transport it’s quite a long journey! But possible.
@@helena_hikes Thanks for your swift reply 🙂
I'm super excited to start the trail and following you on Instagram was torture as I wanted to be there already :D.
Your videos confirm my choice to do the PCT SOBO.
I found your conversation on reddit :D would you advise me to try going through Dan ? I was planning to take public transport to concrete and then hitchhike along route 20 to Mazama.
Thanks again for the videos. I look forward to the next one!
Hi! Another sobo here. I hitched from Burlington to mazama and maybe I was just really lucky, but it was super easy. One hitch after 5 minutes to the gas station in Sedro Woolley where I approached a nice looking guy with a LOT of outdoor gear in his car (I interpreted that as a green flag) and he could take me all the way to Mazama. There’s a lot of traffic to NorthCascades NP so you might have to switch car there, but I think it’s possible. From mazama there’s several trail angles offering shuttles for 20 usd, you can figure that out once you’re there. Or you can hope for the best and hitch, but I do t think there’s a lot of traffic. Just a few day hikers
I'm interested in your Excel
Hey! I pinned the comment here, it should be at the top
If I did the math properly, you averaged 21 mpd even with zeroes. Impressive!!
@@gerrylake yeah actually we had to skip around wildfire closures but even with those skips it was still a fast thru. :-)
336 euro for health insurance for the entire trip? I am sobbing. That is what I pay a MONTH in the states.
@@dawnslight98 oh man haha! I’ve heard that a lot.
The travel health insurance was definitely on the cheaper side but I saw this one recommended by a lot of international thru hikers and luckily I didn’t need it but whenever I contacted them, they replied very quickly and were nice and helpful. :-)
@@helena_hikes Hi! Is the insurance you used EU specific? I’m in Australia and looked into World Nomads and was quoted over $2k.
@ it wasn’t EU specific but they asked for my home country. It’s called safety wing. Very similar to world nomads, but those actually didn’t have insurance for someone from Austria, was quite weird…
Trail angels shouldn’t be charging they can always accept donations 😢 if they are charging then they are shuttle drivers.
I completely agree with you. I experienced a lot of this...
@@helena_hikes That's too bad you experienced a lot of this :(
@@eroscoe92 yeah I understand they charge a little bit for long rides because they have to drive to the trail and back but then at least they should be transparent upfront 😅