I do a bit of thru hiking. Haven't done any of the "big 3" yet, but a few around 200-400 miles. The last few years though I've been spending more time climbing and caving so the only trails I've done recently have been in the "long weekend" territory. I have a friend in CO though and when I get a chance to visit we'd really like to hike the colorado trail. It looks incredibly stunning from what I've seen.
There's this notion that you need to spend quite a bit of money to go backpacking and to some extent there are certainly "trust fund kids" you meet out there, but most people doing thru hikes are just regular old dirt bags. I think this mostly comes from people who do a weekend trip, walk into REI and gawk at how expensive everything is and then just assume anyone who does a lot of hiking is a millionaire. A lot of thru hikers will work a skii season over the winter and then spend the rest of the year backpacking and hitching between places.
For food I like buying bulk dehydrated beans like these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Santiago-Refried-Beans-Pinto-Beans-Dry-for-Bean-Dip-Low-Sodium-1-86lb-Pouch/1712570218 I go back an forth on whole vs refried.
You can then add hot water (or cold if you're willing to wait half an hour), seasoning, and some oil. Match that with a bag of fritos or something and you've got yourself one of the cheapest and most calorie dense meals out there.
https://lighterpack.com/r/biq3b3
I do a bit of thru hiking. Haven't done any of the "big 3" yet, but a few around 200-400 miles. The last few years though I've been spending more time climbing and caving so the only trails I've done recently have been in the "long weekend" territory. I have a friend in CO though and when I get a chance to visit we'd really like to hike the colorado trail. It looks incredibly stunning from what I've seen.
There's this notion that you need to spend quite a bit of money to go backpacking and to some extent there are certainly "trust fund kids" you meet out there, but most people doing thru hikes are just regular old dirt bags. I think this mostly comes from people who do a weekend trip, walk into REI and gawk at how expensive everything is and then just assume anyone who does a lot of hiking is a millionaire. A lot of thru hikers will work a skii season over the winter and then spend the rest of the year backpacking and hitching between places.
For food I like buying bulk dehydrated beans like these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Santiago-Refried-Beans-Pinto-Beans-Dry-for-Bean-Dip-Low-Sodium-1-86lb-Pouch/1712570218 I go back an forth on whole vs refried.
You can then add hot water (or cold if you're willing to wait half an hour), seasoning, and some oil. Match that with a bag of fritos or something and you've got yourself one of the cheapest and most calorie dense meals out there.
it me
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