Op here, I recently quit my corporate job, so I've been busy looking for new work, sorry for late response!
>>1259741Think of it as the best vacation of your life.
>>1259760I spent WAY more money on town food then I should have. Most people end up doing this, I feel. But as a 20 year old (turned 21 on the trail) I just HAD to have the craft beer everywhere I went and of course all the spliffs and whiskey. I could have done it cheaper If i had prepared (I literally did 6 months of planning before hiking).
Gear (including replacements): $1,750
Hostels/Hotels: $750
Resupply Food: $1,500
Pot/Entertainment/Tobacco/booze (yeah, I'm a degenerate): $1,000
>>1259998I had ZERO expectations of experience before the trial. I hiked Mt. Bald in Georgia and was just inspired. It was weird, because while I was hiking, most people would say that in the grand scheme of things the peaks were not high and that Clingmans Dome (tallest point on east coast?) was a joke.
After visiting the west, the AT isin't much in terms of difficulty/peaks.
>>1260001That was like my most expensive piece of gear and in hindsight really stupid. The guy at REI kind of upsold me on that.. but it compresses to the size of a folgers can, and that was helpful.
>>1260003It's great for boiling water, but literally anything else (spam, eggs, pepperoni, veggies) gets burnt.
>>1260017Its tough man, I started with a 40 lb pack weight at Amicalola Falls, worked my way down to 25-28 shortly. So just do some long-distance trips and think about what you will REALLY need. I actually can't give you much advice, as I hear the PCT is fairly different.
>>1260026Early Spring
>>1260035Easy! Trail guide is key. There is a town every week, sometimes twice a week and you get the hang of how to plan properly. You hitch-hike or shuttle into most towns. Some are walkable, I would say 60/40. Water is EVERYWHERE!
>>1260036Correct, variation in food was so important, I needed to control my cooking
