RedDoug
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Trail active, stand back.....
Posts: 634
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 12, 2015 6:18:12 GMT -8
Up this morning eating oatmeal with Mrs. RD. Doing a little trail talk with her and in the conversation I said....
"And when things get slow on the trail you can start going over all the items in your pack and add up the cost."
And Mrs. RD replied, "Your wife back at home has already done that."
Have a nice day.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,894
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Post by zeke on Dec 12, 2015 6:52:10 GMT -8
Pack, shelter, sleeping bag, pad= $1000. Used to be higher, when I had my McHale. Bags are either WM, or UGQ Quilts. Quilts are cheaper.
However, those 4 items are by far the majority of the expense. The rest of it is fairly cheap. Except for the experience. I paid dearly for that. (I am not even talking about that trip in 2007, either. The cost of experience varies for each, but you may count on blisters, sore muscles, maybe a bone break, etc...)
However, the hobby / sport may have saved me a great deal. Divorces are expensive as all heck. We both gain from the time away.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2015 7:36:38 GMT -8
Pack, shelter, sleeping bag, pad= $1000. I'd agree with Zeke here. Outside the pack, I'd add boots. Inside the pack, the cost can go up a bit when people add in things like cameras and GPS units.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Dec 12, 2015 8:57:02 GMT -8
I know where the cost isn't - My stove. I've gotten almost all my gear on sale. I've waited years for some of my gear...waiting for that price to get down to a reasonable amount...or at least a reasonable amount to me.
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markskor
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Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
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Post by markskor on Dec 12, 2015 9:46:35 GMT -8
87 bag nights this season
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 12, 2015 9:56:08 GMT -8
I hunt for sales, and some of my gear isn't very new (bought my pack in 2004), so I'm not sure exactly what the cost is. Zeke's probably in the right ballpark, for those items. Camera and ereader add some cost not everyone will bother with. No other electronics, and like Tigger, my kitchen is the cheapest thing in there.
Do I get to count only half the cost of the tent, which I share, and the kitchen stuff, which is shared from 2-4 directions?
In general, I try to avoid counting up what we spend on gear. I just know that in 21 years of marriage, we have NEVER had any REI dividend left to trade for cash, despite having the REI credit card and some rather large dividends at times. Maybe this year can be the last time we buy a backpack for one of the kids (last year Eldest Son got what should be his long-term pack. We were waiting for Second Son to a. stop growing, and b. need a pack, since he didn't backpack with us last summer). Keeping growing kids outfitted has been pricey, though gear sales and exchanges on these forums have helped.
The year I first got into backpacking, when I started grad school in Seattle, I spent over $500 at REI. That doesn't sound so bad--but it amounted to something like 10% of my income. Maybe more. Oops.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2015 10:12:55 GMT -8
I have no idea what I've spent on gear. It's in the thousands without a doubt, but that is over many decades. I've never bothered to add it up, but I can still recall a few individual items. I'm frugal, maybe even a cheapskate, I don't know. I buy on sale, keep things till they wear out, sew many of my own clothes, improvise with home-made items, and use my sewing machine to customize my packs. I don't use a GPS, and my camera is 15 years old.
But I don't skimp on boots and packs. Neither do I go overboard. I'm not married, but if my girlfriend ever bothered to add it up, she'd probably tease me for being a tightwad. And I'd wear that teasing like a badge of honor.
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RedDoug
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Trail active, stand back.....
Posts: 634
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 12, 2015 10:24:31 GMT -8
My point, though my wife doesn't backpack, she knows what it costs.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 12, 2015 10:55:54 GMT -8
I'm frugal, maybe even a cheapskate, I don't know. In this context, I consider "cheapskate" to be a badge of honor.
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RedDoug
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Trail active, stand back.....
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 12, 2015 12:03:00 GMT -8
(87 bag nights this season) 87 is a respectable number. It caused me to pause and consider how many I might have? Maybe around 50- 55. I am always impressed and envious of high bag nights.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 12, 2015 13:40:20 GMT -8
All my backpacking expenditures three times over wouldn't cover my piano and keyboard. One thing they all have in common is that they've all lasted for years and there have been very few costly upgrades.
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Roger
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Post by Roger on Dec 13, 2015 9:14:45 GMT -8
No longer do I worry about the cost. I have multiple tents (1, 2 and 3 person) a hammock, multiple bags for different temps etc. Now I worry about if I am able to get out and backpack since my back issues are increasing. Two years ago I did 300 miles of the AT and other trips but doubt if I can do that now. I am lucky as my girlfriend likes to BP and paddle as much as I do. I have well over a grand in my backpacking equipment but that fails to compare to what I have in my paddling fleet. As they say you cannot take it with you so as long as I stay within a general budget I am happy. My life expectancy is about 15 years so I am good to go as long as I do not live to a 100+.
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Post by hikerjer on Dec 13, 2015 10:15:39 GMT -8
Pack, shelter, sleeping bag, pad= $1000 For me, that's a little high. Like others, I hunt sales all the time and am willing to wait for the right deal to come along. Also, I'm am not above buying used items at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. Some of my best gear and least expensive gear has come from those sources. It's amazing what you can find if you're patient and look around. The total cost of all my gear is much higher, though. Over the years I've accumulated way too much stuff and I know it's total cost runs into the thousands. Then, if you add in ski gear, bike gear, etc, it really adds up. But it is over a period of many years so I figure on a yearly rate, it's not really extravagant. Never added up the total cost though. I might be unpleasantly shocked if I did.
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speacock
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I'm here for the food...
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Post by speacock on Dec 13, 2015 10:57:40 GMT -8
I arrived in Denver with a pack stowed away in a large duffel bag somewhere in the bowels of the check baggage system. I was waiting for a ride who was to be there sometime near my arrival + wait time. Time dragged on and my duffel hadn't shown on the conveyors nor was it placed along the sides of the baggage area. The conveyor had stopped - empty and the flight number showed who was next.
I had a few panic moments to consider whether or not any insurance I had would cover a loss. How much of a loss!? I ran some numbers across my fingers and was dumbfounded that I was carrying so much of base value out 'n about in places where anybody could just 'easily' walk away with a modest fortune - it has 'handles'. The panic and dollar amount both had increased as those 30 minutes ticked by but was replaced by the concern that the 'bag of platinum bars' was on its way to Puerto Rico and would put the death knell to this trip.
I finally ambled (as if nothing was wrong - macho time certainly) over to the baggage check info office. They suggested that I check their LONG, LARGE and WAAY TOO HEAVY delivery location just around the corner...that-a-way she pointed. I would not have found it without assistance.
And there she was! Also a big feller was leaning against the wall obviously waiting for somebody. I reached down to grab my pack bag/duffel with a new found appreciation and the gent took a step toward me and said, "That is a valuable piece of gear, sir."
By this time I had certainly toted up THAT much information to agree with him. And then he asked for any documentation to prove it was mine. He said he knew that there was a back pack and stuff in there and somebody would surely not like it to come up missing on HIS watch. We talked about where I was going and other places I'd been to and why didn't I know that it should be insured, and what took me so long to get there. I certainly wasn't going to show him how dumb I was and that up until about 30 minutes ago didn't have a clue of its value. He also let on that this type of baggage are typically the first to be off loaded because it takes special handling and it is best to just get them out of the way quickly. He also said it is a zoo during ski season.
I now treat it more like a valuable asset as I grind up hill hoping not to throw a rod carrying part of the 'family jewels'. This hobby is not as cheap as some can make it.
I also didn't need to make a polite fib when my ride showed up 45 mins past the time she was supposed to be there. I told her I hadn't been waiting and just then showed up - perfect timing.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 13, 2015 16:15:44 GMT -8
Nice cautionary tale, speacock. I did think of that when we flew a whole family's worth of gear to Hawaii a few years ago. It would have been more than a little expensive to deal with it had even one of the two duffles been lost.
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