View Full Version : If and how to resupply in 100 mile wilderness
My husband and young teenage son are planning a 10 day hike from Abol Bridge to Monson. They would rather not carry 10 days of food if they do not have to.
Is there any place along the way that I could safely bring them supplies? They had originally planned to have a mail drop at White House Landing but I understand that WHL no longer handles mail drops.
JojoSmiley
03-13-2006, 20:10
You can safely bring them supplies at Jo-Mary road. I have received a couple resupplies from friends this way on a couple of my hikes. It is about 4 miles south of Antlers Campsite, another beautiful place to stay if you can.
TJ aka Teej
03-13-2006, 22:55
Yup, no maildrops at WHL anymore. You can meet them (or plant a food cache) at one of several places, or contact the folks at the Junction Store in Brownville who can set up a food drop. If you need help with the logistics this is the right place to ask - lots of hikers like JojoSmiley who have been through there and lots of Mainers too. I'm dropping a cache south of Cooper Brook in late May - if the roads are dry enough!
You can safely bring them supplies at Jo-Mary road. I have received a couple resupplies from friends this way on a couple of my hikes. It is about 4 miles south of Antlers Campsite, another beautiful place to stay if you can.
When I walked Maine in 1991 with a 9-year-old grandson, I spotted food at road crossings in the Wilderness and had arranged to pick up fresh steaks at the JoMary Crossing.
It proved a lucky plan. A sister who did part of Maine with us slipped on a bog bridge and broke her wrist four miles before the Jo Mary road crossing. We took the steaks with us. My sister and steak deliverer drove off to find a hospital.
There are several road crossings where food can be cached. From Route 11 north of Brownville take the Katahdin Iron Works Road. Go through the gate (small fee) and continue west towards Gulf Hagas. The trail crossing is just beyond the Gulf Hagas Parking Lot, 15 or so miles west of Route 11.
Jo Mary Road crossing is 12 miles, plus or minus, west of Route 11. The road is marked by a campground sign located about half way between Brownville and Millinocket. There are other crossings, but these two are easiest to find.
Detailed instructions are in the Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Maine produced by Maine Appalachian Trail Club volunteers. I consider it a must purchase for anyone exploring the back roads of northern Maine. ATC sells it, along with several Maine book stores. Also valuable is the Delorme Maine Road Atlas, sold by numerous places in Maine.
My mileage estimates are just that. They may be off by numerous miles. But the trail crossings are hard to miss.
Weary
Here (http://appalachiantrail.rohland.org/) is a link that I have been contributing information from notes on my 2003 Hundred Mile Wilderness dayhiking trip. There are numerous places in the 100 Mile Wilderness to meet up with, hike with, drop off food and supplies or provide a ride to hikers within the Wilderness. Go to Maine and hit on section 1 & 2. I will be contributing more info but I am taking a break for the time being. This information is a valuable resource. Also, get the DeLorme Road Atlas for Maine it will supplement the material nicely. If you have any other questions e-mail me from my e-mail address within that website.
knicksin2010
07-19-2006, 10:25
I'm hiking with a small group (5 including myself), and 1 support driver who is going to drop us food, and make sure we're doing okay.
We wanted to do 2 food drops. The 1st at a logging road about 30 miles N of Monson Near West Branch Pleasant River, and the second at Jo-mary road.
Can the trail be accessed on these logging roads without 4 wheel drive?
Any advice or information would be very appreciated. Thanks
Lone Wolf
07-19-2006, 10:31
Yes. These are well maintained, heavily traveled gravel roads. No 4wd needed.
knicksin2010
07-19-2006, 10:49
Thanks for your help!!!
I don't recall the names of the roads, but after you pass Jo Mary Campground, you'll eventually come to a 2nd gate. Pass that gate, and follow the road a LONG way, there's actually a parking area that's not even half a mile off the AT. That's where Leisa met me when I hiked through there.
On a side note, there's also a road that connects you to the Iron Works without ever having to leave the wilderness.
How do you ensure that the food gets to the hikers without being stolen or eaten by animals? If the driver waits with the food, that would be no problem, but how does the driver know when to show up if the hikers aren't sure how many miles per day they will cover? Is there cell phone coverage (Cingular) any place along the way?
How do you ensure that the food gets to the hikers without being stolen or eaten by animals? If the driver waits with the food, that would be no problem, but how does the driver know when to show up if the hikers aren't sure how many miles per day they will cover? Is there cell phone coverage (Cingular) any place along the way?
I use a covered 12 quart plastic bucket sold at Walmart and most chain hardware stores for a couple of bucks. The covers snap on pretty tightly, but I always wrap some duct tape for extra protection. I put the whole array in a dark trash bag and stash it behind a tree or rock 25 yards or so from the trail.
I've done this dozens of times and never had a cache stolen or disturbed. Meeting the hikers, of course, is the safest way to ensure the stuff is found. That requires cooperation. When I had steaks delivered, I simply slowed down so I could make the meeting as planned.
But I have always measured hiking success by the number of days I spend in the woods and mountains, rather than How fast I could manage to get through the woods and mountains.
If I go too fast by mistake I simply take a morning off to explore a side trail, swim in a cold stream, or maybe just read a book.
Weary
But I have always measured hiking success by the number of days I spend in the woods and mountains, rather than How fast I could manage to get through the woods and mountains.
Weary
Normally we'd have the same philosophy, but my young, strong, active teenage son wants to be back home ASAP for football practice before school starts.