How far do you bounce a bounce box?

[Jatt]

Pretty much what the topic says. What is the average distance you guys normally bounce your box? I've never used one before, so I'm just trying to get an idea about it.

[garlic08]

It depends on what you put in it. Medications? That might be fairly often. Spare socks or maps? Not so often. Some people put electronics and chargers in it, and they want it nearly every town.

I don't use one anymore, but I did on my first long hike and as I remember the interval was around 600 to 800 miles, mainly for socks and maps.

[Coffee]

I used a bounce box for the first time this year on the Colorado Trail and bounced it ahead three times, so about every 150 miles or so which worked out to about 7-8 days. I liked having the bounce box for various items ... A razor/shaving kit, charger for my camera batteries, additional maps, vitamins, and sometimes extra food. However, on the PCT I'm thinking that I'll bounce ahead 200-300 miles which should be good enough. I can't see bouncing a box much further ahead, at least not to a PO because some will not hold boxes for long enough.

[VTATHiker]

On the AT I bounced a box 5 times, so about 400 miles between pickups. It got "lost" on the second bounce. By lost I just mean it never showed up at the intended destination, but two weeks later it showed up at the return address I had put on there (my folk's place). I had part of the AT Guide in there that I really needed, so I ended up on a long stretch without my guide. Moral of the story - don't put anything important in there...

[rafe]

Bounce box is going to have all the disadvantages of a regular mail drop... so there's an incentive to doing as few bounces as possible. Think of it as a self-managed mail drop.

[Coffee]

The length of time a post office will hold a package seems to vary quite a bit. I would get nervous sending a box that would sit in a PO for more than a couple of weeks. There are some post offices that are used to hiker packages that may be more friendly, but at any time they can just return it as unclaimed and it goes back to the return address. The one time I had a box go back to the return address (because I ended up skipping the town since the PO was closed) it took something like three weeks for the package to slowly make its way back to my return address. This was all shipped via priority mail. Priority mail isn't priority when it is returned to sender.

[Starchild]

I never had any problem with bouncing going astray.

I bounced my guide book (except the pages I needed at the time) many times at various lengths ahead. My bounce distance seemed to increase as I traveled north, though I don't recall how far of a bounce I did.

I also received many care packages with unknown contents sent. I learned to have them sent with a way to bounce the rest forward if I was sent too much to carry out. So these items usually bounced forward 4-8 days at a convenient pickup place.

My sleeping bag I did the longest bounce that I know if, from NY to NH, the problem was VT was cold, but I did acquire a different fleece throw to get me thru.

Other items I didn't quite do a bounce with, but sent it to a friend who would mail it to me if and when required, so in the summer I switched from the Jetboil to Esbit, then had the Jetboil sent back to me in ME.

Along the way you learn how far to bounce things and how often is too often and how much is too far, depending on the object.

[Miner]

As others stated, it depends on whats in it and when you need it. For some things, it makes more sense to have a box sent from home when you need something rather then bouncing. If you can live without bouncing, life on the trail is easier though.

On the PCT, I bounced a box every 1.5-2 weeks ahead. Having learned a bit since then, on the AT, I bounced it 2-3 weeks ahead. I never had a box not show up before I arrived, but I also made sure it was scheduled to arrive at least a week before I showed up. I always used Priority Mail.

[Jeff]

The length of time a post office will hold a package seems to vary quite a bit. I would get nervous sending a box that would sit in a PO for more than a couple of weeks. There are some post offices that are used to hiker packages that may be more friendly, but at any time they can just return it as unclaimed and it goes back to the return address.

This is absolutely true. Best to call the PO in advance if the box is going to sit there 3 or 4 weeks before your arrival. PO phone numbers are in AWOLS AT Guide and ALDHA's Companion.