How far in advance to send resupply boxes?

[Onda Road Again]

The majority of my resupply will come from resupply boxes. How far in advance do you send your resupply boxes out? I'll be shipping them out from Iowa so I figure it'll be about 5-6 days before they arrive to their destination. Is it feasible to send them all out in advance or will I be pushing it on how long some will be held at the backside of the trip? I'm planning on sending them all to the hostel/inn I plan on staying at.

Thanks in advance!

[CarlZ993]

If you use the flat-rate boxes w/ USPS, they should get there pretty quick. 3-4 days or so. I used this system quite a bit on the AT (shipping from TX). Worked like a champ.

Some businesses only accept UPS packages. Ground shipping might take longer. YMMV.

[bearcreek]

Make sure you write on the box: "Hold for Colorado Trail thru hiker until xxxxxxx", replacing the x's with a date.

[nattyB]

I would probably give myself a little more time in sending your resupply packages. 5 to 6 days prior might cut it tight in some circumstances. Not knowing where you are sending them, some of the more out-of-the-way businesses may not pick up their packages (USPS) every day. I would check with each place and see how long they will hold hiker packages and if they have any special requirements. Have fun!

[swjohnsey]

I tried for 10 -14 days. The packages are held by the post office for 30 days.

[swjohnsey]

Remember exactly what the return address is. If you try to get them forwarded by telephone they will interrogate you, where was it mailed from, by whom, etc.

[Coffee]

I had family send two resupply boxes two weeks prior to my expected arrival date (via priority mail) just to be safe. My bounce box was sent from town to town via priority mail. I bounced it three times with between 6-10 days of time before arrival in the next town.

Note that if you are sending your resupply to a hostel or business rather than directly to the PO, you should allow additional time because they may have to retrieve it from the PO.

[Onda Road Again]

Thank you everyone for the advice. Sounds like sending them a couple weeks in advance should be sufficient. Now, off to find a willing family member to help out!

[StubbleJumper]

USPS is actually pretty quick, so I've found that if you buy food in a town and send it up the trail 3 or 4 days, it'll get there before you. It's really a reliable and predictable service.


That being said, I would encourage you to consider whether you really want to use mostly re-supply boxes. They usually cost $8 or $10 to send, so they're not exactly cheap, and you need to ensure that you arrive in town during post office hours. The other consideration is that your tastes/cravings for food will evolve over the course of a hike. One week you'll go through a pound of peanut butter and the next week you won't even want to look at a jar of peanut butter. I've found that it's easier to just buy food as you go.

I'd suggest that you look at the great document that Mags has put together to describe re-supply options. On the CT the towns generally have pretty good stores and the prices are not generally jacked up too high.

[Onda Road Again]

USPS is actually pretty quick, so I've found that if you buy food in a town and send it up the trail 3 or 4 days, it'll get there before you. It's really a reliable and predictable service.


That being said, I would encourage you to consider whether you really want to use mostly re-supply boxes. They usually cost $8 or $10 to send, so they're not exactly cheap, and you need to ensure that you arrive in town during post office hours. The other consideration is that your tastes/cravings for food will evolve over the course of a hike. One week you'll go through a pound of peanut butter and the next week you won't even want to look at a jar of peanut butter. I've found that it's easier to just buy food as you go.

I'd suggest that you look at the great document that Mags has put together to describe re-supply options. On the CT the towns generally have pretty good stores and the prices are not generally jacked up too high.

Thanks for the insight StubbleJumper. I'm still up in the air on how much I want to include in my resupply boxes. I typically already eat a whide variety for dinner and I'm pretty consistent on what I have for breakfast (dried banana chips always hit the spot for some reason, day after day) so I'd like to at least re-supply my main meals through mail. It's worth considering resupplying snacks and such in town though to mix things up.

[Coffee]

Good prices for food in Breckenridge (large supermarket at edge of town) as well as Leadville and Salida (Safeway, use club card). Much more expensive in Lake City and extremely expensive in Silverton.

[Onda Road Again]

Good prices for food in Breckenridge (large supermarket at edge of town) as well as Leadville and Salida (Safeway, use club card). Much more expensive in Lake City and extremely expensive in Silverton.

With planned stops in Lake City and Silverton, I'll be sending resupply boxes to the locations. I'll reconsider what/if anything I'm sending to the remaining stops. Thanks for the feedback Coffee.

[StubbleJumper]

Good prices for food in Breckenridge (large supermarket at edge of town) as well as Leadville and Salida (Safeway, use club card). Much more expensive in Lake City and extremely expensive in Silverton.

It is true that food is more expensive in Silverton, and the selection is limited. However, you are only buying 4 days of food to get to Durango. So in reality, if it costs you an extra $5/day due to the high prices, you don't really save much by sending a box to Silverton because the box will cost $8 or $10 to send.

I agree that Breck has a really nice store and the prices are fine. Salida has both a Walmart and Safeway so prices are good there too. And Gunnison has a couple of grocery stores and a Walmart too, so it's pretty reasonable.

[bearcreek]

Silverton is a really small town in the least populous county in Colorado. The store there is small, but sufficient. I think it is ridiculous that someone who can afford to spend a month hiking the trail would count pennies here.....

FWIW, I have done the CT six times. I sent bounce boxes the first time. Never again. There is plenty of food to be had along the way. You are overthinking this......

[lonehiker]

Silverton is a really small town in the least populous county in Colorado. The store there is small, but sufficient. I think it is ridiculous that someone who can afford to spend a month hiking the trail would count pennies here.....

FWIW, I have done the CT six times. I sent bounce boxes the first time. Never again. There is plenty of food to be had along the way. You are overthinking this......

Actually, in Silverton, it isn't simply pennies. Their prices are absurd. The staff in the motel I stayed in said that locals don't even shop there. That being said, I agree that mailing food is not necessary on the CT unless you require a special diet.

[Coffee]

As lone hiker says, Silverton grocery prices are higher than anything in other small towns, even Lake City. I don't have to count pennies anywhere but I also don't like being gouged. I am fine paying even twice Wal Mart prices in a small mom & pop grocery but draw the line there. The problem with Silverton is that there is just one store and it obviously targets totally price insensitive wealthy tourists.

[Onda Road Again]

Thanks again everyone for the feedback. Another reason I was wanting to do resupply boxes was because I want to do FBC for the majority of my dinners (personal preference, I'm lazy when it comes to cleaning up after cooking dinner). With this I could buy the majority of what I need in bulk, portion it out for each meal ahead of time to simplify what I'm packing, and I'll still have plenty of variety through the month I'll spend on the trail. I'm not worried about counting pennies, so the cost of mailing the box (or picking up something in town if need be) isn't a concern for me, it's just more of a personal preference on what I eat while on the trail.

[katerbrown]

I went with the resupply en route option on AT thru hike and ended up having to rely on a lot of junk food - I said if I ever did another thru hike I'd fight my hating logistics tendency and prepare boxes So that's what I plan on ct. Bonus is being able to buy things that only come in quantity, eg vitamins, and sending only the small amounts I need to each stop. So there's def pros and cons with each approach. Overall I think resupply boxes will help me lighten my load.

[Onda Road Again]

I went with the resupply en route option on AT thru hike and ended up having to rely on a lot of junk food - I said if I ever did another thru hike I'd fight my hating logistics tendency and prepare boxes So that's what I plan on ct. Bonus is being able to buy things that only come in quantity, eg vitamins, and sending only the small amounts I need to each stop. So there's def pros and cons with each approach. Overall I think resupply boxes will help me lighten my load.

I agree, definitely pros and cons with each. I feel I would end up eating the same thing even more so if I resupplied in town just because I wouldn't want to take the time spent in town to grocery shop. I'd rather be having a beer and a cheeseburger somewhere . I'm just going to be sure I pack plenty of variety ahead of time so I don't get bored with my food.

[LuckyMan]

I called all the places (hostels and Twin Lakes store and Molas Lake Campground c/o Silverton Town Hall - those great folks tote hikers' packages from downtown to the campground for no fee; at least they did last year) where I was sending packages to ask how far in advance was too far. I figured I'd have to burden a friend with shipping chores. But everyone I spoke with in Colorado was amazingly friendly and helpful and mellow (high altitude? great beer? legalized pot?) and said no problem, whatever, ship it before you leave, we'll hold it for weeks and weeks. Exception: The woman who runs the post office in Silverton said she'd hold a box for only 7 to 10 days and then ship it back. People in Silverton told me she's a notorious tyrant and crank and to avoid using the p.o. there.