Yes Or No To Mail Drops

[soumodeler]

I did one mail drop on my thru attempt last year, at Fontana. The rumors of no resupply there were 100% incorrect when I got there, as every hiker food you could imagine or want was in stock. I had mailed enough to get me through the Smokies and when I opened the box, I realized that I didn't want half of it and the other half I didn't need as I had sent too much. When I try again, the only thing I will be mailing is gear to change from cold weather to warm weather and back again.

[takethisbread]

I did one mail drop on my thru attempt last year, at Fontana. The rumors of no resupply there were 100% incorrect when I got there, as every hiker food you could imagine or want was in stock. I had mailed enough to get me through the Smokies and when I opened the box, I realized that I didn't want half of it and the other half I didn't need as I had sent too much. When I try again, the only thing I will be mailing is gear to change from cold weather to warm weather and back again.

Fontana store opens in mid March I believe, so some early starters can get shut out there.


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[soumodeler]

Fontana store opens in mid March I believe, so some early starters can get shut out there.

I knew some of the restaurants opened later in the season but I had not heard that before. My understanding was that it was open year round.

[Don H]

Fontana store opens in mid March I believe, so some early starters can get shut out there.


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Same with Shenandoah, if you get there too early no place is open.

Caratunk, ME (is the PO still even open there?) and the Barn Restaurant in VA, both come to mind as a good place for drops.

[takethisbread]

I knew some of the restaurants opened later in the season but I had not heard that before. My understanding was that it was open year round.

Definitely not


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[LittleRock]

Depends on what kind of hike you're doing.

Mail drops are probably not a good solution for thru-hikers. Planning mail drops months in advance is more trouble than it's worth since they are likely to get off schedule. For most thru-hikers, money is a bigger issue than time. They will save money by buying in town, and taking time out to go to the store isn't a big deal since they will have plenty of time to do so on zero days.

On the other hand, mail drops can be quite useful for section hikers. On a trip of less than a month you can guess pretty accurately where you are going to be at any point in time. If you are taking time off from work to hike a section, money is most likely not an issue, you most likely aren't going to be taking zero days, and taking time out to go grocery shopping doesn't seem very appealing. I particularly enjoy being able to walk into town late in the day, have a box of supplies waiting for me at the motel or hostel, and leave early the next morning.

[colorado_rob]

Assuming you do have someone at home mailing boxes for you, no advanced planning is required. I just call or text my wife about a week in advance and have her send the next couple boxes to wherever I know I'll be and when. This only bit me once on the entire AT, and that box was returned, so zero loss. I also tell her how many days of food to put in the box, usually 5, sometimes 4 or 6. I also forgot to mention, she always put a little surprise something in each box, made it kind of fun when I opened each new box.....

Again, without a wife/partner/mom/whomever to send boxes for you, mail drops wouldn't work too well. I also took only three zero days my entire AT (Hot Springs, Damascus and Monson), so everyone's style is different.

[JaketheFake]

^ Like a big Cracker Jack!

[Del Q]

My $.02 Depends on your food, what I like and eat on the AT cannot be purchased in stores, for example, dried plums - tasty, sweet, light. Spam single serving. My breakfast instant oats, Nido, protein powder mix, etc.

Hotels, PO's, hostels, shuttle drivers - like drop shipping myself what I want and what I need, including "hooch", new fav is 151 Rum. Good luck finding that down South

[OldTrailDog]

No experience with mail drops. I've weighed the pros and cons and I will be using some mail drops, both for gear and for chow/sundry items. I will be using more drops than the recommended 5 towns with limited resources or exorbitantly expensive resupply items. (my brother calls these places Hoovervilles because they vacuum the bucks out of your wallet)
* At $18 for a large flat rate and $14 for a medium flat rate I will save substantial bucks over purchasing items at inflated AT catering towns.
* I plan on a dietary mix of freeze dried food that I have purchased for less than 50% the standard cost.
* For most breakfasts I prefer my own mix of Oatmeal, powdered milk, powdered peanut butter, 60% cocoa chocolate chips, and dried fruit. I am confident I can premix/and send along with the other supplies for much less than the quantities I would need to purchase along the way.
* I will be adding snacks purchased at the Dollar Store. I seriously doubt if I will encounter many Dollar Stores along the route.
* I definitely am not a picky eater, if it is edible, it is will be consumed when I'm hungry enough.
* The foods I will be sending will require minimum preparation, weight, and fuel usage. *
* I will second the coffee addict comment, must have quality joe.
* Since my dog will be coming I plan on having some USA dog jerky sent too. My BCs have thoroughly enjoyed some jerky for lunch and it is a good source of protein. I am not likely to find this in trail towns, and if I do not in a cost effective manner, versus bulk at Costco. I repeat USA. I will probably find something else dog delectable too.
* Since flat rate boxes are flat rate, I will have my wife stuff any extra room with snacks or small gear needs.
* Again, this will not be the sole source of a dietary mix. I will purchase most of my food in towns along the way, but the mix should be pleasant.
* I can have small bottles of Dollar Store pepto bismo sent to help during recovery from bouts of gluttony whilst sampling trail town fare.

[jersey joe]

i've known so many people that had 15 or so boxes ready to be shipped all the way up the trail and never make it out of georgia. and if they do make it out they're tired of the crap they sent after the 3rd drop or so. so they end up giving it away, sending it home or send it ahead. just buy as you go

Yes, and the numbers don't lie, most people that set out on a thru hike don't finish.
Because of this and the fact that your food choices will change over the course of a thru hike I wouldn't use mailed boxes UNLESS you have someone at home who can send them as you go. My original menu had oatmeal for 3 out of 4 breakfasts and after two days I knew i had no desire to cook in the mornings.

I used 13 mailed boxes the whole way and it worked out great for me. I had someone at home sending me the packages and I could tweak them as i went. I also loved having the maps and switched them out with every box. I believe using mail can save you money overall.
Certainly consider sending boxes to towns with post offices right on the trail.

[mattjv89]

* I will be adding snacks purchased at the Dollar Store. I seriously doubt if I will encounter many Dollar Stores along the route.

In fact you will encounter many, some towns the dollar store is the only resupply.

My .02 on the maildrops thing, I didn't do any for food and was pretty happy with that. Knowing what I know now there's a few places where I would consider bouncing some food forward from the last big town, but even those wouldn't have a ton of savings after the shipping cost. Hitting the mark exactly right for running out of food when your next box comes seems tough to do consistently. I saw a lot of people giving food away from their boxes throughout the trail. Both have their pros and cons for sure it comes down to what you rather deal with. I would rather deal with buying three days of food from two overpriced gas station aisles than all the prep and scheduling of maildrops, plenty of others lean just the opposite.