Hiker boxes

[Puddlefish]

Early on the trail I saw a whole lot of heavy non-nutricious food of dubious cleanliness in the boxes. So if you want to spend 40 minutes per meal cooking white rice, then sure, there's free food.

[Lone Wolf]

"hiker boxes" are just trash cans. i threw out 90% of the crap on a daily basis when i was helping at The Place

[solace]

Those BOXES will get smaller & smaller the farther NOBO you get. Early, most hikers aren't sure what they like, nor how much, so the amount being put into drop boxes is quite a bit. By Damascus, most THRU's have it figured out & the hiker boxes resemble more of an ace hardware box.. full of duct tape, 1/10 full fuel cannisters, ziploc baggies with a small amount of oatmeal & mystery food and old shoes! So... get what you can, WHILE YOU CAN... think @ work for stay! All the best

[squeezebox]

Your responsibility is to feed yourself. Provide your own equipment etc. If you can't do that, don't show up. $200 won't even get you to and from the trail.
Is this a troll??

[capehiker]

Ski Walker- how far are you?

[George]

Is this a troll??

not a troll. several questions/ threads some not controversial

[ski_walker]

Man I'm not trying to sound like a grom, nor am I a troll. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as needy, but circumstance has put me in this place. I guess I should of reworded my question buy asking if there was opportunity s to work along the trail in return for food (some thru hikers told me that last year I section hiked) so please everyone I would like to gain my credibility back by saying sorry for sounding like a bum. I am in a really tough season though and this trip isn't a "vacation" at all. It s a journey to find my self, away from what the worlds been forcing me to be. It's not just a hike man. It's so much more then that. Mentally, spiritually. I'll be arriving in Gainesville tomorrow morning.

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[dudeijuststarted]

get a job like everybody else, then hike. none of us like doing what the man forces us to do.

the trail does have an economy and the people rely upon cash for services. the trail is also lobbied for, conserved, and maintained at a cost funded by donations (do you plan to make one?) trail magic is intended as a special treat, not a subsidy program.

[ski_walker]

Dudeijuststarted - I've been working since I was 15, I've been on my own since I was 17. Paying rent, insurance food, everything. That's why it's so hard to save any money bcuz I'm not getting any help from my parents. I recently quit my restaurant job because I recently realized some dark sided stuff was going on there and the place I was living at. If you knew my situation I think you would understand why I'm just up and leaving. I'd rather take my chances on the trail then where I currently am. I'm not going to be groming out of the hiker boxes .

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[admirald7s]

Dudeijuststarted - I've been working since I was 15, I've been on my own since I was 17. Paying rent, insurance food, everything. That's why it's so hard to save any money bcuz I'm not getting any help from my parents. I recently quit my restaurant job because I recently realized some dark sided stuff was going on there and the place I was living at. If you knew my situation I think you would understand why I'm just up and leaving. I'd rather take my chances on the trail then where I currently am. I'm not going to be groming out of the hiker boxes .

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If you felt the need to leave abruptly leave your job and wherever you were calling home, perhaps the most prudent thing to do would be to get a similar job at a similar place. Based on this and other threads, I don't think you've thought your hike out very well - certainly not in terms of why you're doing it, why now, what will be different at the end, etc. Do you have a large inheritance waiting in BSP? A job offer? The love of your life? I've got my fingers crossed for you, but I suspect not.

In the best case, in 5-7 months you're in the same boat you're in now: no job, no place to live, etc. However, you will also be $200 poorer. Why not use that money now to get your life heading in the right direction again? You can hike the AT in the future when your situation is more stable.


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[ski_walker]

I totally understand where your coming from. I just feel like if I don't do it now, I never will. I have family in VA and NJ, so if I can at least make it that far, I can catch up with them and figure my next move

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[Starchild]

I wonder how many people have attached themselves as an indentured servant to someone else who wants to hike the trail. Is that even possible? I would bet that a lot of retirees who would love to thru-hike, don't do so because they can't convince anyone to go with them. All other things considered, what would be the appropriateness of offering companion hiker services to such a person, on the only condition that they buy the food. Stranger arrangements have been made. The "indentured" person's role could be to not abandon their companion. Maybe that person has to make and break camp every day in return for the food. Obviously this could go awry if their personalities wound up being incompatible, and that could easily end the hike...but what do y'alls think of that sort of arrangement? It sounds a bit parasitic on the face of it, but if there was a fair exchange of goods and services, maybe not so much.

There was a poster a few years ago, 'Sir Hardbody' IIRC who was soliciting a female companion for the position you state, perhaps you can give that a search, better if you are female, but if not, who knows perhaps his standards has changed.

[Maydog]

You won't "find yourself" on the trail or anywhere else for that matter. Decide who you want to be, make a plan, and make small steps toward completion of the plan on a daily basis. Life doesn't just happen to us randomly. Sure, there are surprises but our daily choices have far more influence over our lives than random chance does. Don't hope for a better life; make one. I hope you get on the trail at some point and that it is better than you ever expected. But the only place you will "find yourself" is inside of you, not "out there" somewhere.

[greensleep]

You won't "find yourself" on the trail or anywhere else for that matter. Decide who you want to be, make a plan, and make small steps toward completion of the plan on a daily basis. Life doesn't just happen to us randomly. Sure, there are surprises but our daily choices have far more influence over our lives than random chance does. Don't hope for a better life; make one. I hope you get on the trail at some point and that it is better than you ever expected. But the only place you will "find yourself" is inside of you, not "out there" somewhere.

As Mitch Hedberg said "I'm tired of chasing my dreams; I'll find out where they're going and hook up with them there."

[BonBon]

As Mitch Hedberg said "I'm tired of chasing my dreams; I'll find out where they're going and hook up with them there."

Mitch was my cousin and that is the quote I used on my journal. Guess what- Mitch started out by leaving home at 18 after he graduated, in an old van and with no experience or money. But he knew what he wanted to do. Everyone told him he was nuts. He worked in places, got gigs that were small and travelled all over. Eventually he ended up on the Letterman show, a bunch of times. Long story short- he did it. He was very successful in his field before his death.
Go ahead and try. It seems like a crazy long shot, but you probably won't die of starvation, unless you get lost, which is kinda hard to do. Hiker boxes have stuff like long grain rice and long cook quinoa and crushed cookies. But I have seen some good stuff too, although it is a little late in the season for them to be really full of stuff.
Nothing ventured nothing gained, and all that.

[rmitchell]

Want to spend some time on the AT? Consider joining a trail crew. You can try a week or multiple weeks. Hard work, good company, great scenery and all the food you can eat. I've done 5, each a little different. Cost=$0. Check ATC website or links on this site.

[Hikingjim]

take a bus up to your family and do a section hike.

or go work as trail crew in the white mountains or another type of outdoor gig somewhere else. You could apply for jobs as caretaker of a shelter on the long trail , etc. You'll certain get away from everything.

You don't need to just walk for 6 months for a change of scenery. That's a luxury

[DavidNH]

you think you might thru hike the AT starting with less than 200 bucks? not possible. Your only chance would be to work along the way (as George posted) but who's to say you'll regularly get a small job when you need to? and perhaps the hiking would leave you too tired.. not to mention famished. THis is a really bad idea. You need to have several thou in the bank first before you even think of an AT thru hike!

[Lone Wolf]

this trip isn't a "vacation" at all. It s a journey to find my self

you're gonna find yourself tired, hungry and broke

[capehiker]

I would love to be proved wrong, but you won't make it past NOC. I'm just being real. Enjoy your time on the trail while you can, though.