Bump Boxes.....

[rdsoxfan]

Some advice for my upcoming thru hike. Can anyone from a prior hike tell me how far ahead to ship bump box as I'm hiking NOBO from GA to ME. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. About how many weeks should I ship it ahead? And what towns? Based on avg. 12 - 15 miles a day. Thank you!

Rem Dawg

[Jack Tarlin]

Keep the box a reasonable size, as you're not going to need it at every town stop. There's generally very little difference between Parcel Post and Priority Mail especially for short distances, so I'd send your box Priority, meaning it'll never take more than three days to get anywhere.

If you look at the Articles section of Whiteblaze, you'll see all sorts of info on how to send yourself mail while on the Trail; where some good places are located to send stuff; where some of the good places are that AREN'T Post Offices, i.e. you can get your mail there 7 days a week; also, there's info on how long it'll probably take to hike each section of the Trail. And any of the standard Trail guidebooks will list Post Offices, Hostels, Outfitters, and other places that accept and hold hiker mail.

Resist the temptation to send your bump box everywhere as you won't need it that much and you don't want the postage costs to be excessive. Also, don't let it become a junk box, either, as this gets expensive. If you start accumulating stuff like gear, clothes, books, souvenirs, etc., send them HOME, otherwise if they stay in your bump box you'll end up sending unneeded stuff to yourself 14 times.

[Blissful]

Only use a bounce box if you really needed it as it becomes a junk box and costly. Ask yourslef why you need one and if it will be cost effective.