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ShadowSoul
12-14-2015, 16:16
Has anyone hiked the trail without using mail drops? The reality is I don't have anyone to actually mail the stuff if I pack it up. I am assuming no mail drops would definitely be more expensive. Probably require a few more miles of walking. If anyone has any experience with no mail drops, I would definitely welcome any advice or ideas.

swjohnsey
12-14-2015, 17:14
I would guess most don't use mail drops. Mail drop ain't cheaper.

rafe
12-14-2015, 17:21
I won't say zero but I'll say... minimal. Most folks these days can mostly go without them.

A section hiker finishing the trail in, say, 100-mile or 150 mile increments could probably avoid them entirely.

AlyontheAT2016
12-14-2015, 17:35
I don't personally see the need for mail drops (but this is my personal preference). Given how accessible a majority of the AT is, I will not be using them. Besides, I'd rather not be saddled with knowing I have to eat that dried fruit I packaged for myself two months ago, and postage can add up just as much as in-town resupplies.

soumodeler
12-14-2015, 17:47
I had one mail drop sent to me this year, at Fontana Dam. Complete waste of money and time. The store there had massive quantities and selections of food, even though I had seen several people online say there was no decent resupply there. I also didn't want certain items in the drop and I sent myself WAY too much food. I can only speak for Springer to Fontana, but I see no need for a mail drop in GA or NC. I only made it part way thru the Smokies due to injury, so I have no knowledge from further north, though I would be willing to say its the same.

Starchild
12-14-2015, 18:30
Mail drops from yourself is sad :( (occasionally OK)

Mail drops from others who care about you are anywhere from awesome :)^10 , to 'they missed the point and don't know who I am' again very :(

Bouncing gear up trail is part of the game.

Have fun

Enigma
12-14-2015, 20:21
I have seen a few hikers who voiced discontent with the meals that they had planned and sent in their mail drops. I have seen trading and bartering and simply leaving the food behind in yogi boxes and then shopping at the local mart for resuply. Bounce boxes work great when you buy more than you want to carry at one time.....if mail drops are your cup of tea....then make sure you put tea in it that you will want to drink in the future.

Marta
12-14-2015, 20:41
The main reason for sending mail drops are if you've bought the maps ahead of time and want them sent to you at appropriate intervals, or if you have a special diet so you prefer mailing your food to buying along the way, or if you already have all the clothing and gear you want and would rather have shoes or whatever mailed to you.

You can definitely do without them, and will probably save money in the process.

Lone Wolf
12-14-2015, 20:46
Has anyone hiked the trail without using mail drops? The reality is I don't have anyone to actually mail the stuff if I pack it up. I am assuming no mail drops would definitely be more expensive. Probably require a few more miles of walking. If anyone has any experience with no mail drops, I would definitely welcome any advice or ideas.

no mail drops needed for food. maybe for gear and stuff

bigcranky
12-14-2015, 22:24
Many years ago the standard for resupply was the mail drop. There weren't many places to resupply in the mountains, even if one could get into town. But there has been a lot of development in mountain communities in the South, much of it vacation homes for the well-to-do, and commercial development has followed. Now there is a grocery store in every little town, sometimes more than one, along with restaurants, hotels, hostels, and shuttle services catering to hikers. Getting into town is easy (stick out your thumb, or call for a ride).

No need to send maildrops. The cost of postage kills any savings on food cost anyway - it's probably cheaper to buy along the way. The only folks who need mail drops are those with very specific dietary restrictions.

MuddyWaters
12-14-2015, 22:38
Maildrops are good if you prefer limited town time in bed or eating/drinking, to shopping , sorting, packaging, etc.

Im pretty fond of the first two myself. I like to hike into town for dinner, spend night, get 3 good meals, ( dinner, bkfast, lunch) and leave after lunch next day well rested and well fed, feeling great. Good organized maildrops with food prepackaged in ziplocks, spare batts, TP, everything needed , is convenient.

If you just get a box of unorganized stuff needing repackaging, not so much. Might as well go buy it. Most have way too much stuff in them, and many people find they dont want the foods they thought they would.

ShadowSoul
12-15-2015, 00:12
Thank you all very much for all the input. It definitely helps.

SkeeterPee
12-15-2015, 01:02
I was wondering about using them for things like contact solution (for hard lenses) or other specific items you might not find in every town,

JaketheFake
12-15-2015, 01:43
I was wondering about using them for things like contact solution (for hard lenses) or other specific items you might not find in every town,

man, that's amazing. I have a squirrelly eye condition that calls for hard "gas permeable" lenses and the cleaning solution is one thing I planned to have mailed up on occasion. Sucks being us!

Hangfire
12-15-2015, 04:38
I used to get so jealous watching people go through their care packages, everything in there looked so good and with any luck there were some overs for the mail drop deprived :-)

garlic08
12-15-2015, 08:14
I didn't use any food drops. I arranged to have two pairs of shoes and socks sent to me, and I mailed some cold-weather gear home. The comment about being able to hike 100 or more miles between supplies is spot on--that ability helps a lot. I never walked more than two miles off trail for food. I didn't hitch, either, except once in VT and once in ME.

bigcranky
12-15-2015, 08:17
A care package is different, of course. Having someone to send an unexpected fresh batch of brownies is a joy.

In a different thread, there is a link to the 1983 Philosopher's Guide to the AT (http://www.atmuseum.org/1983-philosophers-guide-to-the-at.html), an early thru-hiker's guide. The advice for resupply -- in 1983! -- is to keep maildrops to a minimum, and that some hikers just buy in grocery stores the whole way with no regrets. Some things never change.

capehiker
12-15-2015, 08:19
I will be using zerodayresupply.com often. That way I don't have to spend money ahead on things I'll eventually hate, but will have supplies waiting for me to eliminate time spent at the grocery store.

*not affiliated with that business but I have used it in the past and will definitely be using it on my Thru.

LittleRock
12-15-2015, 09:11
I did two mail drops on my last section hike in SW Virginia. Very convenient. Both times I got into town late and had a box waiting when I checked into the motel. Allowed me to get back out on the trail early the next morning.

That being said, I was taking vacation from work and time was much more important than money. For most thru-hikers, it is the opposite. Buying in town is usually the better option for them.

Grampie
12-15-2015, 10:23
I hiked my 2001 hike without mail drops. All towns along the AT have figured out the needs of thru-hikers and they offer them. Almost anything will be available most of the time. Mail drops are costly and if you send yourself food you probably not to eat a lot of stuff you send. Dealing with P O schedules is also a pain. Having to go into a town every 5-6 days to resupply is something you look forward to.

squeezebox
12-15-2015, 10:33
I plan on mailing maps, and a bit of gear now and then, summer stuff, not sure how to best do meds. But no food.
But a section with time constraints might be a different story.

Don H
12-16-2015, 09:39
Mail drops can be a PIA. The PO is closed when you get to town, it's out of your way or you get there before your package. There are businesses along the trail that will accept packages, those are mentioned in the trail guides and would be better than using the PO.

That being said mail drops are quite useful. It's easier to have certain hard to get items bought and ready to be shipped when needed, these include:
Medications
Shoes (make sure you allow for an increase in shoe size. I went through 5 pairs)
Warm weather gear (most swap out around Pearisburg and then go back to cold weather gear before the Whites)
Food (there are a few places where it's inconvenient to buy food. A search here will find threads discussing this)

Bouncing gear up the trail is even more of a PIA for the reasons listed above and in my opinion isn't needed.

colorado_rob
12-16-2015, 14:46
I'm not bad-mounting the no-mail-drop thing at all, I'd say something over 50% use few if any drops, but they sure worked well for my style and I'm 100% certain I saved tons of money, despite claims to the opposite.

I've been backpacking for right at 50 years and I have come to know what I like, so buying what I know I'll actually like out there is easy, plus you can pre-buy all your stuff in bulk quantities and that's where the big savings come. Costco's prices on bulk stuff is probably 1/2 or less what you pay at those under-stocked "super markets" you see along the trail.

It also saves tons of time not having to shop. When I go into a town along the trail to resupply, I get there in the afternoon (if it times out, and that's pretty easy to do), I eat a huge meal somewhere, have a couple delicious Brews, check into the hostel/hotel, pick up my box there, repack my food bag (super-easy because everything in the box is all ready to go into food bag), sleep, get up and eat huge breakfast and hit the trail. Who wants to shop when in a trail town? Apparently a lot of folks do, but I sure don't.

I also used a post office very rarely, for reasons already stated (hours restrictions), but all the hostels out there and every hotel I asked allows them there, so really, zero problem on the scheduling. I think my boxes might have averaged 10-12 bucks each to mail? Really, quite cheap and the extra $$ no where near the savings of pre-buying.

One other critical reason: I like my morning coffee on the trail, and I like one particular brand of instant (rhymes with "charbucks"), and it's nearly impossible to find along the trail, so that alone is enough reason for me to use drop boxes.

But again, if you don't use them (mail drops), you'll have lots and lots of company! and it will work fine.

Puddlefish
12-16-2015, 17:46
I like the Colorado_Rob method.

I was going to go with the no bounce box, no mail drop option initially. I'm now leaning more towards a small bounce box sent ahead roughly a month at a time, preferably to hostels/outfitters. I'll check/call all of them in advance to make sure of their hold policies first.

There's a lot of expensive items with portion problems, that I'd hate to just use an ounce or two of and then throw out or toss in a hiker box. I'm kind of picky about some of the items as well, like a good non alcohol sanitizer, liquid soap, a tiny funnel. I don't want to count on any of it being available in West Podunk if I arrive in the afternoon. I hate shopping enough as it is, the thought shopping after a day on the trail... ugh.

Probably a few food additives as well, a bottle of vitamin C, spices, bags of dried veg, fruit, a few packs of dried hummus, powdered milk, etc. Not any kind of the bulk of my calories, more stuff that I can grab a few bags each month to eat a bit healthier on the trail for a few days at a time by mixing it into the junk I buy on the trail.

Beard/hair trimmer as well.

I'll do the math first, and make sure the value of the contents at least equals the cost of the postage, then factor in the convenience cost.

Don H
12-16-2015, 19:41
Beard/hair trimmer, what's that for? :)

I never bounced a box but my understanding is that every time you take possession of the box you have to pay to ship again. Some say you have to open the box to get charged but I watched as a hiker took the box from the postmaster just to address it to the next PO and he got charged. The hiker was not happy!

MuddyWaters
12-16-2015, 22:52
Beard/hair trimmer, what's that for? :)

I never bounced a box but my understanding is that every time you take possession of the box you have to pay to ship again. Some say you have to open the box to get charged but I watched as a hiker took the box from the postmaster just to address it to the next PO and he got charged. The hiker was not happy!

priority mail can be returned unopened free, and forwarded free. Possibly it wasnt priority mail. Or possibly, he didnt tell he was forwarding it before receiving or something.

takethisbread
12-22-2015, 07:32
Has anyone hiked the trail without using mail drops? The reality is I don't have anyone to actually mail the stuff if I pack it up. I am assuming no mail drops would definitely be more expensive. Probably require a few more miles of walking. If anyone has any experience with no mail drops, I would definitely welcome any advice or ideas.

1. Many do not use mail drops. I never did on my thru.
2. It's more expensive to use mail drops. Buy as you go, is cheaper but probably less nutritious food
3. I don't think buy as you go requires more walking, as u usually encounter a store before u see a post office
4. Post offices in rural communities can have short hours of operation. Many times I have hiked into a town on a Saturday morning and hikers who mail drop were waiting till Monday at 9 am for a post office to open. I have also seen stolen mail drops.
Mail drops on the AT seems unnecessary and silly. Its not wilderness.
If someone does mail drop I can understand it because they want or need nutritional upgrade over the traditional Thruhiker fare. Good luck! [emoji106]


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