Food Planning

[jgeise01]

Hey all,
I'm going to be doing a 10-14 day hike from Harper's Ferry VA up to Duncannon PA. One of the things that I have been wondering about is food. I have the DataBook which lists grocery stores where I can restock and I know some mail themselves food to POs but since I am only doing 10-14 days, I didn't think mailing myself food made sense. I'm hoping for a little bit of advice on the subject. Also, any good food recommendations are welcome! See you out there,
Julien

[superman]

I only carry about three days food at a time. I vary that according to the resupply options. I always throw in a couple extra ramens as insurance. Some folks would carry all that food for your whole hike. I'd rather grab a resupply and keep moving light.

[mrc237]

See Balt. Jack's re-supply on WB homepage. Worked great for me.

[ShakeyLeggs]

Hey all,
I'm going to be doing a 10-14 day hike from Harper's Ferry VA up to Duncannon PA. One of the things that I have been wondering about is food. I have the DataBook which lists grocery stores where I can restock and I know some mail themselves food to POs but since I am only doing 10-14 days, I didn't think mailing myself food made sense. I'm hoping for a little bit of advice on the subject. Also, any good food recommendations are welcome! See you out there,
Julien


I only carry about three days food at a time. I vary that according to the resupply options. I always throw in a couple extra ramens as insurance. Some folks would carry all that food for your whole hike. I'd rather grab a resupply and keep moving light.

I agree with Superman. I tried this section last month but had a problem with my knees so had to cut it short. I broke my own cardinal rule by trying to carry all the food I needed for the hike. I usually carry only about 3 or 4 days worth of food. I am thinking of going back and doing this section again and this time will stick to my rule. There are many resupply options in this section so that will not be a problem. So like it has been said save the weight by resupplying.

[Chaco Taco]

I have heard that doing a maildrop option is cheaper, especially if you are trying to get ready for a through. I am doing a 9 day section and Im going to do maildrops as a practice run for a thru.

[Appalachian Tater]

How do you figure maildrops are cheaper? Work for USPS and get your mail free?

[Chaco Taco]

The food is so expensive in some of the towns. Id rather go to a cheap grocery in my own town, get my stuff and send it ahead, the postage isnt that bad.

[Chaco Taco]

But then again, I could be totally off and need to rethink my own plan!:cool:

[katagious]

Well..I think it depends on what you're planning on eating. I think for 10-14 days, I'd just buy on the trail. Each flat rate package you mail will cost you 8.95 just for the postage. Any savings your expecting would probably be lost there.

[Chaco Taco]

Well..I think it depends on what you're planning on eating. I think for 10-14 days, I'd just buy on the trail. Each flat rate package you mail will cost you 8.95 just for the postage. Any savings your expecting would probably be lost there.

Gotcha. I stand corrected

[Lone Wolf]

I have heard that doing a maildrop option is cheaper, especially if you are trying to get ready for a through. I am doing a 9 day section and Im going to do maildrops as a practice run for a thru.

buying along the way is MUCH cheaper than mail drops. by far.

[Johnny Swank]

I agree with no mailing unless you have a dietary issue. Food isn't that hard to get ahold of on the AT 99% of the time.

Having said that, we're going to be mailing some rockstar dehydrated meals for a 125 mile section between Roan Mtn and Hot Springs. The only reason we're doing that is because the maildrop location (Uncle Johnny's - yeah, I know) is literally 20 feet off the trail and it'll save us carrying an extra 4 days of food from the start. I'm UPS'ing this from work so it won't be that pricey.

[superman]

buying along the way is MUCH cheaper than mail drops. by far.

It's not just cheaper but a heck of a lot more convenient.

[Programbo]

Ah yes..Food...I suggest buying food along the way especially since the section of trail you name is always crossing roads with a short trip to a food store...Carry only what you can make with boiling water and preferrably in one pot...rice..noodles...dried soup mixes...those package noodle/beef/chicken things...cereals for breakfast...powdered drink mixes..dried fruits...gorp..trail mix..I`m just naming stuff off the top of my head..I`d go to a big food store and slowly walk the aisle and see what you discover that`s light/cheap/easy to make...Also you will pass a number of roads where you can treat yourself to some junk food or a sit down meal or stop when you are only a few miles from the shelter and grab something canned to treat yourself with for the night