View Full Version : best maildrop town?
johnny quest
12-14-2007, 18:52
whats the best mail drop town? daleville va or waynesboro va?
Daleville is very convenient--you can send your package to the outfitter (one of the beter outfitters on the trail, actually). It's only a couple tenths off the trail, and there's a great mexican restaurant and an all you can eat pizza hut lunch buffet, if you learn to plan your townstops around these buffets.
You'll probably also want to send a maildrop the wayensboro, va, probably at the plaza hotel (the new owner as of 2007 took great care of me and the other hiker i was with when i was through last year), or the post office if you don't plan on spending the night.
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 13:45
thanks for the info. im working on maildrops for my maps. ive weighed and catalogued them and have worked up a plan of maildrops near the trail to get the next set of maps. your answer helps alot
Jack Tarlin
12-15-2007, 15:21
Actually, I'm not sure Daleville is such a great "maildrop town."
First off, there's an enormous supermarket within a five minute walk of the Trail, plus an Outfitter, so you don't need to send food or gear there.
In Virginia, I get mail at Damascus; Bland; Pearisburg and Waynesboro.
However, since they're so friendly about it, having sent mail to the Outfitter in Daleville might not be a bad idea. Also, there's the really friendly B&B in Montebello, which gets more popular every year.
Also, there's the really friendly B&B in Montebello, which gets more popular every year.
You mean the Dutch Haus, right? I certainly does get lots of kudos in the nearby shelter registers, and the proprietors sounded very friendly when I called them from the Fish Hatchery road. I'd been looking forward to it.
Only one little problem... it's a 700 foot descent off the trail (according to what I was told on the phone.) If it weren't for that, I'd almost certainly have stayed there. Some folks are allergic to 0.2 mile side trails to shelters. I'm a bit allergic to unnecessary climbs/descents to get to a B & B.
Of course it's entirely possible that this 700 foot "estimate" is way off. But it was enough to put me off.
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 16:14
jack, your article on resupply is outstanding and will be my guide for food and gear maildrops. i dont plan on many fo them as i will buy on the trail. but ive been working with my maps and have divided them into packets that i want to recieve at certain places...for the next leg of the hike. here is what i have so far:
Fontana Dam, NC
Damascus, VA
Daleville, VA or Waynesboro, VA (4.5W)
Harpers Ferry, WV
Delaware Water Gap, PA
Mount Washington, NH
Lone Wolf
12-15-2007, 16:16
jack, your article on resupply is outstanding and will be my guide for food and gear maildrops. i dont plan on many fo them as i will buy on the trail. but ive been working with my maps and have divided them into packets that i want to recieve at certain places...for the next leg of the hike. here is what i have so far:
Fontana Dam, NC
Damascus, VA
Daleville, VA or Waynesboro, VA (4.5W)
Harpers Ferry, WV
Delaware Water Gap, PA
Mount Washington, NH
DO NOT count on Mt. Washington as a mail drop. Send it to Gorham, N.H.
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 16:19
great to know wolf. thanks.
and the more i read the more i am thinking of finding an outfitter or hostel in those towns to send to rather than the post office. BUT i started with the p.o.s because the list on whiteblaze lists post offices that were ON the trail...and i want to make sure im not picking a place far off my route.
any other advice from you grizzled old warhorses will be humbly and gratefully listened to.
Jack Tarlin
12-15-2007, 16:27
Wolf is dead on about Mt. Washington. It is irregularly staffed and one can't always collect one's mail. In New Hampshire, I'd use the P.O. in Hanover (it's right on the Trail); also there's Glencliff (just off the Trail and across the street from a great hostel; then there's North Woodstock, and of course, as Wolf said, most hikers go into Gorham. (There was also a new hostel in Lincoln NH this year that got rave reviews, and it'll hopefully be open next year).
Jack Tarlin
12-15-2007, 16:28
I see you mentioned Harpers Ferry. Make sure you send your stuff to the ATC Office instead of the Post Office; it'll save you a short walk, plus you'll have accesss to your mail no matter what day you arrive in town.
Boiling Springs PA makes for a convenient PO-based mail drop. Right on the trail. (Not realizing this, I foolishly had a drop sent to Mt. Holly Springs, a half-day south of there, and a long 2.5 miles off the trail.)
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 16:39
so your voting for waynesboro over daleville as a maildrop for my packet of pa. maps, jack? is there a reliable place close to the trail that accepts maildrops in waynesboro besides the p.o.?
Lone Wolf
12-15-2007, 16:43
so your voting for waynesboro over daleville as a maildrop for my packet of pa. maps, jack? is there a reliable place close to the trail that accepts maildrops in waynesboro besides the p.o.?
Send your PA maps to Harpers Ferry
Jack Tarlin
12-15-2007, 16:44
John:
The Outfitter near Rockfish Gap might (repeat MIGHT) hold mail, but I'd still go with the P.O.
You'll probably want to go into Waynesboro anyway; the P.O. is in the center of town; there's a massive Kroger Supermarket two minutes away; next to the market is the best Chinese Buffet on the Trail; and you can overnight very inexpensively by stating at the nearby YMCA campsite. Plus, you may want to use the P.O. to mail stuff ahead or home. For all these reasons, it might be easier to send stuff to the Waynesboro Post Office.
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 16:48
Send your PA maps to Harpers Ferry
my bust. that is what im doing. pa maps at harpers ferry. its my maryland, w. va and northern va mapdrop i was looking to get at daleville or waynesboro.
johnny quest
12-15-2007, 16:51
John:
The Outfitter near Rockfish Gap might (repeat MIGHT) hold mail, but I'd still go with the P.O.
You'll probably want to go into Waynesboro anyway; the P.O. is in the center of town; there's a massive Kroger Supermarket two minutes away; next to the market is the best Chinese Buffet on the Trail; and you can overnight very inexpensively by stating at the nearby YMCA campsite. Plus, you may want to use the P.O. to mail stuff ahead or home. For all these reasons, it might be easier to send stuff to the Waynesboro Post Office.
waynewboro it is then. thanks guys. any more insight will be appreciated.
well, its 37 degrees and windy as hell. too windy to work on the roof. im going hiking at the lake. ive got 3 pairs of gloves to decide on. hasta.
Lone Wolf
12-15-2007, 16:51
send your Maryland map to HF also
wildcowboy238
12-16-2007, 14:44
Daleville is very convenient--you can send your package to the outfitter (one of the beter outfitters on the trail, actually). It's only a couple tenths off the trail, and there's a great mexican restaurant and an all you can eat pizza hut lunch buffet, if you learn to plan your townstops around these buffets.
You'll probably also want to send a maildrop the wayensboro, va, probably at the plaza hotel (the new owner as of 2007 took great care of me and the other hiker i was with when i was through last year), or the post office if you don't plan on spending the night.
Scott,,,, could you possibly tell me the name of the outfitter you are speaking of???
Lone Wolf
12-16-2007, 14:47
Scott,,,, could you possibly tell me the name of the outfitter you are speaking of???
Outdoor Trails. PH# 540-992-5850
Appalachian Tater
12-16-2007, 14:48
Johnny Quest, if you are just mailing maps and stuff to yourself and don't have to mail anything out, forget POs and use hostels or outfitters or other people or businesses that accept packages for hikers. POs have lousy hours, in general. You don't want to have to hike faster or slower or hang out somewhere in order to get the PO to get a package.
wildcowboy238
12-16-2007, 15:14
TY L. Wolf
johnny quest
12-16-2007, 15:14
love your avatar, tater. i remember old snuffy and gang.
sloopjonboswell
12-16-2007, 19:47
waynesboro! its fun to stay at the ymca.
Port Jervis, NY. Just ask Gene Espy!
ARambler
12-16-2007, 20:20
Port Jervis, NY. Just ask Gene Espy!
You forgot the smiley face.
Pinkham Notch is a lot easier than Gorham.
However, you may want to go back to PO's for maps assuming you want to send the old maps home. This is not that big a deal. You could pick up your maps at Pinkham and carry the old ones to Rt 2 (Gorham) or on to Andover.