Planning resupply

[Walchok98]

I am leaving from Springer to Fontana on March 25th and I just have a few questions about how i should plan my resupplies. Am I just over thinking this or is it more simple when I do get out on the trail? What are the normal and average stops I will make along my journey to fontana? Must I plan every stop and a shuttle to get from and back to the trail or is it easier thanit seems, I really dont want to be a slave to an intenerary so part of the fun will be to just wing it but what are the main stops that everyone resupplies and how do you get there and back? Thank you for your help.

[Jack Tarlin]

Check out the "Articles" section of this website. You'll find all sorts of information on maildrops; food shopping, and Re-Supply.

[dloome]

Resupply is pretty darn easy on the AT.

If you need food, hitch into the next town. Arranging shuttles seems silly when hitching is so easy on the AT and resupply points are rarely more than a couple days apart. If you are not super picky about what you eat on the trail, I wouldn't do any maildrops for food. You may end up doing the occasional gas station resupply, but it beats the hassle of a maildrop.

I don't bother making myself much of an exact resupply schedule anymore, because I get impulsive on long trails and never end of following it anyway. I would certainly know where you can potentially resupply and how to get there, but I would avoid confining myself to a rigid schedule.

[Lone Wolf]

I am leaving from Springer to Fontana on March 25th and I just have a few questions about how i should plan my resupplies. Am I just over thinking this or is it more simple when I do get out on the trail? What are the normal and average stops I will make along my journey to fontana? Must I plan every stop and a shuttle to get from and back to the trail or is it easier thanit seems, I really dont want to be a slave to an intenerary so part of the fun will be to just wing it but what are the main stops that everyone resupplies and how do you get there and back? Thank you for your help.

resupply at neels gap, hiawassee and franklin. easy hitches. NOC has restaurants and some resupply.

[Chaco Taco]

And remember what LW always says when it comes to plannin, "Its just walkin."

[10-K]

Check out this thread http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31218

[JAK]

Silly question, but what do you suppose the current record might be for the thru-hike with the least number of resupplies? The word "record" might not capture the spirit of what I am asking, but without going to some rediculous extreme, what might be a reasonable distance between resupply points if you wanted to maximize that sense of independance, without breaking your back. Say I'm currently 227#, and I am reasonably comfortable hiking with a total weight on feet of 240#. If I was to get my weight down to say 165#, and carried say 15# in clothing and gear, that would allow 60# of food and water, 30# on average. Would 400 miles between resupply points be possible, with perhaps as few as 4 resupply points in total?

[JAK]

Personally, if I was socially and economically able to do a thru-hike in the next few years, here is how I think I would want to consider going about it. I wouldn't want to wait until I was in shape. I would rather get in shape along the way. So I think I would start off with shorter resupplies and progressively increase that as my weight dropped, such that my total weight on feet at the beginning of each resupply might be maintained at 240# perhaps less. I don't think I would be setting any speed records, but I would expect my daily mileage to progressively increase as my fitness and average weight on feet dropped. I would like keep resupplies to a minimum and take mores neros in the woods rather than more zeros and neros in town. The exception would be some culture. By that I mean places that have local folk music, not so loud that you can't carry on a conversation now and then rather than just drink and nod your head continuously. On the other hand I am more inclined to hike SOBO, in the direction away from my home to places less familiar, and as I got to places less familiar I would be more inclined to look for such culture. Perhaps the answer to be progressively longer sections at first, but then progressively shorter sections again towards the end, or at least more snooping around towns for culture even when total resupplies aren't needed. Of course the 100 mile wilderness can be a big one to start off with, or I might be more inclined to do the IAT first starting from Mount Carleton, or even the Fundy Footpath and Dobson Trail before that and connecting up to Mount Carleton and the IAT somehow. Anyhow, I'm not really sure. I think that means I should just start doing sections, and before that just get out on day hikes and weekends more often.

"When you say dylan, he thinks youre talking about dylan thomas, Whoever he was. The man aint got no culture,"