View Full Version : dont deal with over packed mail drops!
Personally I " suffer" from a group of friends and family who would love to load me up with 20-30 pounds MORE than i will need of food and misc " thinking of you" items. Don't get me wrong i savor every minute of it , however my back wont be savoring a double load of " feel good" food and supplies , SO the solution i came up with is i went to the hardware store and bought a small tool box ( 14.5" X 7" X 7" ) and set the firm rule " if it does not fit in this box with the lid CLOSED and latched properly , it does not get included in the drop" bless my mother she packed how she thought would be fine ( she couldn't get it within 2 inches of even closing ) and asked if that was alright ,while i appreciate the generosity i simply cannot carry so much weight , i packed it myself with 2 and a half weeks worth of food and consumables so i know its adequate space , and while this may sound harsh leaving ZERO room for mis interpretation will leave ZERO room for error and a 60 pound mail drop. Not sure how many other people have to deal with this but if this tip helps anyone im glad
If I was your Mom I would ship you the tool box. :D
:eek: i KNEW there was a rule i was forgetting! " must not ACTUALY send tool box"
LOL.
Lost my mom at 17. Never stopped loving her. ;)
Personally I " suffer" from a group of friends and family who would love to load me up with 20-30 pounds MORE than i will need of food and misc " thinking of you" items. Don't get me wrong i savor every minute of it , however my back wont be savoring a double load of " feel good" food and supplies , SO the solution i came up with is i went to the hardware store and bought a small tool box ( 14.5" X 7" X 7" ) and set the firm rule " if it does not fit in this box with the lid CLOSED and latched properly , it does not get included in the drop" bless my mother she packed how she thought would be fine ( she couldn't get it within 2 inches of even closing ) and asked if that was alright ,while i appreciate the generosity i simply cannot carry so much weight , i packed it myself with 2 and a half weeks worth of food and consumables so i know its adequate space , and while this may sound harsh leaving ZERO room for mis interpretation will leave ZERO room for error and a 60 pound mail drop. Not sure how many other people have to deal with this but if this tip helps anyone im gladA better tip: control the type of stuff sent rather than the quantity.
Give people a list of stuff it's okay to send (like homemade cookies) and a list of stuff not to send (like books and cans of vegetables). Then sit back and let people send what they want - it gives them pleasure as well, and a feeling of being connected with you. Anything you don't want, give to fellow hikers or put in a hiker box.
When you get home, thank them for all the stuff. Tell them it was much appreciated by you and some of your hiker friends.
If my mother were alive, yeah, she would have mailed the tool box, too, but only after filling it with canned goods.
god rest them both , frosty , jak , i am allowing one ..no two... er three concessions 1 , jarred salsa is fine ( love the stuff eat it with a fork and polish the whole jar before i leave town 2, bananna bread...ugh so sweet and rich and crumbly id eat an entire loaf each day 3, trail survivable home made pumpkin pie ( hiker can always dream for the " impossible" , its what we are known for)
If my mother were alive, yeah, she would have mailed the tool box, too, but only after filling it with canned goods.LOL
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhOstwxcwWs&feature=related
When I was humping in the bush of Viet Nam a girl was regularly sending me Jiffy Pop and sticks of pepperoni, both very welcome but extremely heavy stuff, needless to say I had a lot of "good friends" on mail drop day. These days I've been guilty of sending way too much stuff to myself on two week section hikes and have always had to feed the hiker boxes found at many resupply stops, so that's the answer. Remember, it makes the folks at home feel real good to send you a bunch of goodies so why stop them, just share the wealth and see how many friends you can create. Good Luck!
hammock engineer
04-20-2008, 12:24
If you find a way to have mom send just what you need let me know. I probibly did 10-20 maildrops last year and mine always added more. But that's mom's way of showing she cares.
It got better after I gave an exact list of things I needed. It left less room for her to throw in extra. Also let them know that you will be carrying all of this or throwing it in a hiker box.
Blissful
04-20-2008, 18:36
My dad sent us a bunch of stuff at Fontana Dam we didn't need - we mailed it home. I was just glad he was involved in the hike, it meant a lot as he was against it at the beginning.
fiddlehead
04-20-2008, 18:38
I remember the time my buddy Rainman sent me a six-pack of Long Trail Ale to Steamboat Springs CO and 5 of the 6 bottles had broken. The box was still dripping and the clerk at the PO was pretty pissed off when he handed it to me.
I still enjoyed that last good bottle though. Thanks Rainman, but next time, package them with newspaper or something, aye?
hahahahahaa can just imagine the clerks face at least you still got one bottle though!
atraildreamer
04-21-2008, 12:37
Why do I keep finding empty tool boxes along the AT?:-?:banana
If she sends too much you can always share goodies with me... but not the tool box
made my parents read this http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=95199&postcount=1 and then we talked through it, to make sure they understood, but still got old easter candy that she found around the house in my drops
yes giater i did the same thing my mothers response? " i can at least send a batch of cupcakes for your birthday cant i? oh and you probably needs more socks oh your going to be so skinny by then i ll have to get you a new belt.. and shoes you will need shoes they wear out you know OH and you will need a leather binder for your laptop thing ( my aplhasmart dana wireless journal) but oh then you will need batteries... ill just send one of those jumbo ( the ones that come with 200 batteries and weigh about 15 pounds each) packs they are cheaper anyway that way you will never run out!" so yes gaiter have already tried the common sense approach :-P thanks tho
yes giater i did the same thing my mothers response? " i can at least send a batch of cupcakes for your birthday cant i? oh and you probably needs more socks oh your going to be so skinny by then i ll have to get you a new belt.. and shoes you will need shoes they wear out you know OH and you will need a leather binder for your laptop thing ( my aplhasmart dana wireless journal) but oh then you will need batteries... ill just send one of those jumbo ( the ones that come with 200 batteries and weigh about 15 pounds each) packs they are cheaper anyway that way you will never run out!" so yes gaiter have already tried the common sense approach :-P thanks tho
Yep, same here. Daughter seems to have NO recollection of humping a pack since she left the Marine Corps several years ago. The more I lighten my backpack, the more stuff she tries to convince me I need. Yesterday, in casual conversation, I mentioned that I thought my external pack weight was down to somewhere between 20 - 30 lbs (I don't have a scale and have to guestimate). Her reponse was "it's too light, you need more stuff!" (sigh).
Yep, same here. Daughter seems to have NO recollection of humping a pack since she left the Marine Corps several years ago. The more I lighten my backpack, the more stuff she tries to convince me I need. Yesterday, in casual conversation, I mentioned that I thought my external pack weight was down to somewhere between 20 - 30 lbs (I don't have a scale and have to guestimate). Her reponse was "it's too light, you need more stuff!" (sigh).
indeed, another strategy i have employed is getting a smaller ( medium ruck sack) pack because my backpack is HUGE ( about 8,000ci ) so its easy for her to think " hey theres more room that i need to fill with lead and sand bags!) where as the ruck sack i will have a LITTLE extra room for nice little mementos to send home as well as receiving the "extra" little things but this way she cant look at my pack (and logicaly ) think im short on gear ive tried to tell her there are four things and four things only needed to survive...fire shelter water food
Fire - white box alcohol stove 2 ounces with wind screen
Shelter - hammock with bug net/tarp 15 ounces
Water - (kinda partial to this i love it so would take it anywhere) katahdin pro filter 15 ounces
Food- some people fish and hunt small in season game but i prefer plastic shrink wrapped foods but for the sakes of at thru hiking ,zatarains and uncle bens heat and each single serve pouches will do nicely, total wieght of 2 weeks of food for me 15 pounds
so there you have it survival on in essence 17 pounds 2 ounces and that includes a half month of food
minnesotasmith
04-24-2008, 04:31
I remember the time my buddy Rainman sent me a six-pack of Long Trail Ale to Steamboat Springs CO and 5 of the 6 bottles had broken. The box was still dripping and the clerk at the PO was pretty pissed off when he handed it to me.
I still enjoyed that last good bottle though. Thanks Rainman, but next time, package them with newspaper or something, aye?
I have mailed out about 20 glass bottles of fruit syrup as part of the trail magic I sent some AT hostels earlier this year, and not one broke in transit. I also (pre-9/11) once carried a duffel bag of 18 bottles of a local specialty beer and 6 mason jars of Basswood honey as carry-on baggage on a cross-country flight with 2 transfers with no breakage.
I suggest using all of the following around each bottle: cardboard, bubble wrap, two leakproof (if unpunctured) plastic bags. Hey, it may be trouble, but it works, and packing material is just bulky, not heavy.
minnesotasmith
04-24-2008, 04:37
[quote=Frosty;600256]
Give people a list of stuff it's okay to send (like homemade cookies) and a list of stuff not to send (like books and cans of vegetables).
[quote]
I liked getting either healthy (asparagus, spinach, turnip greens, etc.) canned vegetables or special treats (canned Spanish octopus or oysters for me) that come in cans in my maildrops during my thruhike, especially when at a hostel I might not want to/get to go out shopping from. I just made a point of trying to eat all the veggies and most of the small canned meats before hitting the Trail again. ;)
Personally I " suffer" from a group of friends and family who would love to load me up with 20-30 pounds MORE than i will need of food and misc " thinking of you" items...................................ETC,ETC,ET C,................
Friends & family mean well.... but, just like my friend, "WAL-MART" (from E-town,KY) found out...its not wise to let your wife pack your backpack...
as she loaded up 60lbs worth of goodies in his overstuffed pack.
he quit the trail 4 days later, hobbling on duct taped overly blistered feet.
Pack your own pack & go lite.:D
See ya'll out there Apr 26-May 10 NOBO Turk Gap,VA to Harpers Ferry,WV
KirkMcquest
04-24-2008, 13:13
Personally I " suffer" from a group of friends and family who would love to load me up with 20-30 pounds MORE than i will need of food and misc " thinking of you" items. Don't get me wrong i savor every minute of it , however my back wont be savoring a double load of " feel good" food and supplies , SO the solution i came up with is i went to the hardware store and bought a small tool box ( 14.5" X 7" X 7" ) and set the firm rule " if it does not fit in this box with the lid CLOSED and latched properly , it does not get included in the drop" bless my mother she packed how she thought would be fine ( she couldn't get it within 2 inches of even closing ) and asked if that was alright ,while i appreciate the generosity i simply cannot carry so much weight , i packed it myself with 2 and a half weeks worth of food and consumables so i know its adequate space , and while this may sound harsh leaving ZERO room for mis interpretation will leave ZERO room for error and a 60 pound mail drop. Not sure how many other people have to deal with this but if this tip helps anyone im glad
I understand where you're coming from, but you're lucky to have a Mother who cares that much for you. Why don't you just tell Mom that you're a big-boy now and you'll be handling all your own mail drops, etc..
i told her i was a big boy now and she replied with " oh that reminds me i got you some new pajamas!" she went and got them it was FOOTED pajamas.. i didn't know they made them in adult extra large! honestly people think i make this stuff up
LOL, last year at traildays I found a red unionsuit (old fashioned one piece long underwear with drop seat) in light weight wicking fabric. I planned on using them for pjs at night. I love them, but doubt I'll be carrying them on the trail this year. (For women, it's easier to drop the drawers, than to unbutton...)
i told her i was a big boy now and she replied with " oh that reminds me i got you some new pajamas!" she went and got them it was FOOTED pajamas.. i didn't know they made them in adult extra large! honestly people think i make this stuff up
LMAO. It could have been worse Captain. Oh........your mom didn't tell about the cute little stuffed teddy bear yet..........Hmmm - think it just got worse :D
:eek: how do you know about mr huggle snuggles....the...third...hey shut up!