Mail Drop/Store Bought Food Convenience?

[nlaing]

Hi,
I know this topic has been beat to death, but I didn't find an exact answer to what I was looking for. When I leave for the trail, I want to spend as much time away from civilization as possible. I also HATE the idea of having to hitchhike for resupply. Which is more suitable (Mail Drop, Store Run) for what I've mentioned above? Are the post offices closer to the trail than town convenience stores? Ideally, if I never had to hitch into town, that's what I'd do. If I could have my supplies dropped from an airplane, I'd be one happy thru-hiker. :sun

[Lone Wolf]

Hitching is a fact of life on the AT. You're gonna have to do it or walk the 5-15 miles to a town.

[smokymtnsteve]

back in the 70's I had some friends who hiked the AT and thier father had an airplane he had built and they did receive air drops of supplies..

lots of hostels and trail businesses are very close or right on" the trail

as I am a good ole southern appalachian feller my knowledge is limited to the section of the trail between springer and damascus VA. butI have "done " this part many times.

Mtn Xings at neels gap in GA is RIGHT ON the trail...they will accept your mail drop

blueberry patch hostel is 3.5 miles from the trail and accepts mail drops for hikers planning on being a guest there...and you DO want to stay here if there is room..it is an easy hitch and a shuttle back to trail

rainbow springs campground is 1.1 mile from wallace gap...they accept mail drops....the post office is 15 miles away in franklin NC

NOC is RIGHT ON the trail and will accept you mail drop

Fontana the post office is 3 miles from the trail but you can get a 1 dollar shuttle to the PO by calling from the phone at the Marina that is RIGHT ON the trail.

gatlinburg TN...the HAPPY HIKER accepts mail drops and is at the first red light coming out of the national park...easier than the PO in gatlinburg...they also will UPS ship for you at a discount rate.. they take your picture and put it on the wall along with hundreds of other hikers that have come thru.

at davenport gap at the NE end of the smokies there are two choices.

mtn mama is a "country" mile (a long one) from davenport gap

standing bear farm is VERY NEAR the trail about 3 miles north of davenport gap at waterville school road

I like both these places near davenport....one advantage of mtn mamas is the hamburgers and food services.

the advantage of standing bear is better "atmosphere" and more homey.

Hot springs the PO is RIGHT ON the trail

Erwin...(be careful if you are an elephant)

everybody calm down..but UNCLE JOHHNY"S hostile HOSTEL is RIGHT ON the trail and accepts mail drops :datz

most folks go into ERWIN for miss janets
and the ERWIN BURRITO (do not miss it)

Kincora hostel near Hampton TN is VERY NEAR the trail and will accept your mail drop ...

and now your in damascus....

[azchipka]

Hi,
I know this topic has been beat to death, but I didn't find an exact answer to what I was looking for. When I leave for the trail, I want to spend as much time away from civilization as possible. I also HATE the idea of having to hitchhike for resupply. Which is more suitable (Mail Drop, Store Run) for what I've mentioned above? Are the post offices closer to the trail than town convenience stores? Ideally, if I never had to hitch into town, that's what I'd do. If I could have my supplies dropped from an airplane, I'd be one happy thru-hiker. :sun

Best spot for a mail drop in VT is Machester center if you want to spend some time in a town and have some great food, there is also a great bookstore. Manchester Center is a bit off the trail though. If your not interested in spending any time in town then Wallingford VT which is often overlooked by many is a great spot to get your drop, and is about 5 miles off the trail, its a very easy trip into town (all down hill) and getting a ride back to the trail is pretty easy. Town has all the basics of a small vermont town, plus a few spots to get something to eat not made over a camp stove, although there isnt really any where to stay for cheap, except there may still be a few people in town who open there homes to thru-hikers. I also tend to favor this spot as I spent much of my childhood running around white rocks. Most of the other towns in vermont i would pass on for a range of different reasons. Although woodstock also tends to be pretty popular with out of towners but i have yet to figure out why.

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea.....you'll find you have to do some hitchin', sometime on the AT, it's inevitable. However, you can avoid some of that by 'cacheing' food up on The Trail before you leave. That requires putting your food in some strange places and in containers that are air tight, like a large plastic, screw on cap, condiment container(you can buy them empty). Mostly dried things and power bars, powdered soups, etc. Take them up The Trail by vehicle(drive to Trail Heads from GA - ME) and stash them under something where you can find it. That's the key. Finding the stuff later. I really don't recommend doing it (resupply) this way, because some (including myself) would say, 'well, if everybody did that, you'd have containers of food stashed up and down the trail from Ga to Me. Exactly.......It's not the best way ecologically speaking, to do things. If you lost it....it would sit there till some beast dragged it out and ripped it open....na...no good. I don't know? I've heard of guys doing this....but it's iffy. If you really don't want to go to town, try a hike out west on the CDT. Fewer ageis and exits to towns out there.

[max patch]

I hiked awhile with someone who walked from GA-ME without ever hitching so it can be done if you really want to. Most people hitch; its really not a big deal on the trail.

[nlaing]

Thanks for all the replies. There really is a great group of people associated with the trail. It makes me feel all warm inside... :) Anyway, it sounds as if, from SmokeyMtnSteve, that there are a fair number of spots you can receive mail drops that are within a resonable walking distance of the trail. Are there enough of these close by drop-offs to keep me going the 2,000? Thanks!

[smokymtnsteve]

wish I could help you more but I'm a southern mtn feller.

some of these other folks should be able to give you specfic detail and locations for other sections...actually I find it easier to have supplies in these locations I have given you ,,than it is going to a town.

here are some of the addresses for the places I have mentioned
list from my last hike...of course you insert your name instead of mine..

Steve McElreath
C/O General Delivery
In care of Fontana Post Office
Fontana Dam, NC 28733

Hold for AT hikers


Steve McElreath
C/O Happy Hiker
905 River Rd. Suite 5
Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Hold for AT hikers




Steve McElreath
C/O rainbow Springs Camp Ground
7984 West old Murphy Rd.
Franklin, NC 28734

Hold for AT hikers
ETA Oct. 5th 2003
404-634-2798


Steve McElreath
C/O Mtn. Crossing
9710 Gainesville Hwy.
Blairsville, GA 30512

Hold for AT hikers

[Jack Tarlin]

Nlaing---

Complete information of the sort you're looking for can be found in either the 2004 Thru-Hiker's Companion or the 2004 Thru-Hiker's Handbook. Both of these works include tons of information on where you can send hiker parcels while on the Trail; where the Post Offices are; where the stores and markets are, how far off the trail they are, and all sorts of other essential information.

You can order the Companion by going to www.atconf.org; you can get the Handbook at www.trailplace.com

If you weant to examine the 2003 Companion On-Line to see what it looks like, go to www.aldha.org

In the "Articles" section of this website (Whiteblaze), you'll also find several informative posts on maildrops, re-supply, etc., including an excellent piece by POG on how to prepare your maildrops wisely and efficiently.

[RedneckRye]

I met a guy in 99 named Abner Serd, he wasn't just a thru-hiker, he was a pedestrian. The guy never rode in cars, always walked into, around, and back out of town. He started walking in Phoenix, AZ. The last I saw him was in southern VA, but his journal entries continued onto Katahdin. Hilarious stuff. He was carrying some high end audio recording equipment and was sending tapes into a radio book reading service for the blind. In one conversation with him he said walked across Arizona, totally unsupported, pushing all of his gear in a shopping cart. Very interesting guy.

So, back to the point, it is possible to avoid hitching into town.

[Peaks]

So, you want to minimize hitching. Great. But, as Jack posted, to do so, you need to do some planning. Sometimes the store is closer to the trail, sometimes the post office is closer. Sometimes you have a choice. Get the ALDHA Companion or Wingfoot's Handbook. It lists most of the post offices and other establishments close to the trail. So, just pick the ones closest to the trail. You will need to make decisions. For example, should you buy enough at Daleville/Troutville to get you to Waynesboro, or resupply in between at Glasgow? In Maine, if you don't want to hitch, then that probably means carrying enough out of Gorham to get you to Rangely, and skipping Andover and Stratton. That's OK, just different than some.

It may sound like I am not answering your question. But everyone seems to have different ideas about resupply. What worked for me may not work for you.