View Full Version : food strategy along AT
I live in CA, and mail drops would be a bit expensive. is it possible and if so, practical, to justs buy all my food along the way or is it too much hassle? Im guessing you wont get much dehydrated or freeze dried food at a grocery store...if any thruhiker has any advice please give! thanks
Pokey2006
12-31-2008, 05:47
Actually, you can find hiker foods -- oatmeal, Mountain House, etc. -- in just about every trail town. Some stores stock up on them just for hikers. I remember one tiny general store in VA, mainly there for the locals, and not for hikers, that sold oatmeal and stuff individually. Plus, you can always find hiker food at outfitters, and many trail towns have good outfitters.
Won't be a problem at all. Make sure to read Baltimore Jack's resupply article, lots of good intel in it.
Lone Wolf
12-31-2008, 08:29
I live in CA, and mail drops would be a bit expensive. is it possible and if so, practical, to justs buy all my food along the way
yes, much more practical to buy along the way. i never did a mail drop for food resupply. mail drops are a waste of money in the long run
Well, I'm hoping to thru-hike this year and I'm planning on not doing any maildrops. For the freedom of not having to go to a certain town and worry about Post Office hrs etc I'd rather buy along the way.
I'm wondering how to handle maps, since I don't want to carry all of them at once, so perhaps I'll do a bounce box, although I'd rather not.
Lone Wolf
12-31-2008, 10:17
I'm wondering how to handle maps, since I don't want to carry all of them at once, so perhaps I'll do a bounce box, although I'd rather not.
have someone back home mail them
garlic08
12-31-2008, 10:24
I'm wondering how to handle maps, since I don't want to carry all of them at once, so perhaps I'll do a bounce box, although I'd rather not.
I just did three drops for guidebook sections (didn't need maps) and new shoes, had them ready to go for a friend to mail them to a hotel or outfitter, never to a PO.
I live in CA, and mail drops would be a bit expensive. is it possible and if so, practical, to justs buy all my food along the way or is it too much hassle? Im guessing you wont get much dehydrated or freeze dried food at a grocery store...if any thruhiker has any advice please give! thanks
Just do what i was going to do last year.. use priority mail flat rate boxes, ANYWHERE in the domestic US, as MUCH as you can fit inside the box ( without it bulging and beign able to seal properly) and any weight up to 75 pounds for 9-12 dollars
I think you should just buy your food. I did mail drops and it was kinda a pain. You had to get there before they closed you couldnt get you mail drop on sundays and in Fontana dam the place I mailed it to wanted to charge me like $30.00 to get my box. They said it was a holding fee. I told them that they could have the dam* box and I went to the store and bought food for the smokies. I was very mad.
Johnny Swank
12-31-2008, 11:27
Buy along the way unless you've got some real reason (special diet, etc) to do so otherwise. Much more flexibility. I don't even know what I want for dinner tonight, much less 4 months from now! I had a ton of maildrops, and getting/planning all that out ahead of time was one of the most stressful parts of my preparation.
Concerning maps, I'm going to go contrarian and suggest that you don't necessarily buy the entire set up front. Get enough to get you to Hot Springs, then buy maps as you need them. IF you make it all the way to Harper's Ferry, buy the rest of the set from the ATC, mail them home, then have someone send them to you as needed. You could also just order them online from Campmor/REI/EMS and have them sent General Delivery.
Why do this? Well, about 75% of all thru-hike attempts don't make it. I've become a big fan of late of spending less up front, leaving more in the bank, and doing better budgeting just in case you don't finish.
Lone Wolf
12-31-2008, 11:30
Buy along the way unless you've got some real reason (special diet, etc) to do so otherwise. Much more flexibility. I don't even know what I want for dinner tonight, much less 4 months from now! I had a ton of maildrops, and getting/planning all that out ahead of time was one of the most stressful parts of my preparation.
Concerning maps, I'm going to go contrarian and suggest that you don't necessarily buy the entire set up front. Get enough to get you to Hot Springs, then buy maps as you need them. IF you make it all the way to Harper's Ferry, buy the rest of the set from the ATC, mail them home, then have someone send them to you as needed. You could also just order them online from Campmor/REI/EMS and have them sent General Delivery.
Why do this? Well, about 75% of all thru-hike attempts don't make it. I've become a big fan of late of spending less up front, leaving more in the bank, and doing better budgeting just in case you don't finish.
damn good advice
I section hike and have done mail drops in the past and I'm sick of them. I'm going to go without this year. Although, there is a certain amount of security that goes along with a mail drop. You know food will be there.
I would suggest sending mail drops only to places where you know for sure you will be staying. Any hostels you are making a point of stopping at? Send a drop there. That would be the extent of any drop I would send myself from here on out.
Call ahead to hotels you plan on staying at, most will hold drops. Emphasis on the word 'Plan'.
Maildrops for food are kind of dumb unless you have a special diet.
But for someone mailing from California I had a kind of underhanded idea. I haven't done this but with what I know it sounds like it works. Priority is based on weight and distance, but you can forward them for free. Mail yourself a box to your local PO to keep the distance cost down and then forward it from there to the trail for free. I don't know if the regulations say anything about long distance forwarding. Its kind of underhanded, but at least it is not breaking the rules by resealing priority boxes and forwarding them for free like a some hikers do.
Jack Tarlin
12-31-2008, 16:01
Yeah, its underhanded, and cheap, too.
Would you treat a local private business this way?
No?
Then why would you do so to one that EVERYONE pays for.
For heaven's sake, Priority Mail is inexpensive enough without looking for ways to chisel the USPS out of a few bucks.
Yeah, its underhanded, and cheap, too.
Would you treat a local private business this way?
No?
Then why would you do so to one that EVERYONE pays for.
For heaven's sake, Priority Mail is inexpensive enough without looking for ways to chisel the USPS out of a few bucks.Everyone pays for the billions spent on Iraq and the billions bailing out all the trouble that the financial engineers created. Folks are all the time trying to figure out the best way to decrease their tax liability by looking at the letter of the law. It would be great if everyone went by the intent of the law, but when some fat cat is skirting around some tax law because of the way it is written I would have no problem with someone saving a few bucks on postage as long as they followed the rules. Like I said it is not like breaking the rules and sealing up a opened package to be forwarded.
Jack Tarlin
12-31-2008, 16:31
The fact that the government spends money on things that you may not approve of doesn't make it ethical or right to sneak around rules and regulations in order to save a small ammount of money.
Or to put it another way, just because Taco bell gives out hot sauce for free at its restaurants, it doesn't make it ethical or right to take thirty-five packets every time you visit.
You say it's be great "if everyone went by the intent of the law".
Yup. I agree.
But fact is, a lot of people don't do this, and that is precisely why many services that used to exist for free or for a nominal fee don't exist anymore.
Priority Mail is a good, reliable, and fairly prices service. If everyone did their best to take advantage of it in order to save a few cents, the service would be restructured, and would certainly cost more.
You say that taking advantage of the free forwarding service isn't breaking the rules.
Perhaps not.
But character is what you do and how you act when nobody else is watching.
Kaptain Kangaroo
12-31-2008, 18:24
But character is what you do and how you act when nobody else is watching.
Nicely put Jack.
I had no mail drops at all during my thru. (Posting boxes from Australia is pretty expensive ;) ) Bought all my food along the way. It was very easy, although in some places the selection is limited. So if you are a fussy eater or have special dietary needs, mail drops might be useful, but otherwise no problems at all with the buy as you go strategy.
Cheers,
Kaptain Kangaroo
Farr Away
12-31-2008, 18:58
I'm not suggesting maildrops, but if you decide to...
USPS also has flat rate priority boxes. $12.95 for a 5x12x12 box. There is an upper weight limit, but I think it's something like 70 pounds.
The box doesn't sound very big, but you'd be surprised how much you can get in one. I just sent a package to my husband in Iraq. Here's a partial list: 2 qt plastic pitcher, 2 lbs. sugar, 1 lb honey, 140 tea bags, 15 breakfast bars, 6 granola bars, 10 packs of gum, 2 packets of salmon, 2 packets of tuna, 1 tube biofreeze, 4 dvds, a watch, and 2 pairs of insoles. I still had to use a little packing material to fill up some leftover space. FWIW.
But character is what you do and how you act when nobody else is watching.But someone else is watching and that is the person behind the counter at the PO. This ain't pocketing something while the clerk is not looking. This is playing by the rules.
I don't see much of a difference between forwarding something from California and bumping something up the trail. Either way you are still getting more than you paid for at no cost. This is not the equivalent of raiding the hot sauce at Taco Bell. This is Taco Bell saying that you can buy however many tacos that you like, but if you are still hungry you can have as many tacos as you like for free, just come to the counter and let us know how many to make.
Forwarding doesn't make good business sense and that is why Fedex and UPS don't do it. I really don't think that forwarding should be a service of priority mail because of this loophole. If you pay for a package to get to a destination then it should get there and be done with it. Hikers have just figured out how a loophole and bumping from home is just taking it one step farther.
And just this is not a two or three bucks postage. Flat rate boxes are nice, but for gear and things that don't fit in a flat rate box you can save a bunch. 90210 (CA?) -> 25425 (HF, WV) at 10 pounds you save about 19 dollars by bumping from home.
fiddlehead
01-01-2009, 08:10
There are some towns along the AT where mail drops can be a wise choice: Port Clinton, PA, Glencliff, NH, Bear Mtn NY to name a few.
Here's something i started doing after a few thru-hikes and wanting to avoid always asking favors of my friends and family to mail them out for me: When you are in a big town within a few weeks of one of these towns where you know a mail drop is wise, go to a good size supermarket and buy enough for your next few days AND do the maildrop for the small town without a store and send it out at the PO.
That way, you decide what you want to eat, what you might need (you'll have a much better idea what that should be after you hiked 1,000 miles or so) and you'll know when it was mailed, if it was mailed, aprox. when it should be there, and ..............well, i think you get the point.
Either way, be smart and don't buy too much of something you may not like later on.
Worldwide
01-01-2009, 08:30
Mailing $12 worth of ramen noodles and oatmeal at a cost of $8 seems ridiculous to me. Plus you will do what everyone else does wait for the PO office hours small towns we use have weird hours or throwing half of the stuff into a hiker box because they are sick of whatever that is by now.
Also it is wise to support the small businesses / stores in the trail towns as much as possible. What if the grocers and outfitters were forced to close up shop because we all bought our food in our home towns and sent it ahead of us on the trail? They are catering to us. It is a symbiotic relationship we need them they need us. I never buy gear from REI or online stores that don't have a shop on the trail. These outfiters are the ones that take care of our gear / warranty issues along our hike making it less for us to worry about. Nothing makes me more angry than watching someone order gear online to have it sent as a "mail drop" to an outfitter that carries the same product.
Worldwide
Lone Wolf
01-01-2009, 08:34
Also it is wise to support the small businesses / stores in the trail towns as much as possible. What if the grocers and outfitters were forced to close up shop because we all bought our food in our home towns and sent it ahead of us on the trail? They are catering to us. It is a symbiotic relationship we need them they need us.
stores in small towns aren't gonna close cuz hikers don't shop there
Worldwide
01-01-2009, 08:48
stores in small towns aren't gonna close cuz hikers don't shop there
They might just stop stocking as much hiker only type stuff. Like say fuel canisters ( yes you can send them legally just the small bottlesa and avoid the local businesses). Realistically the majority of towns have Wal Marts to resupply with and they aren't going away. However, one instance I ran into was in Andover, ME. Once the majority of thru hikers have passed they don't carry hiker food anymore. Meaning they carry hiker specific goods for us not all year long. Big food stores will have all the goodies but the small convenient ones cater to us.
brancher
01-04-2009, 10:47
yes, much more practical to buy along the way. i never did a mail drop for food resupply. mail drops are a waste of money in the long run
Not sure about that part. I buy Mountain House and others in bulk from Emergency Essentials out in Utah - thay have a huge selection - pastas, fruit, veggies, and meat - and periodically run sales. I save about half the cost of buying from outfitters (which, as you know, is significant). I get 'em in #10 cans, put 'em in vacuum bags at home, and ship 'em in 1-week packages to wherever.. The advantage is that I can mix up my own entrees at home to make sure I'm getting the nutrients and roughage I want. They also sell stuff like Granola and blueberries, cinnamon apples, etc. You guys may want to give 'em a shout.
That having been said, I would definitely plan to buy some things as I go along - nothing like an ice cold California Navel orange after 4-5 days on a hot trail - or a Pizza delivered to Walasi-Yi when you're exhausted.
:):sun
Lone Wolf
01-04-2009, 11:13
mail drops are a waste of money in the long run
Not sure about that part.
i'm sure about that. year after year there are people that buy all their food ahead of time, box it all up, seal and address it and never make it out of georgia then go home to 20 boxes of ramens and liptons never to hike again. or if they do by chance hike all the way, they end up givin' a lot away, leave it in hiker boxes or ship ahead/home.
take minnesotasmith and his partner for instance. they bought and boxed 9 months worth of food, clothing and gear. she quit after a week
stumpknocker
01-04-2009, 11:47
i'm sure about that. year after year there are people that buy all their food ahead of time, box it all up, seal and address it and never make it out of georgia then go home to 20 boxes of ramens and liptons never to hike again. or if they do by chance hike all the way, they end up givin' a lot away, leave it in hiker boxes or ship ahead/home.
take minnesotasmith and his partner for instance. they bought and boxed 9 months worth of food, clothing and gear. she quit after a week
Or take me as an example. I had 18 boxes all ready to be shipped to me on my first walk. Afterall, that's what the AT planning book that I read beforehand suggested.
I had the first box sent to me. It was okay, but I had already eaten the same crap for a week. When I opened the second box, I put almost all of it in a hiker box and went to the local store and bought what I felt like eating at that time.
I called my brother and told him to give the other 16 boxes away to anyone that wanted it.
That was a lot of work and money wasted.
I hear people say something like; "You can't resupply there because there's only a convenient store in that town".
I can resupply from a convenient store when I have to. :)
garlic08
01-04-2009, 11:57
I hear people say something like; "You can't resupply there because there's only a convenient store in that town".
I can resupply from a convenient store when I have to. :)
Part of the fun of the AT for me was resupplying from the C-stores. You never know what you're going to walk out of there with; a box of Little Debbies, a couple days worth of hotdog buns and peanut butter, a Tombstone pizza and some egg salad sandwiches, HoneyBuns and Pringles...it's a hoot!
Lone Wolf
01-04-2009, 12:43
thru-hikers make it hard on themselves. too much planning, chores, scheduling, reserving, etc.
C stores are the BEST. I never met one I did'nt like..:)
C stores are the BEST. I never met one I did'nt like..:)
And if you can find a Family Dollar or Dollar General, you are GOLDEN!!