short/long term resupplys

[gravy4601]

not sure if this is the right place to poast this but i am planing the first leg of my thru hike and in the thru hiker's companion some places poast short trem resuply other's are long term question is how do they detirmin the diffrance is it the sise of the store or the items they sell fontana dam says short term the next long term resuply is hot springs besides gatlinburg wich would seem to me to be kinda expensive but not sure ive never been there to buy suplies

[Jeff]

Short term usually refers to a convenience store selling poptarts, candy bars and the like. Long term is a good size grocery store where you have a large selection of foods.

Also, reference the excellent article on resuppy here on Whiteblaze:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php?page=resupplypart1

[Spokes]

The guidebooks should say "Next To Nothing" next to Fontana Damn! You definitely want to send a food drop there since the store is so darn fickle about what they have in stock. Plus you'll be competing with all the other thru's looking for the same old stuff.

BTW, the Post Lady at Fontana is a complete doofus. She chewed out every thru-hiker who came in and was apparently upset she couldn't read anyone's handwriting. BEWARE!!!

[Pony]

Depending on how fast you are going thru the Smokies you should be able to make it with a resupply in Fontana. Also depends on what time of year you are going through. During peak thru hiker season you may be out of luck, and wish to get a mail drop there. I hear it's an easy hitch into Gatlinburg, though I didn't go there. Also Standing Bear will be more than sufficient to get you through to Hot Springs, plus it's a cool place to stay and most likely you'll want to spend a night there anyway. Also as mentioned above, there is a wealth of info in Baltimore Jack's resupply article.

[Pony]

The guidebooks should say "Next To Nothing" next to Fontana Damn! You definitely want to send a food drop there since the store is so darn fickle about what they have in stock. Plus you'll be competing with all the other thru's looking for the same old stuff.

BTW, the Post Lady at Fontana is a complete doofus. She chewed out every thru-hiker who came in and was apparently upset she couldn't read anyone's handwriting. BEWARE!!!

I had no problem resupplying there in 2008, but it was mid-May, so I was at the tail end of the pack. Glad I didn't go to the post office though.

[Spokes]

I had no problem resupplying there in 2008, but it was mid-May, so I was at the tail end of the pack. Glad I didn't go to the post office though.

Good to know you were able to. The common complaint with the store there is it is so slow to stock up for the early hikers.

The Post Office had one of those metal bar things over the counter window- I know why now.

[Spirit Walker]

Short term resupply means there are plenty of snack foods on hand but it may require a lot of creativity to get more than that out of the food on hand. Some really aren't too bad, with a handful of liptons, rice, etc. In any case, usually you can buy ramen and Mac and cheese at any minimart, as well as bread and peanut butter, so you can get enough to get you through for two or three days at a pinch. One store near Hot Springs (that seems to have vanished) sold nothing but coke, ice cream and cigarettes and very dusty cans of soup. It would have been a really hard resupply. But it was very near town, so it was unlikely that any hikers used it for more than a cold drink or a hot cup of coffee.

[gravy4601]

I'll definatly be stoping by standing Bear (stayed there when i hiked clingmans to hot springs ) has anyone ever resuplied in Gatlinburg and hows there prices also i here the hiker rates at the hotels arent bad

[stranger]

Gatlinburg has a great supermarket way across town, 2 trolleys required, it might be a couple bucks more expensive than others but I've never noticed.

Fontana Dam grocery store can be OK at times, I thought the selection had improved greatly in 2008 (from past years) but I also arrived in late April when most hikers were far north. I would recommend sending yourself a drop there from Hiawassee or Franklin.

From Standing Bear it's only 33 miles to Hot Springs, so basically all you need is 1.5 days of food if you eat breakfast at the hostel and dinner at Hot Springs the next day.

[Hooch]

I'll definatly be stoping by standing Bear (stayed there when i hiked clingmans to hot springs ) has anyone ever resuplied in Gatlinburg and hows there prices also i here the hiker rates at the hotels arent badGatlinburg is a notorious tourist trap. Everything there is expensive, so plan and budget accordingly if you go.

[Jack Tarlin]

Gatlinburg is indeed a notorious "tourist trap" but this should only affect hikers if they decide to act and spend like typical tourists.

For example there is cheap lodging available (like the Grand Prix) or other comparable motels; there's reasonably priced food (like an all-you-can-eat Shoney's); there's a real supermarket with normal prices; there's an excellent outfitter that has been helping thru-hikers for years, and so on.

If you decide to eat at some fancy steakhouse, go to a glitzy pub, visit Ripley's Believe it or Not, take a tram ride, or whatever, well yeah, Gatlinburg will cost you money.

But if you discipline yourself and plan your spending wisely, I don't think it's any more expensive than lots of other Trail towns, and compared to many, especially Northern Trail towns, it's actually significantly cheaper.

Oh, and they also have one of the friendliest libraries on the whole A.T.

All in all, I kinda like Gatlinburg and have always had a good time there, plus a stop in town means you don't have to pack 6-7 days worth of stuff out of Fontana Dam.

(Last tip: If you want to save some money, it's easy to to do an "in and out" in Gatlinburg......overnight at Mt. Collins Shelter, do the easy 4.5 to Newfound Gap in the morning, hitch to town and get all your town things done, and then get out the same day and walk the easy (essentially flat) 2 miles to Icewater Spring Shelter. By not overnighting in town, you'll save on all sorts of things, especially lodging and meal costs. But the thing to remember is that a Gatlinburg visit doesn't have to be expensive).

[sasquatch2014]

Pawling in NY in town is mostly short term unless you hit a few different places. If you want help with a resupply here just give me a shout when you are getting near and we can set up to get you to the real store a few miles out of town. Most folks are ok with the short term because they plan to stop in Kent Ct which has a pretty good grocery store.

The other aspect of supplies in NY are how many Deli or Hot Dog stand stops you make. I know a lot of folks like to stop at Tim's right on NY 22. I know for the last year or two he has been keeping a log of hikers. Heck he now even has a T-shirt and it gives his location as something along the lines of "Where the Appalachian Trail crosses Rt 22"