View Full Version : Mail Drops
So I'm trying to think of what to put in my mail drops.
I am thinking about mail dropping all my dinners and getting my lunches and breakfasts on trail. This would allow me to change my diet as my body changed what it wanted to eat and still be able to get a lot of calories from preplanned dinner (I'm going to need to eat a lot of calories because I don't have a lot of fat to burn). Now this way is going make me carry a lot of freezer bag dinners at a time.
So, is this a good idea? How hard is it to go into a store on trail and make a good tasting and calorie rich dinner? Is it a lot cheaper to do mail drops? or is it about the same when you factor in postage?
garlic08
03-11-2010, 20:58
It sounds like the cost of postage vs. the extra cost of food purchased in more expensive stores on the AT is about a wash. My food cost, with no mail drops, was the same per day as everything I've read about people who did mail drops.
A bigger factor for some is the futz factor of sometimes having to adjust your schedule to actually pick up your mail drop, especially if you use the Post Office. Picture getting into a town at 5:05 on Friday afternoon and the PO doesn't open again until Tuesday am because Monday is a holiday. That actually happened to me, so I don't do maildrops anymore. I was able to buy enough snacks at a small convenience store, get a couple of deli sandwiches to go, and make an unplanned stop a couple days up the trail in a town with a real grocery. You can always find filling stuff like peanut butter, a package of honey buns, etc. It's kind of fun not knowing what your food bag will look like when you leave town, and there's plenty of variety.
After looking through the PO Office locations near the trail (< 1mile); it looks like you definitely wouldn't be able to resupply weekly with mail drops unless you have hotels/hostels/shops that would hold your drops near the trail. Otherwise you will have to hoof/hitch-hike it many miles to get to PO Offices along the trail.
Of course I am no master of the thru, so I am sure there are others on here with much more worthwhile advice.:sun
Appalachian Tater
03-11-2010, 21:54
Maps and winter gear. Any special food or medicine you need because of a medical condition that you can't get on the trail. Homemade cookies. That's it.
Smoky in TN
03-12-2010, 12:24
Buy the food as you go. To me, maildrops are an unnecessary complication.
The Flatulator
03-12-2010, 12:47
I used mail drops on both of my thru-hikes and will use them again on my third this year. I mail my guide/map info, boot grease, food I could not get in some locations (Fontana-Duncannon-Delaware Water gap have poor selections), etc. I use flat rate postage (large=$13.95). I buy some of my food in bulk and find this is a savings. At least I do not have to worry about pulling into a small town (especially Fontana ) and find out the shelves have been laid bare due to a horde of hungry hikers resupplying for their trip through the Smokies. Getting to town with a "deadline" (before the weekend) is always a possibility and one has to adjust for and plan for this. I have 13 mail drops with some as food resupplies and some as just "mail". Plan accordingly. I like the security of having my food available and not have to worry about going off Trail for an unplanned resupply due to poor availability in the previous town.
Blissful
03-17-2010, 20:02
I used a combo drops and buying. Only had a couple problems = had to stay a bit later Monday AM to get a box when I arrived on a Sunday (happened twice with 30 drops), and had 2 boxes missing in ME when I failed to send them priority. Other than that, absolutely no problems. The idea they are complicated and a hassle just wasn't true for me. To me what's a hassle is trying to hitch to stores and trying to figure out what you're going to eat that isn't the same ol thing and all the time involved with that.
Blissful
03-17-2010, 20:05
After looking through the PO Office locations near the trail (< 1mile); it looks like you definitely wouldn't be able to resupply weekly with mail drops unless you have hotels/hostels/shops that would hold your drops near the trail..:sun
And if one looks at the guides, plenty of places hold drops, so it isn't an issue, nor is a hiker held to just PO office hours or distance.
singingpilgrim
03-19-2010, 07:09
I plan on using mail drops because I figure there are three necessary (like could die without) expenditures I'll need once I set out: food, a way to purify water, and replacement hiking boots/shoes at some point. And I'm bringing my dog, so dog food.
So I figure if I buy a huge amount of my food beforehand, let's say at least 75%, and a way to purify water (still haven't decided which way, but I'd mail either replacement filters, batteries, tablets or whatnot depending on which it ends up being), 100% of the dog food, purchase all the prepaid priority boxes I think I'll need, and set aside that money for boots, then I'll feel freer, not more constricted, with allowing myself to enjoy what cash is left over because I know if something happened, Sophie and I would have almost everything we physically need physically to complete the trip to Katahdin, and my efforts can thus go to keeping my mindset right.
I know this is probably the best method for me because I know me and my personality. Not because I'm rigid or a planner but because I am very, very flexible and ADORE to leave things up in the air. So if I am strict in allocating these funds BEFORE I leave home, I can be spontaneous, flexible, and happily chaotic with what is left all the way to Maine!
singingpilgrim
03-19-2010, 07:11
sorry, there's one too many physicallys in there lol
I'm going to do 4 drops between Bear Mt. and ME and I'm going to call home a week or so before I need each one and ask my wife to go buy whatever I need.
I've never understood buying a bunch of stuff in advance - how do you know what you'll want 6 months ahead of time?
And... if you buy a bunch of stuff in advance and don't finish the trail as most people don't - ....well... that's a lot of oatmeal to eat when you get home.
Blissful
03-19-2010, 09:28
I'm going to do 4 drops between Bear Mt. and ME and I'm going to call home a week or so before I need each one and ask my wife to go buy whatever I need.
I've never understood buying a bunch of stuff in advance - how do you know what you'll want 6 months ahead of time?
And... if you buy a bunch of stuff in advance and don't finish the trail as most people don't - ....well... that's a lot of oatmeal to eat when you get home.
That's why its good to have someone on the homefront who can send what you need when you need it.
That's why its good to have someone on the homefront who can send what you need when you need it.
Yes, and in all fairness not everyone has that luxury I suppose.