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Trailryder42
01-22-2011, 16:13
Are people arriving at Springer/Amicolola/Hiker Hostel with their packs already containing food for the first several days before first resupply? Or is there someplace for you to shop for the first few days hike "after" you get there?

If I decide to risk checking my pack with the airline I'm not sure I should have food in there, especially if it's something the increase in altitude could cause to pop open. Right now I'm leaning toward shipping my pack to the HH, but I'm not so sure it wouldn't go by airline.

And I've been reading about things like peanut butter in foil. Are you buying it prepackaged like this or are people splitting a jar between them and smearing a few tablespoons into a piece of foil and wrapping that up?

And I gather everyone is chucking the cardboard or plastic prepackaging of foods you buy and transfering the product to your own zip lock bags?

Thanks for any insight.

max patch
01-22-2011, 16:26
The plastic jars that peanut butter comes in is perfect to use while hiking. And forget about sharing it; keep it all for yourself.

Cardboard boxes are discarded. Exception; pringles come in a tube that many find useful for, well, pringles, crackers and cookies.

Sometimes the inner packaging is kept rather than transferred to ziplocks. Depends. You'll figure it out when you see it.

garlic08
01-22-2011, 16:40
I traveled via airline to Atlanta with all the food I needed for the first five days in my pack. I was even able to carry it on, though I was ready to check it if needed. Maybe you could at least just carry the food on if your whole pack is too large, if there's something in there you're concerned about. I think some hikers go shopping in Atlanta, but that's a chore I was glad I was able to miss.

I always repackage my food into ziplocks, even if I buy Ramen (not very often). I pack a couple extra ziplocks and these generally last an entire thru hike. I also save bread bags and plastic grocery sacks as I hike and use those for food repackaging, or maybe sometimes as vapor barriers for the feet (bagtex) if I hit snow.

When I buy peanut butter, a jar only lasts a few days so I don't bother repackaging that. When the jar is empty, it's a convenient trash receptacle. I once fit all my food trash from a 160-mile hike into the empty 18 oz. peanut butter jar. I knew then that I'd cut my food packaging pretty much to the minimum.

Fog Horn
01-22-2011, 17:31
Jar of peanut butter + Jar of Nutella = Happy hiker :)

Puppy
01-22-2011, 17:38
A few years ago when I stayed at Hiker Hostel - they ran a shuttle in the evenings to the Walmart which had food. Maybe you can check with HH about it if you are more comfortable shopping when you get there.

Mrs Baggins
01-22-2011, 17:38
There is a grocery store not far from the Hiker Hostel (well, you'd need a car ride to get there - Dahlonega I think?). We bought bagels there. I emptied all of the Lipton Sides into ziplocks. I didn't need to see the directions to know how to make them and didn't care which was which when dinner time came, so I didn't bother labeling them. We took Amtrak, so our packs just went in the overhead racks. There's usually somebody around the Hiker Hostel who is willing to take you to Wal-Mart and/or to Mountain Crossings, too. (there was when we were there anyway). Of course, this is all providing you're staying there before you hit the trail. :)

10-K
01-22-2011, 18:07
Could you not send a mail drop to Hiker Hostel with the first few days of food?

You really only need enough to get to Neel's Gap unless of course you happen to get there when its been picked clean - that's what happenned to me.

Rick500
01-22-2011, 18:10
And I've been reading about things like peanut butter in foil. Are you buying it prepackaged like this or are people splitting a jar between them and smearing a few tablespoons into a piece of foil and wrapping that up?

And I gather everyone is chucking the cardboard or plastic prepackaging of foods you buy and transfering the product to your own zip lock bags?

The WalMart near my house has individual foil packs of peanut butter. It's "Peanut Butter & Co." brand. Probably 2 or 2.5 tablespoons in a pack. They have chocolate peanut butter sometimes too.

And yes, strip down the packaging on everything as much as possible.

sarbar
01-22-2011, 20:18
Your food will be fine. When we fly I take food all the time. I do though seal everything into gallon freezer bags as insurance in case anything gets banged around.

Blissful
01-22-2011, 21:49
You can carry your food on a plane. So long as it isn't liquid.

sarbar
01-23-2011, 00:23
You can carry your food on a plane. So long as it isn't liquid.
If it is in a shipped through bag or box it can be liquids btw. Just of course not on carryon.

bigcranky
01-23-2011, 10:31
Also, you can get more food at the 30 mile mark at Neels Gap. Then more in Hiawassee, 30 miles up the trail, and so on. So you need only 3-4 days of food to start.

StormBird
01-23-2011, 15:46
I started with three days of food and yes I carried it on the plane.