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Robishack
12-11-2011, 19:47
Does anyone have any experience in shipping stuff from Canada for mail drops? Any idea of the cost / logistics / problems associated with this? And do you have to pay a fee for the US post offices to hold packages for you?

Mags
12-11-2011, 21:00
I don't know the price per se in terms of the AT, but shipping maildrops from Canada may be cost prohibitive and SLOW when you factor in the customs. I had clothing shipped MEC (jealous...great mainstream outdoor store!!!) and it took a while and cost $20 S&H. And that was for only a pound or so via Canadian and US Mail.

The AT is blessed with many towns along the way with services. Unless you have special dietary needs, these stores should do fine. You could also do a hybrid approach. Get to a larger town, package four or five mail drops up and ship them ahead. Good if you are absolutely gung-ho about mail drops and want more variety than what a smaller town offers.

The Old Boot
12-11-2011, 21:43
I can't imagine trying to deal with the logistics of it all!!

Each package would have to have customs declarations done and the rules and regs for what can and can't be shipped are absolutely mind boggling. Dehydrated meals for example would just be silly to consider. Shipping the boxes for general delivery to a post office and marking them 'Hold for hiker XXXX' is just putting a bullseye target on the box for customs. They'd be all over that box like flies.

The price would be outrageous - an 8x8x8" box weighing 1 pound sent by 'Expresspost to Georgia from my place is $20.97 (I just priced it for kicks). The cheaper $8 & $9.00 shipping prices are for ground and 'air' shipment with no signatures required and absolutely no guarantee of when they would arrive.

IMO, you'd be better off spending a couple of extra days stateside before you begin a hike to shop and set up the packages for any mail drops you can't live without. You'd also find that prices are substantially less for most things stateside. I've been back in Ontario for 4 years after 14 yrs of stateside living and I still gasp as what we accept as normal prices for lots of things.

If you haven't already, make friends with someone stateside!!

Northern Lights
12-11-2011, 22:47
I sent two packages for mail drop. First one I sent to Hiawassee, aproximately 10 lbs cost was aproximately 30.00 Second one same weight and sent to NOC was 30.00 I regretted it because after Hiawassee I had no appetite and was carrying about 10 lbs too much in food. From the NOC I went through my pack and sent everything I hadn't used and didn't think I needed ahead to Fontana Dam. The lady that sent it for me thought it would be expensive to send 10 pounds up the trail. It was 8.00 Next section I will take only enough food to get throught the Smokies and the remainder I will pick up somewhere along the trail. Hoper that helps.

bigcranky
12-12-2011, 08:29
When you say Mail Drop, do you mean a weekly package of food for your resupply? Unless you need some sort of very specialized diet, don't do this. You'll spend more on shipping each package than you would if you just purchased all the same food in town. There are plenty of good grocery stores in small towns near the trail. The few cases where a mail drop is a good idea are well known, and you can buy and ship your own package from an earlier town. (Carry a hiker's guide with mileage and town info, which greatly helps with resupply.)

However, if you are talking about one or two mail drops to swap out winter gear, that's different. You'll need to check on postal regulations, and make sure it ships in time to get there, but not so far in advance it'll get sent back before you arrive in that town.

Robishack
12-12-2011, 11:28
You'll need to check on postal regulations, and make sure it ships in time to get there, but not so far in advance it'll get sent back before you arrive in that town.

Do you know how long they usually hold packages? Is it possible to package and send gear to Town X at the start of my hike and pick it up when I get there?

Suttree
12-12-2011, 19:31
Do you know how long they usually hold packages? Is it possible to package and send gear to Town X at the start of my hike and pick it up when I get there?

In my experience (and as noted on the USPS website here (https://www.usps.com/manage/research-delivery-options.htm)) a post office will hold a general delivery package for up to 30 days.

As in many of the previous responses, I would discourage you from mailing Canada Post/USPS across the border - it is too easy for something to be delayed.

If travel arrangements make the mail your only option, perhaps consider mailing to somewhere like the hiker hostels in Dahlonega (http://www.appalachiantraillodge.com/)/Millinocket (http://www.appalachiantraillodge.com/). You would have to call and discuss first, but I imagine the freedom to FedEx/UPS and the peace of mind in knowing there is an actual person you can talk to would be worth any additional work/cost.

As others have already noted, it is much easier/cheaper to buy as you go than to mail resupply across the border. I would recommend using a general delivery "bounce box" to forward gear you need only some of the time. Cotton is nice in town!

Hope this helps,
ed -AT09/PCT10/CDT11

bigcranky
12-12-2011, 20:14
Do you know how long they usually hold packages? Is it possible to package and send gear to Town X at the start of my hike and pick it up when I get there?

Post offices have somewhat limited storage space. If you put a date on the package ("Hold for hiker Robishack, arriving 1/5/2012") they'll usually hold it for a couple of weeks after that. But sending it out months in advance won't work, even with a date.

BTW if you are mailing within the USA, use Priority Mail. That will let you forward an unopened package for free, even from another place (call the post office or send a change of address form.) So if you miss that town, you can have your package sent ahead. Also, skip the fixed-price prepaid Priority Mail boxes unless you are shipping a lot of weight across the country. Just paying the P.M. postage is generally cheaper. (But the prepaid boxes might be a good idea for budgeting mail drops for a thru-hike, especially if your support person is mailing them from the West Coast.)

All that said, mail drops really aren't needed.

swjohnsey
12-12-2011, 22:55
Do you know how long they usually hold packages? Is it possible to package and send gear to Town X at the start of my hike and pick it up when I get there?

USPS site says it will hold mail up to 30 days, so no.

NBHiker
12-13-2011, 00:24
The very strong bias against mail drops on this site always surprises me, but anyway....

I hiked 1300 miles of the AT last year (I'm from NB). I dehydrated a lot of my own food and bought Sun Rype fruit/veggie bars (not commonly available along the trail), cliff bars, lara bars, etc and did mail drops the whole way. I'm going back next year for another 500 miles and doing the same thing, so I don't regret my decision. I sort of have to stick to a special diet, so I had a strong motivation to do this, but I generally found that I was eating better than most people on the trail. No Mr. Noodles (aka Ramen), no Mountain House, no Little Debbies (well some...but not a lot), etc.

There are downsides to resupplying along the way just as there are downsides to doing maildrops - you just have to assess both and decide which ones you'd rather live with. Yes it is expensive (approx. $25-30 per box), but to me it was worth the expense. But more than once, I saw people spend $50 on food at a gas station and come out with crap (Atkins, Fontana Dam, basically anyplace without a real grocery store) so I figure it all balances out in the end. Two of my boxes did not arrive, but I dealt with it and moved on. In one case, Canada Post indicated the package had been delivered 3 days before I got to the NOC in Gatlinburg (and a subsequent investigation confirmed that it had in fact been delivered), but they insisted they didn't have it....) I would recommend writing your own name on the outside of the box, rather than letting the business /PO do it in case they screw it up. The second box that didn't arrive was my fault. It didn't get mailed far enough ahead of time.

I didn't get sick of my food (many on this site claim you will!). In fact, I always looked forward to some of my favourite meals.

So my recommendations are :
1) Mail at least 2-3 weeks before your ETA.
2) I would try to underestimate the amount of food you'll need. You'll be resupplying some in stores anyway, and you can top up then. This will prevent you from having to carry too much food at once. I always seemed to have too much food - didn't have any trouble giving it away though!
3) Buy stuff like oatmeal, PB, trailmix, etc. along the way. I used the maildrops for my main meals, some condiments, energy bars, and anything special I knew I would have trouble finding.
4) If you think you'll be arriving near a weekend, try to send to a business rather than a PO - so that you don't end up arriving late on a Sat afternoon and have to wait until Monday to get your box.
5) If a box goes missing, chalk it up to one of those little things in life that aren't worth getting upset about. You're living a dream - who cares about a missing box?
6) Bubble wrap envelopes work well for smaller maildrops.
7) Factor in US holidays. Totally forgot about Memorial Day when i did my planning. The upshot was that we all decided to take a zero in Hot Springs and float down the French Broad river in a tube. Awesome day and great memories.
8) I just wrote "Condiments and dehydrated food" on the customs slip. Didn't seem to cause any problems.
9) Pack food you know you like

Can't think of anything else for now. PM me if you have specific questions. Good luck!

You'll run into the same bias on the trail. At one shelter, the person seated next to me stated emphatically, "Mail-drops don't work and I'll tell you why they don't work." I can't remember what he was eating, but it wasn't half as appetizing (or nutritious) as what I was eating at the time!

Brad (Chef Boyardee - GA-CT 2011)

Northern Lights
12-13-2011, 00:27
[QUOTE=Mags;1226483] I had clothing shipped MEC (jealous...great mainstream outdoor store!!!)

Funny, I love REI way better than MEC

Mags
12-13-2011, 01:38
I had clothing shipped MEC (jealous...great mainstream outdoor store!!!)[QUOTE=Northern Lights;1226883] Funny, I love REI way better than MEC I found MEC to have good housebrand gear vs the mainly fashion apparel that is the bread and butter of REI. MEC still seems to cater to an outdoor crowd where REI makes its money selling "gear as lifestyle". in any case, I was impressed with both the MEC in Calgary and the catalog. YMMV

bigcranky
12-13-2011, 08:08
Do you know how long they usually hold packages? Is it possible to package and send gear to Town X at the start of my hike and pick it up when I get there?

Sorry, I didn't see the part about your gear. If you are starting in Georgia, your best bet is to make a reservation at The Hiker Hostel for the night before your hike. They'll take care of everything - pick you up at the train station, give you a place to stay, feed you a nice breakfast, and drive you to Springer. You can ship all of your gear to them before the hike.

Robishack
12-13-2011, 09:57
Thanks for the great info!