View Full Version : Ordering Mail Drops form Online Retailers like Walmart.com
I thru-hiked the AT in 2011 and a 2013 soon to be AT hiker asked me about ordering resupplies from online retailers. I thought this could be a good discussion on this forum. Here is my reply to the question:
http://ryangrayson.blogspot.com/2013....or.html (http://ryangrayson.blogspot.com/2013/02/q-with-2013-at-thru-hiker-victor.html)
Do you have any other thoughts? Has anyone tried this before? I will be hiking the PCT in 2014 and thought about taking advantage of free shipping from Walmart.com for some of my resupplies.
Don't expect the big online retailers to use the appropriate shipping services for General Delivery addresses. Just because they can do it right doesn't mean they will. I went through that with Amazon. I wanted my package shipped General Delivery in Mammoth Lakes, but they used UPS and that forced me to go Bishop to retrieve my package.
I followed the link above. I am currently in the early stages of planning the southern section (GA-Boone, NC) with a friend. Hopefully, we can hit the AT in late summer, 2014. I have been trying to figure out where & how I might use mail drops and/or local resupply as well. I read this with a bit of skepticism, based on my very early examination of the AT and nearby communities:
What are mail drops?
Traditional mail drops are boxes that you packed with food and other supplies before leaving home, which someone will ship to you along the trail. Mail drops may be a requirement on remote trails, but on the AT, you will easily find places to resupply every 3 days or less.
Do folks really consider 20-30 mile round trips into places like Hiawassee, GA and Franklin, NC as resupply options? So far, I have found the following on trail resupply/mail drop locations along our route: Nells Gap (Mountain Crossings Outfitters), Fontana Dam/Village, NC (USPS), Hot Springs, NC (Bluff Mountain Outfitters). Am I missing any other on trial points?
Thanks!
Wayne
yellowsirocco
02-20-2013, 17:21
I followed the link above. I am currently in the early stages of planning the southern section (GA-Boone, NC) with a friend. Hopefully, we can hit the AT in late summer, 2014. I have been trying to figure out where & how I might use mail drops and/or local resupply as well. I read this with a bit of skepticism, based on my very early examination of the AT and nearby communities:
Do folks really consider 20-30 mile round trips into places like Hiawassee, GA and Franklin, NC as resupply options? So far, I have found the following on trail resupply/mail drop locations along our route: Nells Gap (Mountain Crossings Outfitters), Fontana Dam/Village, NC (USPS), Hot Springs, NC (Bluff Mountain Outfitters). Am I missing any other on trial points?
Thanks!
Wayne
The distance off trail doesn't much matter. Stick your thumb out and hitch a ride, you can be in and out of town in a few hours with a pack full of food or stay the night if you choose.
And Nantahala Outdoor Center is right on the trail, but their selection is kind of small.
I decided to post the Q&A here.. I don't want people to think I'm just trying to get blog visitors lol! I want new ideas and to have my opinions challenged. I assume that's a good way to learn.
Here it is....
Victor: What if we purchased food from large [online] retailers and have them delivered to us on the trail. Since we would be purchasing for 4 people, we could easily make the free shipping quota and get food at a lower cost than we would in a local town. Other than stating the obvious of not having a signal on some parts of the trail, what would be wrong with this idea?
Me: If you don't mind the extra planning that comes with food drops, ordering online isn't a bad idea, and actually offers some benefits over the traditional mail drop. My short answer is that unless you have special dietary needs, medications, or are a vegetarian; I am of the opinion that mail drops on the AT are more hassle than they are worth.
One of the greatest things about life on the AT, and maybe even more so than on other long-distance trails, is the freedom you feel while living such a life. After a few weeks, you won’t know if it's a Monday or a Saturday, and most importantly, you won't care. It is a great feeling. You may not have many opportunities in life to know what that is like. With mail drops, you never completely leave behind the world of schedules, deadlines, and logistics.
The AT is unique, in that, if you're already familiar with backpacking, you don't have to do much planning at all. Once you have your ride to the approach trail figured out, you only need to make sure you have enough supplies to get you to your first town. By picking up your supplies in towns along the way, the simplicity and freedom you experience on the AT will be even more total and absolute.
If you'd like to give it a try anyway, here are some suggestions...
First, based on your question, it sounds like you’re already familiar with some of the problems with food drops, but I’ll talk about those for anyone else reading, in order to highlight some of the advantages of ordering online.
What are mail drops?
Traditional mail drops are boxes that you packed with food and other supplies before leaving home, which someone will ship to you along the trail. Mail drops may be a requirement on remote trails, but on the AT, you will easily find places to resupply every 3 days or less.
Even the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine has a resupply opportunity about halfway through. As of 2013, White House Landing is operating and picking up hikers. Just follow the signs and blue blazes down a 0.9-mile side trail, blow the air horn, and someone will be by in a boat to pick you up. They are trying to sell the land, however, so if you’re reading this beyond 2013, you may want to call ahead to be sure they are still picking up hikers.
So in other words, there are no locations on the AT where you will need to send a food drop.
Why does anyone bother with them at all?
If you don’t have special dietary or medical needs, in my opinion, there aren't many great arguments for dealing with mail drops on the AT. The most common reasons for doing it have to do with saving money, by avoiding small markets and convenience stores, and avoiding areas with limited supplies.
On the AT, I never had a problem finding enough supplies at a resupply point to get me to the next one. And if shipping costs are involved, they will cancel out most, if not all, of the cost savings. That is, unless you send fewer drops and carry a huge amount of food, but carrying a heavy pack comes with its own, fairly obvious, downsides.
Also, if you buy food before your trip starts, you’ll eventually get tired of some or all of it. Believe it or not, there is a finite amount of times you’ll want to stare down at a pot full of Knorr Pasta Sides. It’s not easy eating enough calories on a long-distance hike. You will need as many as 5,000 to 6,000 calories per day to maintain your body weight. By buying food along the way, you’ll ensure you’re buying foods that you will want to eat.
So, I don't think traditional mail drops are generally not worth it. On the AT, if I was concerned about the next resupply being expensive or limited, I would buy a few extra things at a good resupply point, like a town with a giant supermarket, to reduce what I needed to buy at the next stop. And if you do manage to save a little money with mail drops, you have to ask if it's worth the hassle. I think simplifying your life out there has a value that far exceeds those meager savings.
Benefits of Ordering Online
So back to your question, if you’re ordering online, you can avoid most of the downfalls with the traditional mail drop. As of right now, the only online store that I could find that would make this work is Walmart.com. As you said, you can get free 5-day shipping if you order at least $45 of their “home free” items, which is a significant enough number of products to get everything you need. This eliminates one of the big disadvantages. And since you’re buying food relatively close to the day you’ll be eating it, it's also less likely that you’ll be carrying things that you’re tired of eating.
Possible Downsides to Ordering Online
The first concern I had wasn't about poor cell service, but this is a concern. It surprised me how frequently I had service with my Verizon phone on the AT, but web access will be less common. I’m not sure how much less, since I didn't have internet on my phone, but I wouldn't want to rely on it.
That being said, it doesn't matter that much, because you already know you can resupply in towns within three days of wherever you are on the AT, so you don’t have to rely on it completely. And any place along the AT that allows you to send a mail drop will hold onto it for at least 30 days, even the Post Offices, so don’t be afraid to send things way out in front of you and consider placing more than one order when you do get service.
To have your walmart.com package sent to a post office, type "General Delivery" in the address line, along with the city, state, and zip code for the post office you want it shipped to. See the image to the right...
One advantage of shipping a package to a post office, rather than a hostel or hotel, is having the ability to call and have it forwarded. Let's say, for whatever reason, you know you're not going to make it to that post office during business hours, but you don't want to wait around town until morning. Simply call them up and have it forwarded to the next post office along the trail. This can help alleviate that feeling of being rushed by a deadline.
If something is shipped using First-Class or Priority with the USPS, they will forward it for free. Although, packages from Walmart.com, of the size we're talking about here, will likely be shipped with FedEx. That just means if you call to have it forwarded, you will have to pay the shipping cost when you arrive to pick up the package. The distances will be short, though, so it shouldn't be that expensive.
Another potential issue is that since you will be shipping packages to addresses that are not the same as your credit card billing address, Walmart.com may withhold the shipment until the address can be verified. This is to prevent fraud. They may not do it every time, but it could delay a package. You can sidestep this problem by calling your credit card company beforehand and asking them to put a note on your account with the addresses you plan on shipping to.
If you decide to ship to a business, such as a hostel, hotel, or outfitter, use the option to leave a "gift message" on the label whenever possible, so the receiver will know it’s a mail drop for an AT hiker. For example, you can write, “Please hold for AT hiker,” as your gift message. You could also add something like, “ETA: 07/20/13,” or whatever date is close to when you expect to pick up the package. I would add several days to that date, so you don't feel like you have to rush.
In some cases, Walmart.com won't give you the option to leave a gift message on the label. It depends on the product you're ordering, for some reason. Although, most places along the AT that accept mail drops will be very familiar with this practice and will probably assume it's for a hiker. For peace of mind, you could call and let them know you sent a package to them, so they will be expecting it.
In Conclusion
So, even though I would still avoid mail drops as much as possible, in order to simplify your life on the AT, ordering from Walmart.com isn't a bad idea at all. If you don't rely on it too much, send orders with plenty of lead time, and use some of the tips above, I think you could do it without taking away from the experience.
On other long distance hikes, such as the Pacific Crest Trail, where towns are more spread out and further from the trail, ordering online would be considerably more beneficial. I will keep that in mind while planning my 2014 PCT hike!
Hmmm. I hadn't considered that. I contacted Walmart.com and the Post Office, and it seems like it should work out alright. Walmart.com says since the packages will be several pounds, they will generally use FedEx. The post office said they receive General Delivery packages from FedEx all the time.
I think I'll order something to my local post office to test this out a little better.
Thanks for your input.
Don't expect the big online retailers to use the appropriate shipping services for General Delivery addresses. Just because they can do it right doesn't mean they will. I went through that with Amazon. I wanted my package shipped General Delivery in Mammoth Lakes, but they used UPS and that forced me to go Bishop to retrieve my package.
Oops forgot to quote you on my last post.. I was referring to this quote above...
The distance off trail doesn't much matter. Stick your thumb out and hitch a ride, you can be in and out of town in a few hours with a pack full of food or stay the night if you choose.
And Nantahala Outdoor Center is right on the trail, but their selection is kind of small.
Yeah, I was also assuming hitchhiking wasn't an issue. I can't imagine thru-hiking the AT without several hitches. I never had a problem getting a hitch to resupply (unless you consider drunk people picking me up a problem). I think the only town I actually walked into was only 1 or 2 miles from the trail in NY. I enjoyed the road walk, so didn't even put out my thumb.
Hmmm. I hadn't considered that. I contacted Walmart.com and the Post Office, and it seems like it should work out alright. Walmart.com says since the packages will be several pounds, they will generally use FedEx. The post office said they receive General Delivery packages from FedEx all the time.
I think I'll order something to my local post office to test this out a little better.
Thanks for your input.
Like I can, they can do it right, but that doesn't mean they will.
Yes, Fedex can deliver to a post office IF the package includes the Smartpost option. If that service isn't used, then the package won't get delivered to the post office. UPS has a similar service called Basic.
If you are given the choice, make sure USPS is the sole shipper when shipping to a General Delivery address.
A note about UPS & USPS:
We live in a rural area about 30 miles north of Tyler, TX. Tyler is a real city-over 100,000 folks. Our post office is in Hawkins, TX. A town of maybe 1,000 folks. For the last year or so, anything that we order online from a company that uses UPS, the package is handed off to the USPS in Tyler for final delivery by our mailman. That system may apply to final destinations off the beaten path.
Thanks for the reminder about NOC. I just learned of their location yesterday & it slipped my mind. I'm still pondering the hitchhiking solution. I would prefer to save that for a backup alternative. On the other hand, a good burger, fries & milk shake is a powerful motivator to get to a town in a hurry.
Wayne
yellowsirocco
02-20-2013, 19:03
Wayne, hitching is part of hiking the AT. After your first time you will realize it is not a big deal.
Snowleopard
02-20-2013, 19:22
Joining Amazon Prime gives you free 2 day delivery for most items. It costs $79/year. I joined it two years ago because my shipping costs were getting expensive for last minute Christmas shopping and stayed on it because it is very convenient. However, see Eugene Leafty's problems with delivery to USPS general delivery; you might have to ship to hostels, etc., instead of Post Offices.
Amazon has a reasonable selection of outdoor gear at reasonable prices and has quite a few food items. drug store items, etc.
Joining Amazon Prime gives you free 2 day delivery for most items. It costs $79/year. I joined it two years ago because my shipping costs were getting expensive for last minute Christmas shopping and stayed on it because it is very convenient. However, see Eugene Leafty's problems with delivery to USPS general delivery; you might have to ship to hostels, etc., instead of Post Offices.
Amazon has a reasonable selection of outdoor gear at reasonable prices and has quite a few food items. drug store items, etc.
Do you mind if I copy your comment into the comments section of my blog?
Wayne, hitching is part of hiking the AT. After your first time you will realize it is not a big deal.
My first hitch was on the AT. I was nervous going into it. Not sure if I could do it.. Since then I've hitched a couple hundred times. I've had some amazing people pick me up. And some interesting conversations. I love it!