View Full Version : Why don't more people use more mail drops to resupply?
joobertbrittle
03-09-2013, 17:13
I am planning a year in advance so bear with me, I don't know a whole lot.
I will be just out of college and won't have too much money. I'm wondering why it seems as if it's looked down upon to use mail drops to resupply your food. I am going to try and save at least 4,000 to have on the trail with me, but I'd like to spend as little of it as possible.
To me, it seems smart to use the mail drops to send yourself food rather than to head over to a store that I'm sure is overpriced. I'm also sure that if I ran into a store after five days of hiking I might splurge. I like that I can plan out my food ahead of time, start buying it now, and have it sent out by my parents with postage paid (Maybe that's why I'm biased).
People seem to say that it is impossible to be frugal on the trail--but why? I can't find any good guides on planning a resupply or a menu for the packages because everywhere I look people say not to do it.
That's not to say that there won't be times that I'll head to the store occasionally and supplement my diet, that's not to say that I won't occasionally stop into town for a real meal--but I want to save that as a treat. and I WILL be trying to add as much variety as possible from week to week within the packages.
Is there any help that you all could give me--anyone who has relied mostly on the mail drops? Or anyone who tried to be frugal in general?
Thanks and gig em
BuckeyeBill
03-09-2013, 17:32
If you shop where the locals shop, you probably won't be overpriced. If stores overcharged, they wouldn't be in business too long. Also you will spend more because of postage for your food. I too was going to do mail drops, but changed my mind. Now the only mail drops I will get are dehydrated foods I did at home, ( Jerky and fruit) which will save me money, as these tend to be overpriced on the trail.
Different Socks
03-09-2013, 17:40
I've noticed that too many people say it costs too much money, that it takes too much effort and too much time to preapre all the meals ahead of time AND they say that they get tired of eating whatever it isd they packed into the boxes to begin with.
Every long hike I've done, I had mail drops and/or boxes of food waiting for me at PO's, campgrounds, motels, hidden in the woods, gas stations and even restaurants. I still supllement with food purcahsed in stores, but I do not have to buy so much.
Many people will also say that the cost to ship plus the cost of the food is equal to or more than the cost of getting all of in the stores along the way. One difference is the weight. I'd rather have dried meats in my dinners than to carry heavy cans that cost 3 times as much in the small times along the way. Not to mention the fact that every item will cost more that is bought along the way.
My suggestion: do alittle of both.
There is nothing wrong with mail drops, but here are some things to consider:
1) What if your tastes change and you really get sick of the food you are shipping?
2) What if you eat less than you thought you would, you don't need the next maildrop, and you don't want to carry the extra food? You can usually avoid this by supplementing with mail drops so you will have less than you need through maildrops, rather than more.
3) What if you arrive late and the PO is closed? Will you wait for it to open? You can ship to hostels instead, but there may be a charge if you are not staying there. You can ship to outfitters that have better hours than the PO, but they close too.
Best of luck.
max patch
03-09-2013, 17:51
I used mail drops on my thru and will not use them on my next one. You still have to go to to grocery store anyway - I always bought bagels and cheese in every town - so having food mailed to me really served no useful purpose (other than making the person mailing me everything feel like a part of my hike.) Your diet will also likely change after you have been on the trail after a while.
joobertbrittle
03-09-2013, 18:00
Do all places besides POs charge you to have your food sent to their place?
Different Socks
03-09-2013, 18:10
Do all places besides POs charge you to have your food sent to their place?
This was one of the things I learned about going directly to the PO where I would actually get the box to begin with. If I mailed it from the PO to the same PO, it would still costs $$'s for it to go nowhere. So now what I do is if I am dropping off boxes of food along the trail, I take to the place I will be staying at. Most do not charge for this convenience.
Bearing in mind that 70-80% of people don't complete their hikes, there is the potential to have a lot of leftover food mouldering in post offices.
The main thing is that it is very difficult to predict how fast you're going to travel and how much food you'll need to have to get from one point to another. So you'll either end up with extra food that you'll discard or bounce forward, or you'll run short and have to go shopping anyway.
If you read Weathercarrot's article on thru-hiking cheaply, shipping yourself food is not one of his main strategies, mostly because of the cost of the shipping itself and the waste inherent in trying to forecast your exact schedule.
Monkeywrench
03-09-2013, 18:28
I used, I think, 10 mail-drops on my thru-hike. I had the convenience and luxury of someone (my wife) at home willing and able to put boxes together for me. I'd call her and ask her to send me so many days of food to such and such a post office.
Actually, being a bit of a geek, I had it all worked out on a spreadsheet with milestones listed, and I would get on-line at various town stops and update the spreadsheet with my actual date of arrival at those milestones and the spreadsheet would update my expected arrival dates. That made it quite accurate in the near term.
The spreadsheet had the addresses of post offices and hostels and etc where I expected to get mail drops, so all the info she needed was in one place.
It was nice getting little surprises too: some home-made cookies, gourmet gorp she would buy, or freeze-dried fruit she sent a few times that was excellent in my cold cereal breakfasts.
All that said, I wouldn't depend on mail-drops for all my resupplies. That would mean having to be at a certain place every few days. And with the post office about to end Saturday service, there will be 2 days out of every 7 when you won't be able to collect your box. I had to do the post office marathon at least once on my hike, and it kind of sucks.
wcgornto
03-09-2013, 18:41
I used lots of mail drops in 2009. And so did just about every other SOBO I hiked around. I would hate hiking the AT depending solely on local purchases. In some places, Dollar General or a convenience store is all there is. If you don't like ramen noodles, pop tarts or oat meal, then strictly local purchases become more limiting. If you prefer to only boil water and eat dinner out of a freezer bag, then the choices become even more limiting.
With mail drops, you don't need to know where you are going to be months in advance. I sent an email to my sister who mailed my packages about two weeks in advance of where I expected to be two weeks later so that I never had more than two packages staged ahead of me. All she had to do was write in the address and mail the package.
Virtually every dinner and breakfast I ate on the trail from Maine to Georgia came to me in a mail drop. All of the snacks I ate throughout the day while hiking were local purchases.
There are two main areas of discussion in which the Whiteblaze consensus differs greatly from what I witnessed on the trail: 1) Most people slept in shelters if space was available and 2) Most people used mail drops extensively. The general Whiteblaze commentary on these two subjects in various threads suggests the opposite vs. what I actually experienced.
Do all places besides POs charge you to have your food sent to their place?
If you patronize hostels and outfitters where your maildrop is sent, there is rarely a charge. However, if you are simply picking up a maildrop and moving on, you should offer a few dollars for their effort.
max patch
03-09-2013, 18:58
Do all places besides POs charge you to have your food sent to their place?
I think if you mail a box to a hostel you have a moral obligation to stay there.
I've used mail drops.... in some sections of the trail it makes sense... in other sections it doesn't make sense because grocery stores are easy to get to..
and by the time you pay the postage/shipping costs, it usually balances out in cost.
but there are some kinds of food items, energy bars, electrolyte tabs... and other items I prefer over what u get in the local stores....
on the Long Trail, I did more mail drops cuz in northern Vermont it's not as easy to get to a store from the LT
anyways, good luck!
Different Socks
03-09-2013, 19:29
"The general Whiteblaze commentary on these two subjects in various threads suggests the opposite vs. what I actually experienced."
I have noticed this also and wonder just what it will really be like when i do another thru in 2 years.
Prime Time
03-09-2013, 19:35
I'm planning 9 drops and they all are scheduled around planned zero's. I will call and tell my wife when to mail it based on my progress. Remember, a PO will hold it for up to 30 days so you have plenty of wiggle room. You just don't want to get out ahead of them. Since I'm shipping Parcel Post I also have included besides food; battery replacements, repellent, lighter, fuel canister, sunscreen, small TP roll, multi vitamins, Advil, maps and guide pages for upcoming section, and other sundries. The worst that can happen is I will be replacing something that is not yet exhausted. Big deal. If I see something giving out like socks, hiking shoes, or other clothing, I can ask my wife to drop it in the next mail out. I also know she will include treats in all my drops. She's an excellent baker! This keeps my running around town down to a minimum and if I feel like skipping the zero, I have a head start. Lastly, with a planned zero you have the arrival day, the zero day, and the departure day so you can work around almost any PO closing scenario.
Chaco Taco
03-09-2013, 20:08
Spend your money on food in town. It stimulates their economy and the food cost is not really that much different. If you have preferences, pack up a couple of drops and send them along and bounce stuff as you hike. Im a big fan of the bounce box especially for some foods you may not be able to get in some areas. There are some great places to get food along the trail, Id save the money and patronize the local guys.
I did some checking. Let's assume you eat the hypothetical 2 lbs of food per day. And let's assume you resupplied via mail drop every 4 days. Based on calculations provided by WB member "Mapmaker"--it would seem that the typical thru hike takes 165 days (give or take a few days). That is roughly 40 mail drops.
I went to the USPS website and the postage to mail one 8 to 10 lb package (from Louisville, KY to Damascus, VA) was generally between $12.35 and $15.40. In short, postage alone for 40 mail drops would be $500-$600--not counting the cost of mailing supplies and packing materials (if needed). So, it adds $3.00-$4.00 per day to the food cost.
On top of that, you add all of the other negatives already listed by others--and THAT is why more people don't use mail drops.
There are two main areas of discussion in which the Whiteblaze consensus differs greatly from what I witnessed on the trail: 1) Most people slept in shelters if space was available and 2) Most people used mail drops extensively. The general Whiteblaze commentary on these two subjects in various threads suggests the opposite vs. what I actually experienced.
I am not saying you are wrong. You observed what you observed. However, I would suggest that your observations are not typical.
max patch
03-09-2013, 20:49
That is roughly 40 mail drops.
That seems high. I did a 5 month thru and at 1 a week that works out to 20 drops. I know current practice is to resupply more often that back when I thru'd, and the average hike takes a bit longer, but I can't imagine anyone needing 40 drops. I'll admit I could be wrong about current practices.
I think one of the biggest problems with mail drops is that first-time distance hikers aren't familiar with how to handle them. There's a tendency to buy enough ramen for the entire trip before hand, and to do this by assuming you'll eat X calories per day. You can end up really sick of ramen (or whatever) within a few weeks, and also end up giving away half the food eat time you pick up a box.
The solution is easy- don't buy too far ahead before you leave, instead have someone manage them for you. Let them know that you're sick of ramen and want some couscous instead. Let them pack something entirely different each time for snacks, if those are included (as noted previously, those are easy and fun to pick up in almost any small store.) The person handling the mail drops can increase the calorie count or decrease it as needed. Mail drops are an excellent way to get maps and guidebook pages for the next section, as well as stock up on items that are difficult or expensive to buy in small quantities, such as tea or vitamins. They are excellent for increasing the types of food you eat; you can pack a wider variety of dried fruit and veggies than you can find in a typical trail store. They're not as good for resupplying things like toilet paper as you can buy single rows at most stores.
Unless you have severe diet restrictions, you'll probably end up doing a mix of both mail drops and buying food in town. I had to make a couple of unplanned town resupplies due to making slower progress than I had planned. Whether or not I had a mail drop, I almost always bought something in town, but I've been on trails (not the AT) where I was able to get a mail drop but unable to buy anything to eat or drink, not even a soda. I relied on mail drops for providing light enough food to get me through two long stretches (100 mile wilderness and Fontana to Hot Springs, which have more resupply options now than they did 20 years ago). By not having to go into towns like Gatlinburg, I was able to save a ton of money, not have to risk hitching or waste hours doing so, and not have to break up the wilderness experience just to get more food. The trail has changed so that staying in towns is far more frequent than it used to be, and getting a shuttle instead of hitching is now typical. Cell phones also make it easier to let the person sending the pack know if you need anything.
If I were to hike again, I might skip mail drops altogether in places with large grocery stores like Damascus, but I would certainly continue to use them.
Slo-go'en
03-09-2013, 21:18
Bearing in mind that 70-80% of people don't complete their hikes, there is the potential to have a lot of leftover food mouldering in post offices.
Because of the above fact, buying a lot of food in advance and shipping it well before you might need it is a BIG mistake. If you do mail drops, the best way to do it is by having a support person at home who can put together the package with what you want at the time and send it to the next town. Otherwise you'll end up with too much or too little or stuff you can't stand to eat anymore.
fiddlehead
03-09-2013, 21:20
Good advice from many above.
I always used some mail drops and some buying it all in town.
Of course it's easier to figure out where is the best place to do all this once you've hiked a trail.
That's why the sticky threads on the subject can be very important.
Reasons I like to mail myself food:
I tend to dry a lot of my own veggies and hamburger.
I use a lot of powdered coconut milk which is very hard to find in trail towns.
I like fleece socks and have a company that sells them so I send myself a pair every 6 weeks or so.
I put some town clothes in there so I don't have to look and smell like the rest of you when in a town.
I put things like chargers, nail clippers, extra shoelaces, big toothapste tube (with an adapter to squeeze into my small one which I carry), etc. in there.
I send myself a different weight long underwear after or before the colder sections of a hike.
I hate Ramen and instant grits as I've eaten them too many times.
Anyway, to each his own.
Don't worry so much about what others say on this subject.
Don't try to be like everybody else and do what you think is best for you.
Have fun.
That seems high. I did a 5 month thru and at 1 a week that works out to 20 drops. I know current practice is to resupply more often that back when I thru'd, and the average hike takes a bit longer, but I can't imagine anyone needing 40 drops. I'll admit I could be wrong about current practices.
I don't disagree with you. However, I picked "every 4 days" for resupply, because in this ultralight world--you start suggesting that people carry much more than 4 days of food--and WhiteBlaze will come alive with people predicting your death from overexertion or forecasting that your thru hike will take 7-12 months because the weight of 2-3 more days of meals will slow you down :)
That seems high. I did a 5 month thru and at 1 a week that works out to 20 drops. I know current practice is to resupply more often that back when I thru'd, and the average hike takes a bit longer, but I can't imagine anyone needing 40 drops. I'll admit I could be wrong about current practices.
I don't disagree with you. However, I picked "every 4 days" for resupply, because in this ultralight world--you start suggesting that people carry much more than 4 days of food--and WhiteBlaze will come alive with people predicting your death from overexertion or forecasting that your thru hike will take 7-12 months because the weight of 2-3 more days of meals will slow you down :)
I recalculated--based upon 20 mail drops (seven-days of food and other miscellaneous stuff in each drop--weight 14-16 lbs each). You are still talking $400-$435 for postage (plus any mailing and packing supplies).
max patch
03-09-2013, 22:11
You may be closer to correct than I was. Who knows? I know I prefer to hike 6 days and rest on the 7th. Most hikers seem to want to resuppply more often than that. 40 mail drops would drive me bananas!
I did 20 mail drops on the PCT and it worked out perfect. Why?
1) I had variety. There were 17 different dinners, with freeze dried meat and seasoned up perfectly. Also about a dozen different breakfasts and dozens of different snack items.
2) I did a boatload of planning. The shear variety of foods required it.
3) I wanted food that coul not be purchased locally, mainly maltodextrin, which was about 142,000 of my total calories.
4) Speed. I was on a very tight timeline and didn't want to spend trip time shopping. I did few zeros and spent minimal time in town. Efficiency was much more important to me than money.
5) I tested everything. I knew what food I could or wanted to eat on trail. I knew the pace that I could manage and how much food I needed.
6) I trained for a year and a half for the thru hike. Failure was not an option so I planned to be part of the 20% not the 80%
7) Gear. I replaced gear such as shoes on intervals that were pretested. I knew my shoes would last 500-600 miles so they were waiting on me right on time. My resupplies also had my maps, batteries, fuel and other supplies.
maildrops caused a slight hurry up to avoid a PO closure that I thought was at 5 when it was in fact 1:00 on Friday. I had to put in a couple of high mile days to make it happen. I also lost two drops due to the high snow in the Sierra and had to adjust and buy local, no big deal.
Are mail drop right for everyone, no way. In fact I doubt they are the best answer for most, especially on the AT where there are so many options. But for folks that have their food nailed down, or are on a fast schedule or have special dietary requirements it can work just fine. If I were doing the same hike as I did then I would have almost an identical resupply. However, I would buy local if I were doing a standard 5 month AT hike. Different strategies for different hikes and hikers. Maildrops may work for you but I would suggest if you use them to pack more than just trail mix, couscous, oatmeal and mashed potatoes.
Different Socks
03-10-2013, 01:23
I don't disagree with you. However, I picked "every 4 days" for resupply, because in this ultralight world--you start suggesting that people carry much more than 4 days of food--and WhiteBlaze will come alive with people predicting your death from overexertion or forecasting that your thru hike will take 7-12 months because the weight of 2-3 more days of meals will slow you down :)
LMFAO!! Too true!! Too true!!
Different Socks
03-10-2013, 01:26
I recalculated--based upon 20 mail drops (seven-days of food and other miscellaneous stuff in each drop--weight 14-16 lbs each). You are still talking $400-$435 for postage (plus any mailing and packing supplies).
$400-$435 in postage? That's little cost compared to what I hear many hikers buy for food in their first 6 town stops.
I think if you mail a box to a hostel you have a moral obligation to stay there.
One thing has nothing to do with the other. I think you should offer to pay them something or buy another product or service, but if you're doing it right you are calling ahead and working out the details before you arrive there and the proprietor knows what they are getting into.
Monkeywrench
03-10-2013, 09:33
I recalculated--based upon 20 mail drops (seven-days of food and other miscellaneous stuff in each drop--weight 14-16 lbs each). You are still talking $400-$435 for postage (plus any mailing and packing supplies).
A large priority mail flat-rate box (the size most thru-hikers seem to use, and the size I used) costs $14. 20 x $14 = $280. The boxes are free from any post office, as are labels if you choose to reuse or forward a box.
An added benefit of using priority mail is that you can have the box forwarded for free as long as you do not take possession of it. This means if you find you don't need the drop at PO A you can have them forward it up the trail to PO B.
A large priority mail flat-rate box (the size most thru-hikers seem to use, and the size I used) costs $14. 20 x $14 = $280. The boxes are free from any post office, as are labels if you choose to reuse or forward a box.
An added benefit of using priority mail is that you can have the box forwarded for free as long as you do not take possession of it. This means if you find you don't need the drop at PO A you can have them forward it up the trail to PO B.
Probably not going to get 7 days of food in one of those.
wcgornto
03-10-2013, 20:44
Probably not going to get 7 days of food in one of those.
I prepacked mail drops containing seven dinners and breakfasts, plus a few other items (TP, snacks, zip locks, etc.) in exactly this size box. It would have been a tight squeeze if I wasn't also purchasing food locally for eating while hiking during the day.
Odd Man Out
03-10-2013, 21:58
I have decided against using mail drops, partly because I am not confident in my own abilities to predict when I will arrive somewhere or what I will want and need when I get there. But mainly for a reason not yet mentioned. I like the freedom of not being tied to a schedule or having to be at a certain place at a certain time or needing to get to town before the post office closes for the weekend, etc... I get enough of that kind of thing in my day job. For me, this hobby is my chance to get away from that. I have this idea that someday when I have a few weeks free (with no advance planning), I want to take a coin flip section hike. That is to go to a trail head on the AT with enough food and fuel to make a gram weenie cringe, and flip a coin - Heads I hike north - Tails I hike south. Then walk until I run out of time and see where I end up, stopping for more supplies along the way as necessary.
But please don't think I would look down on someone who does it differently. There are plenty of good reasons to use mail drops (as already mentioned). For lots of people they make good sense based on their needs and interests.
How many pounds of 3 Musketeers, Almond Joys & Snickers will fit in one of those large Priority boxes? How many days would those last?
On second thought, since those things are mostly air, how many pounds of baker's chocolate will fit in a large box?
Wayne
Monkeywrench
03-11-2013, 10:57
How many pounds of 3 Musketeers, Almond Joys & Snickers will fit in one of those large Priority boxes? How many days would those last?
On second thought, since those things are mostly air, how many pounds of baker's chocolate will fit in a large box?
Wayne
A large flat-rate box is 12" x 12" x 5 1/2". That is the size used by my wife when she mailed me food drops. I also used one as a bounce box and it contained a computer in its protective sleeve, sometimes a hat and gloves, charger for my camera battery, a roll of tape, some labels and a marker, sometimes my little AM/FM/SW radio, maps not currently being used, and whatever food I had bought like oatmeal or granola bars or powdered milk that came in quantities more than I needed for a certain section.
I doubt you could always cram a full 7-day food supply into one of these. I think the only time I ever left town with 7 days of food was when I left Monson heading north into the 100-mile wilderness. For that one I supplemented the mail-drop from home with some stuff I picked up at ther Monson General Store. I usually supplied in 3 - 5 day sections, though I once left town with 4 days food then decided to skip a town stop and make it last for 7 days.
For me it's EASIER to resupply along the trail.
Drybones
03-11-2013, 14:18
I did one mail drop, at Fontana Village, ended up buying food from the village store anyway because I was tired of dehydrated food and wanted something more substantial to eat. Mail drops for me are a royal PITA.
ChinMusic
03-11-2013, 14:36
I'm sitting in Hiawassee as I type. There are folks here that now have WAY too much food after picking up their mail drops. They are trying to give it away. It is just so hard to know how much food you will need until you do it.
I have a lot of section-hiking experience and I have some food in my bag that I thought I would have eaten by Neels. Some of it may make if to Franklin. I bought just a little at Neels and just a bit here in Hiawassee.
English Stu
03-11-2013, 16:46
For me it was just easier to buy in the towns,and to do a bit of shopping makes a pleasant change from walking. Repackage in town to save weight. Did the same on the JMT.
Why don't more people use more mail drops to resupply?Why don't you KNOW MORE PEOPLE WHO USE MAIL DROPS TO RESUPPLY?
I SOMETIMES use quite a few for my own special diet and medical needs and prefer NOT having to resupply by purchasing along the way ALL THE TIME on different trails. Not everyone hikes just the AT or with the same hiking philosophy. It depends on the specifics of how and where you hike and any other special preferences that might make sense for one hiker to do this over another hiker who prefers not doing this. I really dislike having to justify my preferences to someone who doesn't equally share in my preferences either as can sometimes be the case in some hiking circles. There are really pros and cons to however you chose to resupply that might be right for you.
There used to be, and quite possibly still is(I'm just not finding all of it right now), an EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE resupply article here on WB written by Jack Tarlin aka Baltimore Jack concerning resupply pts and the pros/cons of buying along the way versus mailing. Read it! It's written by someone who quite probably knows more about resupplying on a AT thru-hike or section hike than anyone else alive. At least LISTEN and STRONGLY CONSIDER what Baltimore Jack says in regards to AT thru-hiking. You might say he has a little worthwhile experience as a AT hiker!
ChinMusic
03-11-2013, 19:26
How many mail drops does Jack recommend?
8 1/2 maybe 0. He's actually not a huge fan of mailing resupply packages. He's not in the habit of telling folks what's right FOR THEM but THE POINT I WAS MAKING is that he does offer oodles of worthwhile things to at least consider when it comes to resupplying. I'm a fan of getting well earned AT advice from someone who has been there done that MANY TIMES and might know more than me! You all do what you want.
WingedMonkey
03-11-2013, 19:53
How many mail drops does Jack recommend?
I've seen the crap that Jack eats, he still does the miles. Some of us can't live on that.
ChinMusic
03-11-2013, 20:07
I've seen the crap that Jack eats, he still does the miles. Some of us can't live on that.
Eats? I've seen what he drinks.
Lone Wolf
03-11-2013, 20:24
i've only done 5 thru-hikes not 7 like jack but mail drops for most are not the way to go.
Blissful
03-11-2013, 20:29
Here's some blogs (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/search/label/Mail%20Drops)I posted on mail drops. I use them for specific reasons, mainly meds plus there are better, nutritional foods I like to mail to myself. They have worked for me for two AT completions. I also buy as well.
Jack Tarlin
03-11-2013, 21:34
Since my name was brought up......thanx for the kind words. The Re-Supply Article is still useful, tho it needs to be updated. I think it's most useful in helping folks figure out how long it'll take the average/typical hiker to traverse a particular section of the Trail, i.e., how to avoid arriving at a place where you have mail or where there's a good market only to discover that you're still carrying several days of food.
Quick comments: As several others have already pointed out, most contemporary hikers, for many reasons, choose to get most of their food while en route, as opposed to buying lots of stuff ahead of time and mailing it along as you go. Reasons for this are many.......you'll save perhaps hundreds of dollars on postage; you won't be stuck for months with food you're sick of or no longer wanna eat; you don't have to worry about lost or strayed parcels, or getting to town at the right time of day or right day of the week in order to reclaim your mail, etc. Also, most folks don't know their food needs til quite a ways into the trip......most early food maildrops are MUCH too heavy, meaning people either ditch or give away a lot of food, needlessly carry too much, or spend money reposting it ahead somewhere. As to those few places where an actual food parcel is a good idea, there really aren't that many. In no particular order: Tho things have got better, the Nantahala Outdoor Center has a 20-year history of neglecting thru-hiker needs. Food there is spartan and overpriced. a 2-3 drop here is not a bad idea. Likewise, tho things have vastly improved, some folks might wanna send something to Fontana Dam NC before entering the Smokies. Later on? Harpers Ferry re-supply has always been limited unless you get a ride to a real market in Charles Town; a small drop to the ATC Office can't hurt. Later on, Port Clinton PA has always been a problem unless you snag a ride to Hamburg; likewise, give some thought to Bear Mt. NY, assuming the Post Office is open. Other than this, folks, unless you're on some sort of specialized diet......vegan, kosher, no salt, no gluten, etc., or unless you're one of the fortunate few with the time, energy, and wherewithal to prepare and dehydrate lots of fun stuff ahead of time....barring all this, most folks would do well to buy as you go and rely as little as possible on food resupply thru the mail. It simply isn't that necessary anymore. The vast majority of today's thru-hikers need rely on few or NO food maildrops and will instead find it easy and more convenient to purchase the vast bulk of their food while en route as opposed to ahead of time.
Isn't that the truth Winged Monkey and Chin Music but I suppose we all have our quirks including moi. Besides, you can't deny that Jack loves hikers and the AT. He's a great asset to the AT hiking community.
Lone Wolf, after 27,000 + posts I can finally say I agree with everything you said in your last succinct post. I can't recall even one of your posts lasting more than maybe three sentences. Now, if I can only learn to shorten my posts to 500 words or less as you do I'll have the time to thru-hike another trail.:)
Blissful, you always bring something worthwhile to share at the party.
Thanks all.
27,000 thous thous thousand posts. Is that the highest post count?
Odd Man Out
03-11-2013, 23:02
...how many pounds of baker's chocolate will fit in a large box?...Wayne
A large flat-rate box is 12" x 12" x 5 1/2". ...
12"x12"x5.5"=792 cubic inches. I couldn't find the density of bakers chocolate, but 1 cup (14.44 cubic inches) of peanut butter has 1517 calories and weighs 0.5688 lbs. So filling the whole box would give you 31.2 lbs of PB which is about 83,200 calories. That should get you pretty far.
12"x12"x5.5"=792 cubic inches. I couldn't find the density of bakers chocolate, but 1 cup (14.44 cubic inches) of peanut butter has 1517 calories and weighs 0.5688 lbs. So filling the whole box would give you 31.2 lbs of PB which is about 83,200 calories. That should get you pretty far.
But peanut butter is one of the easiest things to find at local stores along the AT...thus furthering the argument that one shouldn't bother to mail it to yourself. :-)
max patch
03-11-2013, 23:48
27,000 thous thous thousand posts. Is that the highest post count?
Sly is a distant 2nd with 15K.
One Sock apparently loves to post more than anything and has 6K is just over a year. Keep your eye on him. Or her.
wcgornto
03-12-2013, 00:08
I suspect that if I thru hike the AT again, I will use fewer mail drops. In addition to the few places listed by Baltimore Jack above, I would add Hot Springs, NC. Unless there is a grocery store around the corner I didn't see, Dollar General was the only option there. I don't consider Dollar General an adequate resupply option. I would also add Glencliff, NH and Andover, ME to the list. With NOBO direction and pacing, perhaps not. However, heading SOBO, these were valuable resupply spots for me.
rocketsocks
03-12-2013, 00:49
Sly is a distant 2nd with 15K.
One Sock apparently loves to post more than anything and has 6K is just over a year. Keep your eye on him. Or her.It's true...I'm a post whore!.....funny i only learned to type last year...still working on the spelling thing, and yes I wear a Kilt ;) a "Great Kilt"
Jack Tarlin
03-12-2013, 15:57
Must respectfully disagree with a comment above: The best place to re-supply in Hot Springs is and always has been Bluff Mt. Outfitters, one of the finest shops on the entire Trail. The food selection there is wonderful, has all sorts of alternate/health options, is geared towards hikers, and is fairly priced. This should be everyone's first stop in Hot Springs. By all means supplement or check out the snacks at the Dollar Store, but BMO should really have just about everything a hiker would possibly want.
flemdawg1
03-12-2013, 16:43
...and yes I wear a Kilt ;) a "Great Kilt"
I just had a thought of what the "1-sock" is for. (looks for something sharp to stab the thought out of my brain.)
It's true...I'm a post whore!.....funny i only learned to type last year...still working on the spelling thing, and yes I wear a Kilt ;) a "Great Kilt"
So that's why they call you One Sock. You've been spending so much time typing you don't have the time to find that other missing sock?
Every time a new thread is started on WB concerning mailing verse buying resupplies along the way, which arises on a weekly basis, maybe more often, during the start of typical AT thru-hiker season, a WB default setting should pop this up as the first post:
As several others have already pointed out, most contemporary hikers, for many reasons, choose to get most of their food while en route, as opposed to buying lots of stuff ahead of time and mailing it along as you go. Reasons for this are many.......you'll save perhaps hundreds of dollars on postage; you won't be stuck for months with food you're sick of or no longer wanna eat; you don't have to worry about lost or strayed parcels, or getting to town at the right time of day or right day of the week in order to reclaim your mail, etc. Also, most folks don't know their food needs til quite a ways into the trip......most early food maildrops are MUCH too heavy, meaning people either ditch or give away a lot of food, needlessly carry too much, or spend money reposting it ahead somewhere. As to those few places where an actual food parcel is a good idea, there really aren't that many. In no particular order: Tho things have got better, the Nantahala Outdoor Center has a 20-year history of neglecting thru-hiker needs. Food there is spartan and overpriced. a 2-3 drop here is not a bad idea. Likewise, tho things have vastly improved, some folks might wanna send something to Fontana Dam NC before entering the Smokies. Later on? Harpers Ferry re-supply has always been limited unless you get a ride to a real market in Charles Town; a small drop to the ATC Office can't hurt. Later on, Port Clinton PA has always been a problem unless you snag a ride to Hamburg; likewise, give some thought to Bear Mt. NY, assuming the Post Office is open. Other than this, folks, unless you're on some sort of specialized diet......vegan, kosher, no salt, no gluten, etc., or unless you're one of the fortunate few with the time, energy, and wherewithal to prepare and dehydrate lots of fun stuff ahead of time....barring all this, most folks would do well to buy as you go and rely as little as possible on food resupply thru the mail. It simply isn't that necessary anymore. The vast majority of today's thru-hikers need rely on few or NO food maildrops and will instead find it easy and more convenient to purchase the vast bulk of their food while en route as opposed to ahead of time.
Dogwood,
the only add to above would be the circumstances where it does/might make sense to do mail drops. Unfortunately it seems that many cant step back from their position on either side to understand the logic behind the opposing view.