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  1. #1
    Registered User Barackosaba789's Avatar
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    Default Celiac disease on trail

    Hey yall I am once again asking you very wonderful humans for opinions and help. I have celiac disease and have since I was 15 and it has rarely stopped me from anything. I do not expect it to stop on the trail. However with that being said I wanted to see if you guys think it wise to send mail drops to post offices throughout the trail or not. I am a simple creature and I don't need to eat exquisite meals in town. I also don't mind eating mashed potatoes and other items that I know I can have on trail. I have seen some back and forth on this topic and just wanted to know if you guys think mail drops would be worth the hassle or not.

    Thank you in advance yall.

  2. #2

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    I am reluctant to reply since I am not a medical professional, do not have this condition, and have not used mail drops. My two cents might be overcharging.

    I suggest using a trail guide to determine which trail towns have grocery chains, Walmart, or Dollar General. Find out if Dollar General has what you need, since it is in various trail towns. If you can't get what you need where you need it, and like hostels, send a mail drop to a hostel to avoid limited hours/days at post offices. Use printed labels with the right zip code. There may be more than one county with a town/city of the same name. The USPS may be using automatic sorting, for which large clear lettering in good quality black ink on white paper should improve reliability. If you send to a post office, verify that they will be open and accept packages for general delivery.
    Hot water, hot ramen, burning alcohol, all in my lap

  3. #3

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    Ate mashed potatoes a lot, no problem finding them, even in little country groceries. And the olive oil to add calories. And Fritos—mix ‘em right in.

    I wouldn’t mail drop unless you had something you needed like unusual food or medicine. If you just have to avoid gluten, you should be fine, and you’ll avoid constantly needing to hike to rural post office hours. I did send myself shoe boxes 4 times as I didn’t want to experiment on my feet. Added some treats to those.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by HankIV View Post
    I did send myself shoe boxes 4 times as I didn’t want to experiment on my feet.
    One note on buying multiple pairs of shoes before starting a long hike is that you may not wear the same shoe size 1000 miles in as you did at the beginning. I went from a 10 1/2 to a 13 between my early 20s and 50, and I understand one's feet can spread out within a couple of months on a long hike.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Barackosaba789 View Post
    Hey yall I am once again asking you very wonderful humans for opinions and help. I have celiac disease and have since I was 15 and it has rarely stopped me from anything. I do not expect it to stop on the trail. However with that being said I wanted to see if you guys think it wise to send mail drops to post offices throughout the trail or not.
    For the most part, you should be able to buy food along the way, but it may vary by region. Eating a wheat-free diet from Dollar General sounds pretty bleak. A Walmart should work, and a larger grocery like a Stop and Shop (NY/New England) or Ingles (Western NC, Southwest VA) should be fine. Of course, oatmeal is available everywhere.

    Another option is to order food from Amazon or other vendors for delivery to you at hostels or hotels a few days before you get to them. Obviously, clear it with the accommodation first.

  6. #6

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    Eating a wheat-free diet from Dollar General sounds pretty bleak

    I found nothing bleak about anything to eat while on my thru. Yes, the same diet off trail would be depressing. On trail, the hunger rules.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by HankIV View Post
    I found nothing bleak about anything to eat while on my thru. Yes, the same diet off trail would be depressing. On trail, the hunger rules.
    Last summer, I pushed several hikes into a second week. As I noted in another post, I struggled with both stomach upset and not wanting to eat what I brought at different times.

  8. #8

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    Hunger only rules if you are eating a diet high in sugar and simple carbs, which jack your insulin, then crash. It doesn't have to be this way, and then you are not hungry and can eat a sane diet, and still have lots of energy.

  9. #9
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    Default

    Dollar General has a better offering than other Dollar stores. Probably can find raisins, peanuts, nut mixes, peanut butter, jelly and trail mix. I don't remember if they carry precooked refrigerated sausage but I think they have jerky and bacon and maybe pepperoni. Cook bacon and everyone is your friend (it melts some spoons). They'd have tuna fish in a can. I carry an army type can opener if one is not on my knife.

    Rice dishes and dried bean offerings are also available. Some take a little longer to cook. Zatarain's Red Beans and rice is great but takes the full cooking time for the rice. Whole oats eaten cold with milk/raisins and dried fruit should digest slower that the sugar laden instant packages but comes in larger containers. Sausage/milk/butter is good with potatoes. Getting the right size milk and Oil/butter can sometimes be problematic. I find olive oil to be too overwhelming to use a lot. Butter/"vegan butter" is more available now in smaller packages. Ghee - butter with milk solids removed does not have to be refrigerated and is becoming more available but not cheap. It's typically found on a nonrefrigerated shelf in the butter aisle. It comes in glass. It is a soft solid below 65-70 F. Consider bringing a plastic container for butter or simply buy one with the butter and yes also use a bag.

    The international aisle sometimes has some good options. Whole dried milk can be found there and at Walmart or on the baby aisle. It is usually enriched with some vitamins and minerals as bonus. Find someone to share with or carry the extra for use later.

    Milk, oatmeal, olive oil, instant white rice (yuck) and bouillon cubes can frequently be found in hiker boxes at hostels, maybe the post office and outfitters. I used gravy with potatoes but bouillon might be an alternative - best to try at home first. Some hostels sell food. Outfitters are in many towns and can have smaller options for milk and may have a variety of meals including the freeze dried variety.

    Go to your local small and large walmart and grocery store to explore multiple times. Google dollar general map to see where they are near the trail and near you. Visit one to see how well you can outfit yourself.

  10. #10
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    Default

    2nd/3rd paragraph refer to grocery stores.

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