TIMING of Maildrops

[garbanz]

Ive never done maildrops before and am finishing up vac packaging the food for 75 breakfast, midday snacks, and dinners for 16 places along the trail (only 3 are POs). Ive selected a variety of healthy stuff (some I have dried myself) and have made the portions generous. I have a support person to Priority mail them and will give her my estimated ETA at each of the 16 sites. Each box will take only 3 days to reach the AT.
Anyone out there done this before? Whats your procedure on how far ahead to have each box mailed? Did you keep your support person notified of your position on the trail so they could adjust mailing dates? I asked the lady at the PO in NY how long they would keep the maildrop and she said until September!

For those of you out there who are against maildrops---yes this has been an inordinate amount of work. I hope it doesnt put me on too much of a schedule while Im trying to HMOH but at least half the time I'll be eating healthy, travelin light and not going out of my way to find a supermarket.

[10-K]

My wife mailed my packages and I asked her to send them a week or so before I thought I was going to arrive.

Most places will keep them for a few weeks at least so it's not like you have to be there the day it arrives or anything.

Another thing I did was write on the box "Expected arrival date XX-XX-XX / XX-XX-XX" where the "X's" was a window of time with room to spare so the hostel or PO would not inadvertently toss my box thinking it had been there a long time or something.

Tip: Don't tape them shut before you leave - let your support person do that. Almost everyone one of my boxes had to be re-opened to add or take out something.

[leaftye]

I adjust the dates, amount of food and location myself. This was the most useful reason to bring my cell phone on the trail. I'd plan the next drop before bed and then during a break the next day I'd call or text home and make the arrangements.

[Tagless]

10K offers some great tips! My wife and I planned a 10 day lead time, which worked consistently for my wife and I.

One other idea for consideration - label the sides of your mail drop box with something distinctive (stickers or whatever). Your mail drop box is likely to be piled up with MANY others in a given place. It can help to be able to say mine is the one with the blue dot stickers (or whatever) on the side.

[Bati]

You can adjust the time before the box is shipped by how badly you need the box. If you have allergies, depend on medications, or will be in a town with no stores (not as common on the AT as on other trails), or heading into a long stretch with no resupply points, then ship it early. Whereas, if a box doesn't make it to you and you have an option of resupplying at a gas station then the box can be shipped 3 days prior. If you miss it, you can just eat corn nuts, peanuts, and chocolate for the next few days.

I often find that I don't know what I need till shortly before I resupply, so the more you can postpone shipping them, the better. However, I've also missed mail drops, for good reasons including a death in the family and a post office that had been closed (back in the days when po closures were only updated on paper so it was in the book). I dealt with both, but the post office closure one was pure luck in hitching a ride to a suitable store the next day and being able to catch an expensive dinner and pay for a room at a state park. If I'd been depending on something like insulin shots it could have resulted in major issues. Let the risk of missing a mail drop versus your personable ability to tolerate missing one determine how close you're willing to cut it on shipping.

Also, allow some time for the possibility that you might make better time than you had planned.

[Blissful]

You will need to adjust as you go. Nice to have a cell phone for things like that. But I usually mailed around 10 days to 2 weeks in advance, even Priority, Though at times my hubby mailed just four days and it JUST made it - esp if there's a weekend involved. I do not recommend that. Made me a little anxious

It might be good too if you have someone involved that can adjust what is mailed out. For instance I got sick of trail mix but wanted salty stuff. Guaranteed your tastes will change and its good to have that reflected in the contents of your drop. Or like I needed meds., etc

[garbanz]

Thanks all for the detailed and quick responses. You guys are the best!
I'll leave the boxes open, mark them distinctly, give a window for ETA, and carry a cell for adjusting mailing times. Also, my support will get a copy of this thread.

[Chillfactor]

I would send a few boxes to one PO and would then estimate when I would need the next one. I would change the addresses accordingly and bounce them forward.
By doing this I took the responsibility and hassle from the folks at home and was able to get my drops at places where I needed them most.

[Spokes]

10K offers some great tips! My wife and I planned a 10 day lead time, which worked consistently for my wife and I.

One other idea for consideration - label the sides of your mail drop box with something distinctive (stickers or whatever). Your mail drop box is likely to be piled up with MANY others in a given place. It can help to be able to say mine is the one with the blue dot stickers (or whatever) on the side.

1 + a 10 day lead always got my drop delivered too. I learned after the first drop at Neels Gap to be sure to write your real last name in big, bold magic marker on two adjacent sides of your package.

I saw one thru hiker who sprayed a strip of bright pink florescent paint on his drop boxes as a unique marker. It was really easy for the postal clerks to spot and he never lost one either!

Cheers!

[Jack Tarlin]

You've got some great ideas so far.

Another suggestion: If there's ever a box that has something in it really important, like money, maps, or medicine or a new bank card, or whatever, make sure you KNOW about this, i.e. it's always a really good idea to know which box contains what......this way, if you're ever in a position where you're thinking of blowing off or skipping/forwarding a maildrop, you'll only do this with unimportant ones and won't overlook the boxes that contain something vital.

Also keep a list of where you know you'll be getting mail. To my great regret, I was once very upset with a Trail town postal employee when she told me several times that I had no mail there and I was absolutely insistent (and pretty strident about it) that I did and would she please look again, etc. Turns out, of course that I didn't even have a package going there, I merely THOUGHT I did. So carrying a list with you of your expected drops and a very brief list of what's in 'em couldn't hurt.

Last suggestion.....whatever A.T. guide you ultimately decide to use, go out and get a second one for your basecamp person to keep and use. This will make it MUCH easier for them to know exactly where to send you stuff during your trip; it'll save them time on the phone or computer looking for addresses, etc. And when talking to folks at home, be SPECIFIC......don't just say "Send the next box to the hiker hostel in (BLANK)" as there may be 2 or 3 hiker facilities there. But anything you can do to make it easier for your basecamp person will help insure you get your mail at the right time at the right location.