How many days between resupplies

[elytis]

I am just doing some prep work figuring out about how long it will take me to get to some places to resupply and I was just wondering, for those who have hiked the trail...how often did you resupply?

[rjhouser]

This might depend on how much weight in food you are willing to carry but I would venture to say anywhere from 4-6 days on average...

[garlic08]

Average four days for me, never more than five. There are lots of restaurants within walking distance in the mid-Atlantic states, too, and waysides in the Shenandoah, and huts in the Whites, decreasing the need to carry a lot of food.

[Tipi Walter]

I just pulled a 19 day trip on the AT and carried all 19 day's worth of food. Anybody can do it and it keeps you from having to parlay with the city folk and their electric wonderland. After the trip, THEN you can get back and hobnob with syphilization.

[bigcranky]

4-6 days. I like getting into town and meeting people.

[rickb]

I just pulled a 19 day trip on the AT and carried all 19 day's worth of food. Anybody can do it and it keeps you from having to parlay with the city folk and their electric wonderland. After the trip, THEN you can get back and hobnob with syphilization.

Very well done.

How many lbs of food to start?

On the AT the average time between resupplies seems to have decreased a bunch over the years. Not sure about that, but that is my sense of things.

[swamprat]

Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
"I just pulled a 19 day trip on the AT and carried all 19 day's worth of food. Anybody can do it and it keeps you from having to parlay with the city folk and their electric wonderland. After the trip, THEN you can get back and hobnob with syphilization."


What the heck were you carrying it in a duffle bag!!! What is the saying .... "com'on Maaaan !!

[couscous]

I just pulled a 19 day trip on the AT and carried all 19 day's worth of food.

Reminded me of the Arctic 1000 five years ago - 1000km, 24 days, no resupply.
http://backpackinglight.typepad.com/2006_arctic/


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[sweeper]

I tipped the scales with 60 lbs ocasionally for 7 to 10 days in 76-77 course that was before freeze dried was edible.
O ya and when men were men.

[Del Q]

Many ways to go about this, to me lightweight rules, I just enjoy it so much more! I resupply every 4-7 days depending.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I tipped the scales with 60 lbs ocasionally for 7 to 10 days in 76-77 course that was before freeze dried was edible.
O ya and when men were men.

The old Lipton freeze dried beef stroganoff was the only stuff I liked.

[Tipi Walter]

Very well done.

How many lbs of food to start?

On the AT the average time between resupplies seems to have decreased a bunch over the years. Not sure about that, but that is my sense of things.

My food load was set for 21 days and I had between 40-45 lbs of the edibles. When Eric Ryback thruhiked the AT back in '71, he commonly carried a 15-20 day supply of food. He said coming out of a town with a three week food load made him feel very "secure"---it was a "good weight"---and I get it.

Reminded me of the Arctic 1000 five years ago - 1000km, 24 days, no resupply.
http://backpackinglight.typepad.com/2006_arctic/


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I'm familiar with the 2006 Arctic trek. There's also an interesting 4,700 mile Alaska-Yukon trek done by Andrew Skurka when he had to go around 15 days without resupply towards the end. His "ultralight" pack then weighed in at around 55 lbs. He allotted himself around 2.3 pounds of food per day. Or maybe it was 2.1 lbs. Anyway, when the length stretches out the food load gets heavy, duh.

[Trailbender]

I tipped the scales with 60 lbs ocasionally for 7 to 10 days in 76-77 course that was before freeze dried was edible.
O ya and when men were men.

Yep, carrying a heavier pack makes you more of a man.

[garlic08]

Another way to ask the question, and get different answers, is, "How many miles between resupplies?"

The 12 mile per day hiker in the Hundred Mile Wilderness is going to carry a different food load than the 20+ miler. Is the guy who loads up with three weeks of food actually hiking somewhere, or setting up base camp somewhere and staying there? Either way is OK and it doesn't really matter. There are just different styles and reasons to be out there.

For the OP, when I pack food for a thru hike, I don't count days. I count miles. My "formula" is 1 pound of food for every 10 miles, with variations for season, terrain, and trail difficulty (and on the AT, how many restaurants or huts you walk past). (I carried 9 pounds heading into the Hundred Mile Wilderness, for instance, which turned out to be 4 days and 4 nights. If I'd hiked slower and easier, I'd have eaten less per day.) When I pack for a trip with a base camp, it's a different story.

[Tipi Walter]

Another way to ask the question, and get different answers, is, "How many miles between resupplies?"

The 12 mile per day hiker in the Hundred Mile Wilderness is going to carry a different food load than the 20+ miler. Is the guy who loads up with three weeks of food actually hiking somewhere, or setting up base camp somewhere and staying there? Either way is OK and it doesn't really matter. There are just different styles and reasons to be out there.

I don't suppose you're familiar with Ryback's AT thruhike? He actually did hike somewhere, from Georgia to Maine. There are definitely different styles and reasons to be out there, but currently there's a push for backpackers to tune into the ultralight "style" with big mile days and a fascination with frequent resupply. A great percentage of backpackers push this notion of traveling ultralight with a minimal food load, and on my AT trek I saw a great many of these boys breezing thru at a high rate of speed to reach the next town for something unclear, perhaps food, perhaps a hot shower, perhaps the comforts of a substitute home.

In any event, their trip was a near constant interruption with AYCE buffets and hot showers---not my idea of a backpacking trip and not a trend I like to see but I accept it of course and can easily avoid the AT if I don't want to be bothered by these types. Many of them also don't want to be bothered by carrying a shelter of any kind, thereby keeping their pack weights very low, and instead rely exclusively on the AT shelter system. I often wonder what they would do if their favored rat-box shelters didn't exist?

There's another way, though, and one I support, and it's to get backpackers who have large blocks of time to be out (AT thruhikers come to mind), and let them experience a different sort of challenge by carrying more weight in food/fuel so they can experience a large amount of time uninterrupted by car traffic, town trips, and grocery shopping. The ultralight types won't be able to do it of course as they'll balk at carrying 40 lbs of food, and don't even have the packs to support such weight with the rest of their kit, but I think there could be a need for some backpackers to stay out longer w/o town interruption which could make for a better trip. It all depends on the person and his or her personality.

[Jack Tarlin]

If you look at the "Articles" section of this website, there is detailed info on precisely this subject, i.e. places to re-supply; how long each stretch of the Trail will likely take you, etc.

[ScottP]

3-5 days.

You don't have to hang out in town every time you resupply.

[Tipi Walter]

3-5 days.

You don't have to hang out in town every time you resupply.

Once you're in, you might as well, as the spell of the woods is broken. My take on it, anyway.

[Trailbender]

I hiked big mile days on my thru, but I didn't hike fast, I just hiked for 14 hours or so every day. Preferred carrying a tent, hated the shelters. Would like to carry more food and stay out longer, but repeated lower leg injuries force me to carry a lighter pack. I do try to get my pack weight lighter, one reason for this is so I can carry more food. I can carry about 5-6 days worth comfortably right now. I took a 32lb pack out on the BMT in May, and tore some cartilage in my knee. I was not hiking fast, and I didn't twist my leg or anything. So I came back home and recovered, and started cutting more pack weight. Currently, it is about 25lbs with 5 days food and 2L water. That isn't bad, but I'd like to get it lighter. Still, 12lbs base isn't bad for a winter capable kit. I carry the same gear year round, I don't like owning a lot of stuff, even hiking gear, so I have a 0 degree quilt and winter pad year round.

I didn't hang out in towns, I got in, took care of business, and got out. I did stay in hostels several times for a zero, but even on my zeros I got bored and wanted to hike, had to force myself to take the day off, since I really needed it.

[ScottP]

Once you're in, you might as well, as the spell of the woods is broken. My take on it, anyway.

I did around 1,500 consecutive miles with 1 restaurant meal and never staying indoors.

There's no 'spell of the woods' in the lower 48. There are only a few places where you can go even a half-day without massive exposure to humanity (view of city/factory, dam, livestock, road crossing, etc.). For most of the AT you can't even go 2-3 hours without such exposure.