Has anyone cached food for resupply instead of going into town. I see several places where a highway crosses the trail and you could stash food, and pick up container later on.
Bruce
Cache food on the trail
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#2
Risky, not exactly LNT, and probably not worth the effort. Setting out and collecting the containers is also a major outlay of time, money, and resources (oil).
This is the sort of thing that seems interesting in the planning stages, but doesn’t quite wash in the real world. Not for nothing virtually no long distance hikers cache food along the major trails.
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#3
I have cached food in Bear cans along the JMT. If the trail passes close to the highway I could see it working but otherwise, as stated above , its kind of a hassle and you’ll need to make sure your not leaving anything behind.
jalan
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#4
I will be going close to the intersection of the trail and highway anyway. Could you use high grade plastic cans if they are hung, to save some money, instead of real bear cans?
Bruce
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#5
Whatever you use, you’d need to bury it, at least. It’s difficult enough trying to thwart bears in camp, let alone leaving your food in trees unattended for untold weeks. (And then there’s the random wandering human factor.)
There are no hard and fast rules on effective caching. Mostly because it’s a crapshoot.
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#7
I did it twice in one trip, along the CDT in Colorado. Both times I used a fallen lodgepole propped against a live tree to hang a plastic grocery bag. It worked fine, and all I had to carry out were two plastic grocery bags. I was able to hike 260 miles, without a town stop, and only drove five miles out of my way.
That being said, I think it’s illegal.:oh
Garlic
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#8
done it a lot on many trails, like to try for trail crossings with garbage cans, only had an issue once with ants in some raisons
George
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#10
If you want to cache food, do the bears and other critters a favor, and only use approved bear cannisters. You might get lucky and have no problems with something else. But if a hungry animal does wander upon your cooler or dangling food bag, he’ll ruin your plans, and more importantly, his digestive track. I think you should look at your choice of food container from the perspective of their protection more so than your’s.
Matt
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#11
Where the CT crosses the highway at Molas Pass, you can send a resupply box via UPS to the Molas Lake Campground, where they will hold it for you in the office. I did this this summer, and there were several other boxes awaiting hikers. BTW despite what the book says, THERE IS NOT A STORE OF ANY SORT AT MOLAS LAKE CAMPGROUND.
I have cached water in the Cochetopa hills in late season, but never food. Good luck
chealey
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#12
I stay at Lujan pass angelling for July and August. Several folks cache there with great success. One group of 4 cached their entire trip last year and never had to go to town at all. They used the large plastic buckets you get at Home Depot but had to backtrack after their trip to get them. I would try making wooden boxes myself which could be burned to avoid backtracking. Good luck. APPLE
APPLE
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#13
I agree with Matt. you should be foremost thinking about leave no trace principles. So burning and burying are probably not the best idea. Although if you have an established fire ring, burning might be ok. I personally used bear cans. I’m not sure how active the bears are in that area but I know on the PCT they would more then likely get into the plastic containers.
Your also likely to have problems with other critters like raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels and the like.
I didnt worry about humans too much. Most folks out hiking , I find, are pretty considerate and wouldn’t raid your cache. If it was at an active rest stop or trail head you might be more likely to have problems.
jalan
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#14
I used a a food cache at North Pass on a hike from Highway 50 to Spring Creek Pass. The cache was an unused 5 gallow paint can that cost about $5. Be sure and take a tool to open the cache.
Worked OK. I was nice to have canned peaches and baked beans.
The paint bucket was sealed and hid behind a bush. It had a note on it when it would be picked up. It was not bothered by either critters or humans. Not sure I would do it again because it required a lot of driving.
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#15
North pass is the point I was going to use for my resupply.
I’m going from Princeton hot springs to Silverton.Did you put rocks around the bucket?
Bruce
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#16
If you place the caches at road crossings that lead to trail towns, then if the caches are broken into you can at least get more food without a big issue.
One of the bigger downsides of food caching for some of us is how it eliminates the ability to carry anything fresh, like fruits and veggies. A restaurant meal or two, and fresh food for the trail, can be well worth the reintroduction to society on a hike of that length.
CO is not AK. There are ample opportunities to stoke the fires with good food along the way, and there is no reason to rely on caches except out of perceived convenience. So maybe re-check perceptions before moving forward with plans.
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#17
I did not put anything around the bucket. I did flag a nearby tree with engineers tape and used a GPS waypoint. It was hidden out of sight, but not secured.
The comment about going into town v. cache is right on the mark. A cheeseburger and fresh fruit is a treat. However there is not much traffic on Highway 114. You have a difficult decision.
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