Two friends are on the AT right now. We want to send surprise/special goodies on ahead to their mail drop locations. What kinds of things should we send - things they’ll really crave or enjoy? So far we’ve done homemade chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Thanks!
Jen
In 2003 some of my favorite things to pull out of a box: homemade brownies, notes of encouragment, Bert’s Foot Cream, and anything from justveggies.com. (I just tried to confirm their website and found that the domain name of justveggies.com is for sale. What happened to them??
Journey
Yes, thanks you! Everything they sell is of the highest quality, so it’s a little pricey, but oh so good and very light weight too.
Journey
My mom would send me random food items to share with my friends; these were such a treat! One time she sent ceso dip and pita crisps from a high-end market; another time she sent summer sausage, crackers and cheese; she often sent the one-pound bars of Hersheys special dark (mmmmm, some things you never get tired of…). One word of caution, think about the weight of the item you are sending… my boyfriend would complain about the pound of trail bologna that mom sent and he would have to carry for the next 6 miles until we made camp that night… But it was fun sharing these goodies with everyone one.
Be creative, determine what your friends frequently snack on, (so you know precisely what NOT to send), and go from there.
Oh, one more thought. The Near-East brand couscous dinners and foil packets of tuna/chicken were nice because they are very light, taste good, but are a little pricey for a hiker’d budget. Those were also nice.
Butterfingers
Hi; the same company mentioned above makes a WONDERFUL crunchy dried carrot product.I don’t know how they do it; but in contrast to regular “have to re-hydrate them” dried carrots, these are like a crunchy snack that you can easily munch on. They are naturely sweet, very light weight, & have nothing but carrots in them. Enjoy!!
leah
Thanks for the ideas! I’ve just checked out that veggie site and will probably order some things - I know they mentioned wanting to have more veggies and such with them. Please keep the ideas coming - my friends are in NC now and have a long way to go. I’ve only read about long distance hiking, haven’t done it myself yet, and I’d like to send things they’d appreciate.
Jen
The long distance trails generally go through very small towns, so any unusual extras are welcome, because you can’t find them in town, for the most part. We have been fortunate in having friends send us goodies on two of our hikes. One friend regularly sent the little one serving gourmet hot chocolates in a card - an inexpensive but tasty treat. (Don’t do this mid-summer though.) Her words of encouragement were the best part. Another sent us a big bag of jelly bellies, which we were able to share. I loved to eat them one at a time as I walked and try to guess the flavor. Another sent us ginger cookies that were divine - fresh they tasted like gingerbread, a day later they were gingersnaps. Another friend would go to Trader Joes and pick up exotic dried fruits - mango, papaya, cherries, etc. that were very welcome additions to our menu. (His dried shrimp and squid were not as welcome.) Because we did the shop as you go thing, I requested, and received, dried vegetables from some of our friends who do that. Dried salsa and tomato sauce were especially welcome, but I also enjoyed the broccoli etc that was sent to us. One friend would cut out funny comics or newspaper articles to send me along the way. Not hard news, just odd tidbits that would make me laugh. Jim had someone send him a small bottle of champagne to Monson, which he carried up Katahdin.
Ginny
If your friends are meat eaters, consider the crumbled packaged BACON you can find in the salad dressing section of the grocery. Oh, baby!
Bacon has the three main Hiker Food Groups: Fat, Salt and Flavor!
Pre-stamped postcards, a few new ziplocks, hard to find items. I agree with the “socks!” comment, if you know the size. New socks rock, if they are the right type, but you’d have to know their preferences in advance. But bacon in a mail drop always had me chortling.
Jan LiteShoe
When we were hiking the AT last year, our friends and family sent us some great packages. My mom always put a few extra chocolate goodies, like Reese’s peanut butter cups or peanut M&Ms in with our maildrops, which was always welcome. One of our friends sent us a package of Lindt truffles–yum!–and 4th of July earrings for me, and a hilarious star headband for my husband. We had a blast walking in the woods that day! Another friend sent a package of stuff from Trader Joes–yum! exotic trail mix, dried fruits, summer sausage for my husband. And yet another friend would send small packages with animal crackers, Hershey mini chocolate bars and cute cards and notes of encouragement.
The best might have been a mail drop with mini bottles of vodka, rum, a diet coke, and a bottle of Freshies, a fancy bloody mary mix that we used to make up some cocktails before leaving town 
Now that was a great gift!
There are all sort of things out there that your friends will enjoy, but the most important part is just sending the package! I know we truly appreciated all the gifts we received, because they came from our friends and family!
Have fun with it
-Sparkplug:)
Sparkplug
We got everything from notes from our friends, home made cookies, brownies, a PRUNE CAKE, newspapers, etc. But one thing we really enjoyed was a newsletter from one of our friends. She would tell us everything that was going on back home with our friends and family. It was great. We just couldn’t catch everybody when we were in town on the old pay phones or there wasn’t access to e-mail.
We were always ready to share the brownies with other hikers. So send enough for other hikers. We usually went to the Post Office as a group or our drops were at an outfitters or hostel, so there were plenty of other hikers standing around looking to see what kind of goodies you were getting. They Yogi other hikes also!!!
Papa Smurf
Tabasco Sauce. . . :evil :evil :evil :evil :evil :evil
If they don’t enjoy it, everyone else in the shelter will. I can provide a list of references, should you need more authentication.
Kineo Kid
I am already addicted to the Trail Joural site … now I’m really jazzed up about making more packages after reading all your ideas. I was even able to go over and peek into the boxes they are having drop mailed to themselves. They’ve already included socks … pretty smart I guess based on your comments. I’d have never thought of Tabasco Sauce!
Jen
Food always, things you have to carry never. However home town newpapers, short notes and things you can toss when finished are nice. I would think travlers checks for cold beer would be nice also.
madmantra