I need some help with planning mail drops

imported
#1

I have been busy learning to dehydrate and to package food and to do other things.

I have read so many different things about mail drops and without any kind of super long distance hiking I have no clue what to do. Some people use 10 mail drops some people use 20. The guide books have great info about places that have a close USPO, but I have no clue how to gauge what I will want or need in the mail drops. Obviously food is the big thing. Socks will probably be the next big thing. And then the other little things that I will use in town like detergent etc?? Do you guys mail that stuff or do you buy it??

I want to be able to have a nice box at each mail drop so that if I want to get rid of a Jacket or something else bulky that I will be able to do so.

Anyone have any good advice from experience?

twofiddy

#2

Like so many topics on the trail, this one is very subjective. Some folks do 50 or more mail/food drops, and some do NONE! I did food/mail drops at the following places, Fontana Dam; Waynesboro, VA, Harper’s Ferry, WV; Port Clinton, PA; Bear Mountain, New York; and Caratunk, Maine.

The more you want to pick up “snail mail,” special food items, or other items from home such as prescriptions, the more mail/food drops you’ll want. The advantages of mail drops are obvious; it’s fun to get packages and mail from friends and relatives. You can also get food items that may be hard to find on the road, and may be able to get them cheaper. For me though, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages in almost every case:

To me, the trail is largely about freedom. Mail drops tend to make you speed up or slow down so you arrive at the right place at the right time.
Before you start your hike, you don’t know which foods you’ll get tired of. Also, MOST folks who buy a summer’s worth of backpacking food end up not completing their hike.
Often a food drop is missed, and there’s lots of hassles for everyone involved to get the package to where you’ll be next.
There’s a certain burden placed on your support crew back home.
Mailing food has grown more expensive. Saving on your grocery bill is usually not a sufficient reason to do a food drop.
Usually you have food left when you get your food drop, forcing you to give away, throw out, or carry the extra.
If I were going to hike the AT again, the only drop I’d do is at Port Clinton, where there is virtually nowhere to buy food. There was an open store at Fontana, huge stores in Waynesboro, plenty of 7-11 and campground style food in Harper’s Ferry, in Bear Mountain, there is plenty of food nearby in Ft. Montgomery; and the Caratunk House had plenty of backpacking food at a fair price, at least when I was there. I’m definitely at the “no-food-drop” end of the spectrum, however.

I just finished my AT website if you’d like to check it out:
http://www.bucktrack.com/Appalachian_Trail.html

Have a good hike

Colter

#3

First, I’d say that Coulter has some good advice. (We shared shelters a few times in New England on wet nights)

From my perspective, you learn as you go along. For example, I got a mail drop last summer in Carratunk, because I didn’t know ahead of time that Caratunk House had backpacking food. Had I known, then I wouldn’t have bothered with a mail drop there. Likewise, had I know about the supplies at Laurel Creek Campground, I wouldn’t have gotten a mail drop there either. So, like Coulter, if I were to hike the Trail again, I would reduce the number of mail drops I planned. And I think that most thru-hikers agree with that. But I also think that only doing one mail drop at Port Clinton goes to an extreme.

So, there are several considerations for planning how to resupply. Let’s see if I can recap some of them.

  1. How far off the trail do you want to go? To me, if a Post Office was closer to the trail than a good grocery store, then I did a mail drop. For example, Port Clinton and Glencliff. (Can’t even buy a soda in Glenciff) Also, Linden VA. (It saved me a trip into Front Royal). Likewise, I used the grocery store along Route 2 in Mass. rather then go to the Post Office in North Adams or Williamstown.

  2. Most people’s taste preferences change, as does the quantity of food they want. Hiker boxes are full of stuff that hikers thought they would like, but then changed their minds once they picked up the mail drop. Or maybe they haven’t eaten their pack down by the time they get to the Post Office. So, its hard to predict what you food wants are going to be. (Some hikers swear that they can hike the whole trail and resupply from hikers boxes and never grocery shop or get food from a mail drop).

  3. In general, Post Office hours are less than grocery stores. Many Post Offices close around 4:00 or 4:30, and aren’t open Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays.

  4. In general, you can’t buy specialty food at a grocery store. You need to reply on the standard backpacker fare of Liptons, peanut butter, Poptarts, etc. That’s OK for most, but certainly if you want your own dehydrated foods, freeze dried, vegetarian, or something healther than the normal fare, then don’t expect to find it in grocery stores along the way, especially in small towns like Monson.

  5. Sometimes you need a mail drop anyway. For example, to resupply with trail maps, and send the used maps home. Also, after Mount Rodgers to send some cold weather gear home, and in Glencliff, to get it back again.

  6. You may have special needs. Frequently you need a mail drop for prescription drugs. For me, I need mail drops periodically to get slide film. (Can’t seem to find that slide film in too many places anymore).

  7. Some things don’t keep well, so they shouldn’t sit around, such as cheese and bread or bakery items. So, if you are going to a grocery store anyway, then why not do all you resupply there?

  8. Do you have some one who can mail you the packages?

  9. Cost: Shipping probably costs $8.00 or more per package. That can add up.

All things being equal, I’ll resupply at a grocery store everytime. That way, I know what’s in my pack when I walk into the store, have a better idea of how long it is going to take me to get to the next resupply point, how much I am eating at the time, and what I want to be eating until then.
So, in places like Gorham, Hanover, Duncannon and Pearisburg, I resupplied at the grocery stores.

Another tip about mail drops. Some hikers call home and say send me this, or send me that. You need to think at least 2 weeks ahead on this, and it may or may not work out. What I did was to fill boxes ahead of time with everything that I planned, and they were all lined up on a table in the basement. But I left them open for any last minute adjustments. And I had a tentative shipping schedule. So, my only adjustments were shipping date, if I was ahead of schedule or behind schedule, and perhaps to add something or take something out that I realized I would be wanting, or not wanting.

This has been a long post. But, do a hike plan. And then read and study Wingfoot or the Companion, and make some decisions. If, as your initial posts suggests, you have no clue about what to you will want or need, then I’d suggest that you minimize the number of mail drops.

For what’s its worth, I used 13 mail drops.

By the way, I didn’t mail drop socks. Smartwool was having a sock exchange at Trail Days, so I replaced 2 pairs there, and I bought 2 pairs in Hanover.

If you are using mail drops, then include some items like laundry detergent. It’s cheaper than buying the little boxes at the laundrymats. But I wouldn’t make that the sole reasone for doing a mail drop.

Peaks

#4

I used a bounce box with detergent, town clothes, razor, batteries, etc…but I also kept 6-7 meals in my bounce box in case the local grocery had a unsatisfactory supply. I could also add food items to my box when I had to buy large quantities in the grocery store.

I agree that mailing to a hostel or motel works much better than a post office. Lots more flexibility regarding hours of operation saving wasted zero days.

Jeff

#5

Bounce Box is another topic.

Mailing to a hostel or motel has it’s pros and cons also: First, yes the hours are definately better than a post office. Second, I think that if you do mail it to a commercial establishment like this, then you have an obligation to do some business with them. Because of timing and cost, I may not want to stay at a hostel or motel. I might just want to get back on the trail. Third, you usually can’t mail packages from a motel or hostel, so that means going to the post office anyway. Fourth, it takes longer for the post office to deliver a package to a motel or hostel. The only mail drop I didn’t receive was mailed to a motel. (And I asked them to return it to sender, but still haven’t seen it)

Think about how much you really need a bounce box anyway. Laudry deterigent I bought at the vending machines in the laundrymats, town clothes were my cleanest hiking clothes, no razor, and I didn’t need to change batteries. Like Coulter says, do you really need to spend say $30 or $40 to mail $5.00 worth of supplies from point to point. I didn’t use a bounce box, and didn’t miss it.

Peaks

#6

This might sound lame…

Hold your maps in your hand and decide how many you want to carry, pick up, or mail home at once. Then find a hiker-friendly establishment near the trail that holds boxes. Throw some hearty staples and a few snickers in each box, and supplement them at groceries near the trail. No matter what you pack, steak, eggs, and pancakes will taste mighty good for breakfast at a restaurant. Try Shoney’s in Daleville, down the street from the Econolodge.

Linguini

#7

Linguini advocates using both a mail drop for maps and staples, and supplementing from groocery stores.

Sounds simple, but this concept still ties you to post office hours, unless, as he states, it is mailed to a hiker friendly establishment near the trail. But, if I am picking up a mail drop at an establishment, then I feel obligated to do business with that place. Sometimes, this is OK, and sometimes not. For example, at Rockfish Gap, there is the Inn at Afton. That’s a pricy motel. But why spend the money to stay there, and then go into Waynesboro for groceries, and not stay at the campground next to the YMCA? Likewise, the old motel at Atkins.

Again, its a matter of looking at and reading Wingfoot or the Companion, and planning your trip accordingly.

Linguini makes another good point. No matter how you do resupply, I think that everyone needs a periodic break from trail fare. So, no matter what, one shouldn’t pass up the opportunity for a breakfast with eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc, or a place to get a cheeseburger, or a place to get a milk shake or ice cream. (I was hiking last month with Pace-O and Funky Advocato who seemed to go off the trail at every road crossing in search of something to eat)

Peaks

#8

I serve as ground control for my son who is currently thru-hiking. He is keeping his pack light by doing maildrops every 5-8 days. Every month, I pack his boxes for the month based on how many days before the next drop. Then, as he progresses, I mail the boxes two weeks before each stop. For six days, I’d pack six dinners, six one-cup servings of gorp (including lots of dried fruit), 6 bagels, one small jar peanut butter, one small squeezable jar of jelly or honey, 12 poptarts (breakfast), 6 candy bars, and 6 pre-measured baggies of tang. I also pack coffee filters for his water filter, 3 large zip-lock baggies for trash, and a roll of film, One thing we learned the hard way is that post offices won’t accept a shipments from Fed Ex. Luckily, the Fed Ex man called us long distance to ask if it would be ok to leave it somewhere else. Our son’s bounce box has been great. He mails it to the next stop as he goes. It includes shampoo, deoderant, town clothes, razor, couple of extra dinners, laundry soap, refills for his ezbit burner, refills for his hand purifier, toilet paper, and paper towls with a squiggle of dish soap dried on them. Once started, you’ll find out what system you like best and will adjust as you go. Our son has a website at http://reynoldsindiana.net/mikehike.htm Our recipes for trail dinners are posted. Several of them are going to be published in the next edition of Lipsmakin’ Backpackin’ Good luck!

Gound Control

#9

Ground Control here gives a perfect mail drop scenario. My Mom did the same for me almost to the T. I think I had 18 boxrs mailed along the way. I love her for all the hard work she did, all the organizing, tweaking, trips to the PO (she started making the postman cookies!)

Unfortunately, as some have said above, all of it was unnecessary. Dinners, gorp, bagles, poptarts, candy, powdered drink, coffee filters, baggies, and film are ALL available in virtually every town where there is a PO. In fact, I usually went to the PO to get my box and then I went to the grocery to get some extra stuff. Why make 2 trips? There are a few places where a box is good, (Monson, Glencliff, etc) but for the most part it is just an extra hassle.

Grimace

Grimace