My opinions are based only on my personal experience so here goes…
Do not go into Chester, the hitch, both ways was very tough and not worth it, though there was a nice grocery in town
Last I checked the Paradise Cafe was not recieving packages, however if you can drop it by in person they’ll take it if you ask nicely. Instead, I pushed on 2 days to Idyllwild. It’s a fabulous town.
I sent a box to the Best Western at Cajon pass and skipped Wrightwood. It worked for me, they didn’t charge or expect me to stay. It also was right on trail. But everyone I’ve talked to had good experiences in Wrightwood too.
Go to the Saufley’s in Aqua Dulce! Just in case you were thinking of skipping it don’t. You’ll severly regret it if you pass up on this amazing place.
You can send packages to Hikertown, or the small store a mile down the road from it. Hikertown was a fine place to stay, but it definitely had an odd feel.
I went to Mojave and got what I needed. Except for the PO everything else is all in one spot. Very convenient. However, from what I heard the hitch to Tehachapi was much easier and the town was much more friendly. And there are no more rides from White’s motel, in fact they woudln’t even rent me a room. The hitch back was no problem.
Kennedy Meadows, put a very distinguishing mark on your box so you can find it in the sea of other boxes.
Independence to VVR. This leg took everyone anywhere from 1 -3 days longer than everyone expected. So gear up. The hike over Kearsarge may be a long side hike, but it’s very beautiful and I found the ressuply very needed.
From my personal experience do not go to VVR. Push one to one and a half more days to Red’s Meadows. I felt very taken advantage of at VVR. I also would have spent a heck of alot less had I used Muir Trail ranch. Pricing was inconsistant from one person to the next.
The shuttle from Red’s was very convenient with multiple runs per day and reasonable prices. Easy access too.
South Lake Tahoe, hit it on a weekday and stay near the Casinos, your prices will be in the low $30’s if you look around for it. Our hotel also had private beach access from which we watched sunset over lake tahoe. Very worth it. Good outfitter, Northface and Patagonia Stores as well.
No problems at Burney Falls except sometimes the store closes early on a given day.
Don’t get caught by Belden’s PO, it has odd hours and it’s not the niceset place to get stuck for the weekend.
I know people who hitched to Ashland but all I heard about was their headaches. Don’t use Callehans untill you call them, it burnt down this year. I hiked on to Hyatt lake resort. My experience there was AWESOME!! Very friendly, very laid back, I got a free shower and free camping at the resort. Only down fall, it’s a UPS only location though under the new owners that may change soon. Only a very small store, but the guy running it said he’s going to try and get some more hiker things for next year.
I just got off the trail and due to my late date everything was shut down at Stehekin. I hiked on to Rainy Pass and went into Winthrop. I am a big fan of this town. Yogi doesn’t mention it in her book but it’s a fun “Old West” town with full resupply. It’s a long hitch, but everyone going down the road is going there. Hitching was not a problem for me. Note that the PO is a mile out of town (and only open M-F) so when you get a hitch see if you can get all the way to the PO which is nearby a major grocery store, gas station, and hardware store. There is also a good upscale outfitter in town, don’t look for packs there but you’ll find just about everything else.
I found Greyhound from Manning to Vancouver very convenient and then from Vancouver you can choose Amtrak or Greyhound, it’s all in the same spot. I did hear of at least a dozen people successfully hitching the whole way too.
Oh, and make sure you have your Canadian paperwork in order before you leave on your hike, it will save you much headache.
If you have any other specific quesitons just let me know. Good luck to you on your hike, I wish I could do it all over again!!
Ladybird
