i am kinda picky about my food. is it ok to send maildrops to mt laguna store, warner springs, idyllwild, big bear, wrightwood, saufley’s, and mojave THE DAY BEFORE I HIT THE TRAIL ON MAY 1 (so i want to send out all of my resupply from mt laguna to mojave just BEFORE i get on the trail) or will the post offices not keep my maildrop this long (for example my maildrop might sit at the mojave post office for a month or a little over a month).thanks
cheeserTOM
I had the same one. Called US postal service, they said they’ll only hold the packages for 2 weeks.
In yogi’s guidebook someone mentions “be careful about sending your maildrop to location x, because they will ONLY hold it for 30 days”. This seemed to infer that other places will hold your package for longer than 30 days…
Sophie
Sophie
thanks sophie. which PO did you call? and what if i don’t put a return address on the box - then they might have to keep it?
cheeserTOM
Officially they only have to hold the packages for about 10 days. Most post offices along the trail will hold them longer, because they are used to hikers, but if space becomes limited, they’ll send them back.
My husband’s birthday cookies were sent back home - and they were only sent about 2 weeks early.
No return address on the box and they will probably assume it’s a bomb or anthrax and they’ll destroy it.
Ginny
Do you have any friends or family that can send them for you?
Before I left I made up all my boxes to the Ashland OR … I labeled them with numbers and the dates they needed to be mailed. I would call my mom a few weeks before I arrived at “X” town to remind her to send the box and had her add anything I needed. All she had to do was seal the prelabeled box and mail it at the post office. My Mom was awesome like that! Then she just kept a list of costs and I paid her back when I got home. This worked well for me, however you need someone you can count on to do this.
Further, when I got to Ashland, I made up my boxes for the rest of the trail. I was afraid post offices would not hold them long enough so I sent my Washington boxes priority to Cascade Locks OR and then bounced my Washington boxes up when I arrived there. It’s free to bounce a box if mailed priority and not opened. This “bounceing” might be a good idea for you if you have no one to help you at home.
This worked for me and I was able to cut up all my Guide books and Yogi pages and distributed them appropriately. I don’t know how picky you are, but, trust me A LOT of towns, especially in Cal have great stores to resupply in.
Happy Hiking!
Floweasy
Post Office house rule is 2 weeks, TRAIL TOWNS ARE DIFFERENT and will hold for 4 weeks. You will get to Laguna before your box, most likely because it is so close. The rest of the stops will be fine. In your guide books are the addresses and phone numbers of PO’s. If you call them they will extend the hold time on your packages. Be sure to write “Hold for PCT hiker” and “E.T.A (date).”
hellkat
Equada Outfitters in Big Bear Lake, Ca excepts packages
for any given time. they also send out too.
I suggest you personalize it, so they can make sure yours
is yours. check on their ship details.
phone# (909)866-6186
email: equadaoutfitters@earthlink.net
their hours are better than post office.
Last year they were shuttling hikers all over town.
pinter