Hello All,
I am trying to avoid doing any post office mail drops, well as few as possible as sometimes it cannot be avoided. Just curious if anyone had any suggestions other than PO’s for the following towns. Thanks in advanced!
Troutdale, VA
Bland, VA
Port Clinton, PA
Deleware Water Gap, PA
_Lotus_ Troutdale: The little restaurant/store has tasty meals and limited groceries; eat a hot meal, pack out a fresh sandwich or two and grab some supplies.
Bland: never stopped there, but I do believe there’s a supermarket and hardware store
Va.606 1/2 mile off Trail there’s a small store, with a grill and limited supplies.
Port Clinton: Get Cabela’s near the interstate and catch the bus to nearby Hamburg which has a Supermarket with a good pizza restaurant across the street
Delaware Water Gap: If you can’t find what you need in the bakery, or the convenience stores, go to nearby East Stroudsburg/Stroudsburg which will have everything. Check for a shuttle at the outfitter in DWG.
_MrsGorp_ I agree with MrsGorp. You can probably get away without drops to all of these places, but maybe you have special dietary needs or maps or something..
Consider sending a drop to the Relax Inn near Atkins (which is right ON the trail) and skipping Bland, and dropping into the small market (Trents) that MrsGorp mentions. Bland can be an annoying hitch and there isn’t much there.
I hear theres a new Outfitter in Port Clinton, maybe they will accept packages. This might be one of those places you wanna make SURE you get to the PO on time.
As for DWG, if you cannot send one to the church hostel, you can send em’ to Mohican Outdoor Center in NJ, just 10 miles north of the Gap. This great facility is only .3 off trail.
Most likely if you can get your hands on the Handbook, Companion or the Appalachian Pages you’ll find lots more options than we provided.
_A-Train_ Thanks for your feedback guys. I have the ATC guidebook, but its the 2006, so wasnt sure if anything had come around since then. I have strict dietary restrictions, so I definitely have to drop my own food and cannot rely on markets and such.
I will look into the suggestions.
Thanks!
_Lotus_ Hey, I've never done the trail and most people tell me that mail drops are not necessary but I've decided to do mail drops the entire way to save time from shopping and packing. One thing to consider is we hope we don't arrive at a Post office on a SUNDAY and expect to be fed!
_snail_ Like A-Train stated there are other options for mailing packages to yourself besides the Post Office. And the good thing is that most of these places are open 7 days a week. Some may charge a fee for holding your package if you don't stay there. Be sure to verify with hostels, outfitters, or motels before you send yourself a package for the correct method of shipment, their correct mailing address and if they charge a fee for holding your package. This helps to avoid any surprises when you arrive!
_MrsGorp_ everyones had some great input. I would definitely try and minimize drops due to the increased cost of shipping. Back in '06 i barely did any food drops but towards the end of my thruhike i adopted a bounce box which served me well for the rest of the hike. A bounce box is a supply box with random gear and food or whatever, thats sent from town to town with the fact in mind that if you do not open it and it was sent priority mail, you can ship it ahead for free. i decided to use this more last year on the PCT and was unhappy with the fact that postage had nearly doubled. It will remain a great technique for emergency supplies but is now very cost inefficient to follow on an entire hike.
_canyonman_ Didn't do any maildrops. Never had a problem finding supplies. A-Train and Grunt would toss me their extra Liptons.
Sub 03
_Subman_ Yes, maildrops are a must for me due to my dietary restrictions, but I am definitely trying to avoid PO's. Unfortunately the more North I head on my planning the less options seem available. Thats what I am running into.....Bummer.
_Lotus_