Hey guys and gals. Just need some advice here. Im planning on a Thru-Hike of AT and was wondering if yall would give me your perspective on food issues. Ive weighted heavily on this subject for a little while. And seeing ive never hiked the AT before, figured I would see what other experienced AT Hikers had to say.
_Raven_Planning a Thru-Hike
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#1
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#2
Opinions vary. Here's mine.
No need to mail drop food, ever.
Plenty of resupply options along the way.
At first you’ll overpack food.
Then you’ll not pack enough.
Then you’ll pack “all the wrong things.”
Then you’ll get it just right.
Then you’ll never get enough food, no matter how much you carry or eat along the way.
Most common mistake? Taking 5 days food at the very start. Take 3 instead.
All of those opinions are subject to change if you have a special dietary need.
Last advice, don’t sweat the food issue, after a few weeks on trail, you’ll be in a much position to gauge needs and resupply issues.
Have a good hike.
_Jason_
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#3
We've answered this question who knows how many times . so go back in the archives of the planning & gear forums & you might find a bunch of opinions: lots are tired of answering this again & again. What I did on the CDT was shop at certain big cities accessible from the trail with coops where you can get instant foods in bulk like soups, chili, potatoes, hummus, etc..... then portion em out into ziploc freezer (pint/quart) bags & send one box about 5 or 10 days ahead; the second box 15-20 days ahead... send the 1st box priority so to be sure it gets there fast; send the 2nd one parcel post to be sure it don't get there too fast..... priority can be forwarded for free if you arrive on a weekend etc.... make sure you send a parcel post somewhere you can & will want to hang for a day or 2. Then, you can take what you need from the 1st box & send the rest ahead along with what gear you might need later.
This is called “drifting” or “bouncing” & allows you the security of knowing you have instant hiker food waiting that you might not get at some small town market (especially if you have special healthfood & peanut/gluten free dietary needs like me). To save time, of course, you can shop ahead of time & have your family/friends send a maxof 8 boxes to points on the trail which you can supplement with junk food like chips & also whole grain bread (I never had my Pepperidge farm or Nature’s own preservative free breadgo bad & kept it on top of pack with chips) that you buy at stores. Also, there are lots of restaurants so you are lucky to have ATM’s & credit cards that back in 'AT9 we didn’t have access to !
_gingerbreadman_
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#4
Live in Charleston SC, can anyone recommend a hicking club in sc that I can get involved in.
_Asbury Lemmon_
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#5
Rule of thumb is 2 Lbs a day
Carry only 3 days worth unless you know of a remote area youre coming into where no supply is available or too expensive,then carry more
When you get to a grocery store buy enough food to bounce ahead to a couple of towns ahead of you.(Thru hikers companion can help with post office addresses)
_Virginian_
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#6
Hey Raven, here's a totally different way to plan your food, but only if you like to plan. If you have all the profile maps of the AT, sit down over a series of nights and virtually hike the AT. Not knowing your fitness, maybe start with low teens the first week and raise it as the weeks go on. Count the miles, guess at a shelter and use your Companion or similar book to find the good, easy towns/resupply points. Once again, this is only if you are a planner. This especially helps if there are specific things you like to eat and/or have the funds to do maildrops. There are many ways to thru-hike, some like to go as free as a butterfly and others like a bit of forward planning...and all points in between can work. Maildrops agreed with me in my '06 journey (trailjournals)...usually carried from 3 to 5 days of food, but I tend to make decent miles and not lollygag too much. As stated earlier, that approach worked for me on both my thru-hikes. Usually I always carried out town food (deli sandwiches, Subway, burgers) for the first days meals to normalize my diet. Not every day on the trail has to be trail food. Normalizing your diet a touch can keep your emotional strength higher to the adversities that will run into you or you them. Hope that helps ~ Postcard
_Postcard_
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#7
Asbury Lemmon,
Palmetto Conversation, maintainers of the Palmetto Trail and a darn good working group of people.
_nrkybill_
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#8
Does anyone come up with the cost per mile for food doing the thru -hike. Someone said around $1.75 a mile and then someone said that gear and hotel ect.... I'm sure that not right.
_Slowandeasydoesit_