[at-l] Food/Gear Maildrops/Bounce Boxes

Sun Jan 25 18:27:35 CST 2009

Great idea Mara, I've cut and pasted so many things I and others have said
on other forums. searching for it sucks. so does retyping it. But it's good
info. I agree with your sentiments. I bookmarked your's  myself & will post
the link in the future when it comes up again - hope you mind!
Great advice Felix...
so many friends couldn't wait to get one item in their maildrop, then dump
the rest! You get tired of some things, others you crave.

IF you choose to use maildrops don't preseal anything before you leave.
Gather up piles of possible items to ship to you.  While hiking call home or
email a revised list of what you really want/need. Surprises can be fun, but
often aren't as well received as well intentioned family at home may think.
 Particularly true of gear or non food items. Makes you feel guilty to dump
it or give it away.

another thing about gear and bounce boxes I knew but didn't really
appreciate at first is you don't have to carry all your gear you might need
later in the hike. You can start with some gear & bounce some stuff ahead.
(warm gear for example. As it warms up you don't need it all, but might need
it later. This could even change due to a well known spell of warm weather
for a week or two) As mara said, if you realize you wont need it ship it
home. where you can always retrieve it later. or bounce it well ahead where
you might need it again.

As Mara points out if you ship it first class to a post office, you can
usually get them to forward it (free) to a post office ahead via telephone,
though technically you're supposed to fill out a post office forwarding
form. Only once did I see someone get hassled over this.

One final very important tidbit about maildrops: A better solution for
bounce boxes or maildrops I think
is NOT to use post offices for your delivery point. Instead ship to hostels,
motels, outfitter stores (all listed in guidebooks). Their hours tend to be
much better and more flexible. I've been with many hikers desperate to make
it to the post office before closing. Post offices close early on weekdays
and are only open 1/2 days Sat, closed on Sunday.  If you just miss it on
the weekend you either move on without your box or have to kill a couple
extra days in town waiting for it. Gear stores are typically open later.
Motels/Hostels 24/7. Every day. Check the guidebooks for details and call to
verify before shipping. I nearly got burned shipping per the guidebook when
a longtime Inn/restaurant was closed for renovations. Thank God the FedEx
guy was irresponsible and left it on their doorstep anyway! (It was my
replacement trekking poles!)

FedEx

FedEx

From: Felix J
The same amount of planning isn't going to work for everyone. And, it's
important to not confuse 'planning' with 'knowledge'.  It is better to
have knowledge and no plan than to have a plan and no knowledge.

The day after I left my first town stop I met a northbound girl. I wrote
my fone number on a dollar bill and asked her to call my sister (who was
staying at my house and sending my maildrops) and tell her to not send
another thing until I told her to. I knew immediately I was tired of the
food I had packaged and that I could get what I was hungry for and what
my body needed at almost any mid-size mini-mart.  And, one of my
favorite things to do in a shelter or tent is plan the next day, two
days...week...and, then change it the next day.   Part of the beauty of
a thru-hike is the liberation...part of the liberation is the fluidity
of a thru-hike.
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On Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM, <at-l-request at backcountry.net> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: Food in maildrops vs food along the trail (Ken Bennett)
>   2. Re: Food in maildrops vs food along the trail (EHamilton)
>   3. Re: Food in maildrops vs food along the trail (Amy Forinash)
>   4. Re: Food - buy on the fly? mail drops? or hybrid?
>      (Tenacious Tanasi)
>   5. Re: Food - buy on the fly? mail drops? or hybrid? (EHamilton)
>   6. Re: Hiker in planning slump... What would or have youdone in
>      this sit... (KGJ)
>   7. Re: Amount of planning? (Felix J)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:13:15 -0500
> From: Ken Bennett <bennett.ken at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Food in maildrops vs food along the trail
> To: AT-L at backcountry.net
> Message-ID:
>        <cf05abd90901251313x7e8d4fe2g437ab745902fcc81 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> We did several family section hikes of 3 weeks or so. My pre-teen daughter
> wouldn't eat much on the trail. Given what we had packed, I'm not surprised
> (gloppy Liptons dinners in the summer - ick.) So we'd get to town with a
> pack full of food, and be faced with a 20 pound mail drop full of more of
> the same food. Double ick.
>
> One year, we spent a zero day in Franklin, and pretty much ditched our
> entire food plan. We left the food box and all our food and our cook kit at
> the Franklin Motel, and went across the street and bought all cold food.
> Cold cuts, jerky, bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, pop tarts, you name
> it. Made for a heavier pack, but happier campers. (Except my poor wife
> *really* needed coffee. Lesson learned. Bring a small pot and a small stove
> just for coffee and tea.)
>
> So ever since then I think long and hard about mail drops. My hiking
> partner
> and I are going to hike the Georgia section at spring break, and I'll
> probably send something to Neels Gap, just in case the hordes of thru
> hikers
> have wiped them out. But I'll have to give that some thought before I do
> it.
>
> If I had to thru hike, I would definitely plan to buy food along the way.
>
> Good luck.
>
> --Ken
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> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:14:33 -0800 (PST)
> From: EHamilton <imagainst_the_wind at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Food in maildrops vs food along the trail
> To: Mara Factor <mfactor at gmail.com>
> Cc: AT-L <at-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <229971.27180.qm at web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Very good info/advice, Mara! I bookmarked it and your site.
> MacGyver
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Mara Factor mfactor at gmail.com
>
> This has come up so many times I added a page to my web site about it
> rather than retype it.? Here's the link for those inclined:
>
> http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor/resupply.html
>
> There's a few other pages relevant for planning thruhikes and
> maildrops there as well.
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> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:19:19 -0500
> From: Amy Forinash <amy at forinash.net>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Food in maildrops vs food along the trail
> To: at-l List <AT-L at Backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <5F897DB7-8EBD-4AF4-8136-936EE8C5B079 at forinash.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
>
> On Jan 25, 2009, at 4:13 PM, Ken Bennett wrote:
>
> >
> > One year, we spent a zero day in Franklin, and pretty much ditched
> > our entire food plan. We left the food box and all our food and our
> > cook kit at the Franklin Motel, and went across the street and
> > bought all cold food. Cold cuts, jerky, bagels, cream cheese, peanut
> > butter, pop tarts, you name it. Made for a heavier pack, but happier
> > campers. (Except my poor wife *really* needed coffee. Lesson
> > learned. Bring a small pot and a small stove just for coffee and tea.)
>
> During warmer times of  year, especially, I eat a lot of cold food.  I
> just don't have the energy or inclination to cook, and if I do it
> doesn't taste good.
>
> But like your wife, I love my morning coffee.  Those folgers single
> serving packs are awesome.  I have my folgers, nido, and splenda all
> packed together for easy access in the morning.
>
> -amy
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:24:31 -0800 (PST)
> From: Tenacious Tanasi <tenacious_tanasi at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Food - buy on the fly? mail drops? or hybrid?
> To: GARY HEBERT <hikerfedex at gmail.com>, at-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <602451.11873.qm at web45307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Excellent advice, FedEx!  Thank you for posting. :)
>
>  Tenacious Tanasi
>
>
>
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> Message: 5
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:28:55 -0800 (PST)
> From: EHamilton <imagainst_the_wind at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Food - buy on the fly? mail drops? or hybrid?
> To: GARY HEBERT <hikerfedex at gmail.com>, at-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <48255.3216.qm at web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hybrid is the way I'm going to go. I want to be sure to be able to have
> brown rice, powdered milk, natural peanut butter (the kind without "crisco"
> in it), olive oil. I'll buy some stuff in towns.
>
> ?I'm partial to PayDay bars..... good protein for a candy bar, not so
> sick-sweet, and don't melt. Better on all fronts than Snickers, to my way of
> thinking!?
>
> MacGyver
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: GARY HEBERT hikerfedex at gmail.com
>
> I do not have diet restrictions. and I eat almost anything. which is handy
> on the AT cuz you can eat whatever you want and not worry about getting fat,
> etc. You walk it off.
>
> that said of course there are healthier things to eat that help your energy
> levels,etc.
>
> I did not use food bounce boxes or maildrops. ?I bought 100% of my food on
> the fly. For the AT this is quite practical, but can be far more costly,
> depending on your discipline. ?I'm lazy and like to be care free. That's
> what I like about getting away from the stress of everyday life, planning,
> etc.?
>
> My food planning for the next leg all came from guidebooks. I walked into
> towns with just info from The Companion, bought food at the most convenient
> store whenever i could get away with it. I only went to grocery stores when
> i had too, but I also looked ahead and occasionally bought extra of certain
> key items if there wasn't much ahead at my next mini-resupply.
>
> I traveled lite and covered typically 20 miles daily, so I rarely carried
> more than 3 evening meals and 3-4 days' snacks. Eating in town on arrival
> and again before leaving also lightened my # of meals and snacks carried.
> ?This factor helped me a lot since I'd typically pass thru another small
> town in just 2-4 days from then.
>
> Buying at convenience stores, drug stores, gas stations was convenient and
> worked for me, but I paid the premium prices. But I didn't care.?
>
> Of course you could bounce box stuff ahead to yourself from "good" resupply
> points just as easily as somebody at home could ship it to you. ?For me this
> didn't seem practical either. It didn't solve my issue. I would only be able
> to get mailed boxes of stuff when staying in a real town, usually overnite
> (time to get my maildrop). ?Most of the in between resupplies I just popped
> off the trail, hit a convenience or general store or gas station and then
> kept going. So getting a bounce box seemed pointless to me when I could just
> shop.
>
> But some do prefer the hybrid approach. ?Actually most who use maildrops do
> this.
>
> If you are fussy or have diet restrictions hybrid probably makes sense.
>
> I liked the adventure of winging it!?
>
> FedEx
> AT 07,LT 08
>
> (for my PCT attempt in 2010 I'll probably bounce a box ahead to myself
> since towns and resupplies are more limited and further apart.)
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:30:42 -0500
> From: "KGJ" <jplynch at crosslink.net>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Hiker in planning slump... What would or have
>        youdone in      this sit...
> To: "Richard Calkins" <racalkins at msn.com>,
>        <tenacious_tanasi at yahoo.com>,   <trailr at aol.com>
> Cc: at-l <at-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <ADC72340EA124F79A7C61B57AD0AE729 at HomePC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Now that's a plan!
>
> ----------------------------------------------
> "We will restore science to its rightful place"
> U.S. President Barack Obama; 1/20/2009
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Richard Calkins
>  To: tenacious_tanasi at yahoo.com ; trailr at aol.com
>  Cc: at-l
>  Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 2:53 PM
>  Subject: Re: [at-l] Hiker in planning slump... What would or have youdone
> in this sit...
>
>
>
>  Before my '05 hike I obsessed over every detail and planned for every
> contingency!  My plan for '09:
>
>  1.  March 14: Arrive Springer mountain
>  2.  March 15: Start walking north
>  3.  Meet a bunch of crazy people and have a blast sharing the good times
> with them
>  4.  Sometime in September: Arrive Katahdin
>  5.  Day after that, go back home.
>  6.  Repeat every 3-4 years!
>
>
>  Longhaul
>  AT '05/'09
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:26:58 -0500
> From: Felix J <AThiker at smithville.net>
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Amount of planning?
> Cc: AT-L <at-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <497CE732.9090704 at smithville.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Tenacious Tanasi wrote:
> > LOL at some of the posts I have gotten offlist.  So, I thought I would
> > poll everyone.
> > Do you need to plan at all or simply see what the trail brings you?
> > How much planning is too much planning?
> > What are signs/symptoms that you going into planning overkill?
>
> (I know this will echo what others have already said. And, Longhaul has
> it nailed pretty close)
>
> The same amount of planning isn't going to work for everyone. And, it's
> important to not confuse 'planning' with 'knowledge'.  It is better to
> have knowledge and no plan than to have a plan and no knowledge.
>
> The day after I left my first town stop I met a northbound girl. I wrote
> my fone number on a dollar bill and asked her to call my sister (who was
> staying at my house and sending my maildrops) and tell her to not send
> another thing until I told her to. I knew immediately I was tired of the
> food I had packaged and that I could get what I was hungry for and what
> my body needed at almost any mid-size mini-mart.  And, one of my
> favorite things to do in a shelter or tent is plan the next day, two
> days...week...and, then change it the next day.   Part of the beauty of
> a thru-hike is the liberation...part of the liberation is the fluidity
> of a thru-hike.
> -------------- next part --------------
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