[pct-l] "buy-as-you-go" strategy and leaving with the pack

[Donna Saufley]

Well, respectfully to all concerned, but your ideas of how it is down here
just don't meet up with the reality I've observed.  

I can't tell you how many people pre-mailed their food here only to find out
by the time they got to mile 454.4 that they HATE their food.  It all goes
in the hiker box. Often nobody else wants it either, and we wind up with
nondescript bags of dry powders that ultimately go in the trash.  This
phenomenon has happened to me on my hikes, despite carefully planning,
testing, and pre-packaging.  No one knows for sure if they're going to like
the food they started out with, and your tastes can and do change. Many
people choose a resupply along the way strategy, which is an entirely
acceptable way to hike the trail if you don't have specific dietary needs.
It provides business and hopefully a positive attitude about hikers in local
towns.  Many of the most experienced hikers employ this strategy.

Being on a tight budget down here does NOT mean that someone won't finish
the trail.  It may mean that they're prudent and trying to make their
savings last.  In fact, it's excessive spending and NOT being mindful of
one's budget that has ended more hikes than being frugal and conservative
has.  Hikers that I later heard quit the trail had often blown their wad on
beer and liquor in town stops.  We shop at Food 4 Less, Trader Joes, or
Costco because it's stupid to waste money unnecessarily.  Why pay two or
three times as much?  Resupplying at our local store could literally cost
someone their budget for two additional resupplies.  Great if you have the
money to burn, but we like to offer an alternative for those who don't. As
it is, plenty gets spent at our local stores; so much so that there were two
signs put up by Budweiser -- one at the market and one at the liquor store.
They all appreciate the business. 

For the record, it is NOT A BURDEN TO US to help hikers.  Please do not jump
to that conclusion.  If it were, we'd quit outright.  It's what we do and
what we want to do. What is a burden to us is having too many hikers arrive
all at once because they chose to ignore LNT principles and travel in large
numbers at peak time. There's a particular event that exacerbates this
problem. I've tried desperately to change this to no avail. I'm finished
trying.  However, as a direct consequence we will have to begin limiting the
number of hikers we'll serve at one time -- we've been running 60-65 hikers
at once (steadily increasing) during our peak the last few years, and that's
too much for us, for our water tank, and for our septic system. 

As to the services we choose to provide or not provide to hikers, that's up
to us, thank you very much. We've been somewhat successful at it for 12
years, and are looking forward to our 13th season.  Hike your own hike and
host your own host. 

L-Rod 


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Postholer
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:57 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] "buy-as-you-go" strategy and leaving with the pack

> For hikers on a squeaky tight budget who are counting
> on a an affordable resupply here, the better option is
> Food 4 Less or Trader Joes down in Santa Clarita.

Since Donna & Jeff are kind enough to use their garage space for packages, 
why not just mail (4th class) yourself a resupply package before you even 
get on the trail?

It's cheap and you get exactly what you want and it doesn't burden someone 
with getting YOU to town. Yes, I said 'burden'. This leans toward 
self-reliance (sans package holding) and being independent.

If  resupplying at the store in Agua Dulce makes or breaks your hike 
financially, you've got bigger problems. If your budget is that tight maybe 
you should re-evaluate and put it off till next year. It will be far more 
enjoyable than pinching pennies out of necessity.

As a long distance hiker you should have REI, Campmor, etc, 800 numbers on 
your person. You can order gear from where ever there is a phone and have it

mailed to you anywhere along the trail.

YMMV.

-postholer

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