[pct-l] best places to buy your own food:

[Paul Robison]

Personally since I'm going to mammoth lakes anyways which is 2 days away... Buying food makes sense since they charge a ( rightful) fee to pick up your box... And the price difference for 2 days of food isn't worth it... Not to mention the possibility of hiker box fair.

I have a lot of sympathy for those who live rural as I spent 4 years living in a boat access only community in the north, 5 hours from the nearest walmart and only accessible half of the year... Gas is no cheap and t he guys at Vvr don't get huge bulk discounts

~outpost
Sent from my iPod

On 2011-01-16, at 7:00 PM, Vermilion Valley Resort <pct-l at edisonlake.com> wrote:

> I wouldn't say VVR is "extremely" expensive - it's all relative.  VVR is 
> a 2 1/2 hour drive from the closest real grocery store, and over 3 hours 
> from the closest warehouse store, so all the food has to be driven in 
> weekly on a pretty poor road.  Some folks seem to think that we're just 
> right off the highway, and that's far from true.  And of course, VVR is 
> not a grocery store, but more a camp store.  We try to stay stocked on 
> "hiker food", but if you come in with the bulk of the crowd, you may 
> find we're sold out of everything.
> 
> That said - depending on when you come through, you might be able to 
> find food in the hiker barrel.
> 
> BUt, if you are planning to stop at VVR, then why not just send yourself 
> a resupply?  It's the best way to ensure that you'll have the food you 
> need... and with the ferry, it's only a 1 mile side hike from the trail.
> 
> You can find all of the info you need at 
> http://www.edisonlake.com/hikers/resupply
> 
> Bill
> Webmaster, VVR
> 
> jason moores wrote:
>> Outpost,
>> 
>> I've found Mt. Laguna and VVR to be extremely expensive and Cajon is limited to gas station grub though you could grab a few sandwiches from Subway if you don't mind walking to the other side of the highway(not an issue if you stay at the Best Western-ask for the hiker rate, if they still want to charge you $80+ ask to speak to the manager, she was upset to hear that we had paid full price in '09. In '10 we paid $45+tax). And you can always carry chicken mcnuggets to get you to Wrightwood which has a good grocery store and angles Rob&  Susanne will pick you up and return you to the trail-head.
>> 
>> While in Tehachapi/Mojave consider sending yourself boxes to KM, Independence, Reds Meadow, Toulumne Meadow, KM North. If you exit the Sierra at Kearsarge Pass you can set up boxes in Lone Pine or Bishop. Reds and Toulumne are insanely expensive. The hitch down to Bridgeport(Sonora Pass) can be brutal, try hitching west to KM North. They have inexpensive dorm rooms, an ok restaurant and ok selection of food in the store which is mostly geared towards fishermen. More importantly it's a great place to unload your bear can.
>> 
>> Tahoe is full service, no problems with Truckee, Sierra City was meager but doable, Belden is a ruff place to buy as you go, Quincey&  Chester have super markets, Old Station is very limited, Burney has a large grocery store, Burney State Park is very limited but a good place for ice cream and a soda and worth the detour to see the falls.
>> 
>> Well, that's as far as I've hiked on the trail. I did live in Ashland last winter and you'll have no problem stocking up for Oregon. I've also spent two summers in Stehekin where you will find a very limited selection in the store but many hikers supplement their food from the bakery. Another option for Stehekin: Most residents of Stehekin get their groceries by calling down lake to Chelan, placing an order and receiving their goods the next day when the ferry arrives(call before 3:00/e-mail is also an option). All you need to do is give them a credit card number. You could also call ahead to Chelan (Red Apple Market) and have your food sent up if you plan to stay at the resort, just call the resort and request that they pick up your box at the dock and hold it till you arrive. I've held several boxes for hikers in the past without issue and I believe Molasses will be working there again this summer while I'm on the trail - very hiker friendly folk in Stehekin.
>> 
>> Jackass
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:03:09 -0800
>>> From: paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com
>>> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>>> Subject: [pct-l] best places to buy your own food:
>>> 
>>> so as i started planning,  in my mind i had thought i would do about half and
>>> half mailing and buying.
>>> 
>>> but as the trail goes on, there seems less and less good places to buy my own
>>> food.
>>> 
>>> right now i have 24 places i am mailing food and only 7 i am buying.
>>> 
>>> the 7 places i am buying food are:
>>> 
>>> mt laguna ( 2.5 days)
>>> idyllwild ( 5 days)
>>> big bear ( 5 days)
>>> cajon pass ( 1.5 days)
>>> Saufley's ( 4 days )
>>> VVR ( 2 days)
>>> Mammoth lakes ( 6 days)
>>> 
>>> ... and possibly Tahoe.
>>> 
>>> so, 5 of my 7 are in the first 500 miles.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> am i mising any other places with good grocery stores to buy food from?
>>> 
>>> ... i don't want to get by on gas station foods;  but for those who have hiked,
>>> particularly the northern sections...  do any places in your mind that had a
>>> full on store offer good resupply options?  i know nothing of towns like Lone
>>> Pine, or Bridgeport etc.  what would have a safeway, etc. and what wouldn't.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> thanks guys so much for your time,
>>> ~Paul
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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