[pct-l] I'm wondering what is the most reasonable amount of days between resupplies?

[Scott Williams]

The hours available for picking up your resupplies is a real issue,
especially when it's shipped to a post office.  Yogi's town guide is
essential for figuring out which towns have good enough resupply to just
wing it and buy what you need without a mail drop, therefore avoiding the
possibility of waiting several days for pickup.  And you'll also know when
all you've got is a gas station minimart.  In that case, it might be
important to mail something to yourself.   But as Bob mentions, flexibility
is key.   When I found that I couldn't get to a pickup near Sisters OR, I
just kept hiking and found such riches at the next hiker box I came upon, I
was able to resupply for nothing.  Can't count on that, but in this case it
worked out fine.

Prior to starting the CDT, my partner and I spent an afternoon calling
every hotel, motel and hostel from NM to Canada to make sure we could use
them as a spot to mail our resupplies.  It really paid off as we never had
to wait for Post Office hours.   A few times the places were totally booked
up and they gave us our boxes with a smile and we were on our way.  In
Rawlins, Wy, the town was full of construction workers and the lady at the
motel who had our boxes felt so bad about not having a room for us that she
called all over town and eventually put us all in her vehicle and drove us
from hotel to hotel till she found us an opening.  All this for the price
of nothing but the goodness of her heart.  Incredible.  But if you figure
you'll be wanting a shower, look up the accommodations available, and
Yogi's guide has them, and give 'em a call before you leave.  Always better
than Post Office hours.

When I began the PCT I hadn't figured on a thru hike and only started
sending stuff forward from trail when I found I just had to keep on
hiking.  I much prefer planning my drops with my own really tasty dried
foods as I did on my other thru hikes, but it's completely OK to wing it
and send stuff forward when you've got a good supermarket as PCT MOM up in
WA is finding with most of her SOBOs so far.  Plus, it gives you extra
incentive to dive into those hiker boxes and get creative!  There's often
good stuff in there.

Shroomer

On Thu, Jul 23, 2015 at 8:52 PM, Andrea Dinsmore <
andrea at dinsmoreshikerhaven.com> wrote:

> We have had close to 90 hikers so far. Most of them SOBO and a few NOBO.
> More than half are resupplying as they go. Usually most send themselves a
> box.
>
> Andrea
> On Jul 23, 2015 8:00 PM, "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > It should all be part of your pre-planning.
> >
> > YOU are responsible for obtaining the hours of operation for all
> re-supply
> > points. Adjust your hiking schedule, including your zero and nearo days,
> to
> > accommodate those. Eventually, you WILL deviate from that schedule, and
> > when
> > that happens, remain flexible. Just suck it up and do whatever it takes -
> > be
> > that one or more unplanned zero days. The Trail Gods will extract their
> > pound of flesh from you! No battle plan ever survives first contact with
> > the
> > enemy, but planning is essential.
> >
> > A good sense of humor helps a lot on the trail. You are not perfect; you
> > WILL screw up. Learn to roll with it, and above all - HYOH.
> >
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