[at-l] Wow:-)

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

At 09:40 PM 9/27/01 -0700, Orange Bug wrote:
>Resupply works well. You have less hassle over schedules for the Post
>Office.

I have heard this reason for local supply often but it omits three issues.
Are you going to be using a bump box or do you expect to get letters
or goodies from family and friends?  If so, you will be hitting the post office
anyway so a mail resupply is no extra hassle.  And there are a lot of popular
hostels and motels that accept maildrops if you will be spending the night, 
which
totally eliminates the hassle factor.  No need to hitch to the store 
because you
supply is right there where you will be spending the night.

Also from the economic side, here are a number of things
that can be purchased at a dramatic discount if bought in bulk before your
hike.  for instance, nuts at Sam's club in 3lb cans are .10 an ounce compared
to grocery stores in 1lb bag at .17 per ounce compared to little bags at 
the counter
at .50 per ounce or more.  That's a LOT of savings.  Breakfast bars and 
Snickers
are also a really good bit cheaper at sam's than in grocery stores. Not to 
mention
Jerky which is outrageously expensive at grocery store but reasonable at Sam's
You also have to figure on Postage but if you live in the east coast 
region, it still
works well in your favor.  Liptons routinely go on sale around here for .70 
a bag
compared to 1.29 regular price.  Also, if you use powdered milk or other things
available only in amounts in excess of a couple day's worth, you will end up
bumping it ahead in you box, anyway or giving it away so why not plan ahead?
If you prefer olive oil, rather than squeeze on the trail, it's almost 
impossible to
find a reasonably sized bottle and if you do, it will be glass and you will 
pay through
the nose for it.  Pre packing that is a boon.  Also, if you dry your own 
fruit and
veggies you can save a ton over the prices in the grocery.

Even though it's my job to shop and ship for hikers, I'm not sure I would 
recommend total
resupply by mail.  There are things that may not make sense to ship like meat,
cheese, squeeze margarine and peanut butter which are heavy and therefore
expensive to ship are rarely go on sale at sufficient discount to warrant 
pre purchasing
and are almost universally available.

For my hike, I will prepurchase Liptons and Mac and Cheese at Sam's for 
half my meals.
I will make up the other half of my meals using rice, quick cook beans or 
angel hair
pasta and my own seasonings.  I'll ship myself a variety of breakfast bars 
and candy
bars and coffee and sugar for breakfast.  I'll  dry fruits and veggies to 
add variety to
the liptons but shop for peanut butter, and other snakes and bread on the 
fly.

I'm not saying that this is the way everyone should do it.  I have been 
hiking a long time
and though I have not thrued, I pretty much know what floats my boat as far 
as food goes.
So I know the odds that my tastes will change are dramatically reduced.  I 
also have
a keen appreciation for the benefits of variety.  Since my interaction with 
my hikers is so
very focused on their food desires, I know how much a little variety can 
help.

Inexperienced hikers don't always realize how big a deal food can 
become.  I'm not saying
this is true for everyone but it is a factor in the drop out rate. You can 
always find
Liptons but it may be the same 4 flavors of Liptons and that can breed boredom
just as surely as prepurchasing.   Sooner or later you may get bored with 
the long
green tunnel everyday and your mind will begin to focus on FOOD.  If you 
are eating
the same old same old every day and night, it just adds to the boredom of 
your hike.

I had a perfect example of this, this season.  A hiker got a great deal on 
freeze dried food,
bought all he could and then sent it to me to combine with other food and 
ship to
him along his hike.  The problem was, the food was in Serves Four packs and 
there
were only four varieties.  So basically he would get one variet of supper 
and have to eat
that everynight for three or four nights and then he would get different 
meal for three or
four nights.  Before the hike, we discussed this and he really didn't see 
it as a problem.
It was just food and it didn't matter to him what it was as long as it was 
edible.  That
lasted for about a month then he started to freak.  That guy will be along 
time before
he can look at stroganoff or lasagna again <g>.

If you have the time and are willing to do a little prep work, I'm 
convinced that you can
save money and fer sure, eat a helluva lot better using mail supply than 
you can buying all
of your food along the trail.





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