[at-l] thru-hike question: resupply tactics

[spur@mac.com (Spur)]

gwright@connix.com wrote: 
> I'm planning for a 2002 thru-hike ...
> 
> I'm hearing what I think are conflicting points of view regarding
> resupply via mail-drop and resupply via in-town purchases.
> 
> ... others advise to minimize town time and post office stops, in 
> particular you don't want to be stuck on a deadline Saturday morning 
> rushing to get to the PO before it closes.  It seems to me that getting
> off the trail every 3-5 days in order to keep down the amount of
> food I'm carrying is going to add lots of travel time to and from
> the trail and will force me to rely more on store purchases than
> mail-drops....
>
> Are my choices limited to a heavy pack with a good variety of food
> sent via mail-drop versus a light pack with the same expensive
> pop-tart,bagel,mac-n-cheese menu for six months?
> ....

Howdy,
I've done it both ways, one year all buying in stores, 2 other years sending
maildrops and supplementing with store purchases. The trick to avoiding
the weekend rush to the PO is to mail whenever possible to a hostel, motel
or trailtown store which is accessible on weekends. Addresses for these are
listed in the Companion as well as WF's book. It is not necessary to overnight
at the hostel or motel, though if you don't, a gratuity for their
service is
appropriate. In many cases you'll be ready for a bed, shower and town food
there anyway and won't mind overnighting.

An example of a partial maildrop schedule using non-PO addresses is
listed 
below. In cases where you fall behind schedule, it may be necessary to
get off 
the trail and hitch into an additional town for "emergency" resupply. When
you receive more than you need in a maildrop because you still have food
left over, it goes into a nearby hikerbox where others will benefit. You may
find yourself supplementing from hikerboxes yourself. To avoid totally 
running out, I usually carry a spare Ramen or two above projected
needs.

BTW, the schedule below is fairly ambitious mileagewise. Unless your legs
are already in shape, you'll want to add a few days.

Arrival Date--- MAIL DROP ADDRESS----# days food, miles to next resupply 
                                         
Day 3----c/o Walasi-Yi Center, 9710 Gainesville Hwy, Blairsville, GA
30512----2, 36
Day5----c/o Blueberry Patch, 5038 US Hwy 76, Hiawassee, GA 30546----4, 67
Day 9----c/o NOC, 13077 Hwy 19W, Bryson City, NC 28713----2, 28
Day 11----c/o General Delivery, Fontana Village, NC 28733----*4, 73
Day 15----c/o Mountain Momma's, 1981 Waterville Rd, Newport, TN
37821----*2, 36
Day 17----c/o Bluff Mtn Outfitters, Hot Springs, NC 28743----4, 68
Day 21----c/o Uncle Johnny Shores, 151 River Road, Erwin, TN
37650----*4, 66
Day 25----c/o Laurel Creek Lodge, 1511 Dennis Cove Rd, Hampton, TN
37658----3, 51
Day 29----c/o Mt. Rogers Outfitters, 110 Laurel Ave, Box546, Damascus,
VA 24236 ----*4, 75
Day 33----c/o Village Motel, 7253 Lee Hwy, Rural Retreat, VA 24368 (near
Atkins)----*4, 87
Day 38----c/o Rendezvous Motel, Rt. 1 Box 8, Pearisburg, VA 24134----5, 92
Day 42----c/o Best Western Motel, 237 Roanoke Rd, Daleville, VA
24083----4, 103
Day 46----c/o Mtn View Tea Room, 5244 Crabtree Falls Hwy Tyro, VA
22976----*5, 56
etc, etc

Happy trails,
Spur  GA-ME 99,00,01