[pct-l] Maildrops, Raingear

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Scott,

I utilized mail-drops for my entire 2006 thru-hike and had only two minor issues.  I only utilized 3 post offices though for the entire trip (Warner Springs, Tuolomne Meadows and Stehekin).  All other drops were sent to places of business rather than to post offices.  I did not want to deal with the possibility of arriving into town on days when the post offices were not open.  I will give a couple of examples:

Mt. Laguna - don't send to PO but rather to Mt. Laguna General Store
Idyllwild - sent to Tahquitz Inn (w/ prior arrangement)
Wrightwood - Sent to "Mountain Hardware" the local hardware store

With a bit of planning, you can send your drops to businesses that will hold them free of charge and are open 7 days a week.

I would also highly recommend that if you are going to use mail drops, only send out advance drops for California.  When you reach Ashland, you can than create the 7-8 mail drops you will need for Oregon and Washington and send out from there.  One reason to do this is that your mileage will likely increase in Oregon and Washington and by waiting you can better determine how many days you will need in between drops.  You will also give yourself the flexibility to change your drop contents if you are tiring of certain types of food.

One thing that I found is that I only included breakfast, dinner and trail snacks in my drops.  I preferred to get lunch makings in route as this was my main source of fresh products (meats/cheeses/fruits/veggies).

Another thing that I found useful with my drops is that I utilized Alpine Aire and Mary Jane Organics dehydrated food in bulk packages.  I found 12 different meals that I liked prior to the hike and than bought these 12 items in bulk packages and than re-packaged in proportions of my choice.  This way, with just a bit of planning, I never ate the same dinner more than once every 12 days.  Buying this in bulk was also much more affordable.

Good luck,
Jeff Singewald - Elevator
-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Scott Polewach" <spolewach at hotmail.com> 

> 
> 
> 
> 1. How friendly are the post offices and lodges that hold maildrops along 
> the PCT? If I send out all my own maildrops before begining my trip, will 
> (almost) all of them actually be at the post offices/lodges/etc. when I 
> arrive? Should I call them in advance and give them a heads up? I know 
> that many people say they would not recommend maildrops, but even if I did 
> the AT again I would do maildrops. I go into sensory overload at grocery 
> stores and usually buy at least 50% more food than I need. 
> 
> 2. How nessecary is rain gear? I found that I'm too sweaty for gore-tex 
> to be all that effective. Will a windshirt and an emergency poncho cut it 
> for the majority of the trail? I would (probably) carry a gore-tex jacket 
> for at least the Sierra, but are there any other areas where I would need 
> one? 
> 
> Thanks 
> 
> Hermes 
> 
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