[pct-l] Mt. Shasta City, front/fanny packs, and food caches

[mark v]

I saw 3 other thrus the day that i was in Mt. Shasta City, so i'm under the impression that more than a few stop there.  Maybe 1 out of 4?  100 maximum???  I thought it was super-convenient and efficient to make up resupply boxes to ship to Seiad Valley and Oregon from Shasta City.  Unlike Ashland, everything is within a block or two, and like Ashland there are several really good options for buying.  2 natural foods stores.  An outfitter.  And most importantly, the Billy Goat Tavern.  A+  

I wore a front pack on my JMT hike a few years ago.  The convenience and weight distribution didn't end up being worth the weight, nuisance, and discomfort. 

There's a couple of surprising places for hiker boxes, where there is sometimes tons of decent food left for free to whoever wants it.  Every place where there's a restaurant, post office, store...just ask.  Nobody will snarl.  And occasionally there's one behind a counter that the current gossip doesn't even know is there.  The best hiker boxes i can remember: 

Warner Springs P.o.  (everybody unhappy with their pack weight is leaving food behind!)
Nature's Inn at Big Bear City
The Saufleys (Agua Dulce)
Tuolumne Meadows (ask at the counter)
Seiad Valley (at the RV park)
Dinsmores (Skykomish)