[pct-l] "buy-as-you-go" strategy and leaving with the pack

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Donna is right. You get really sick of your food. Also, your nuts get  
rancid and stale. Better to buy as you go.

But you can do a hybrid. In a town with a good grocery store, stock  
up on the hard-to-find items and send a package ahead to somewhere  
that doesn't have one. If you shop at K-Mart in Tehachapi, their  
groceries come in huge packages. It's too much. So send the extras  
ahead. The Data Book has the PO addresses so you're always equipped  
with the info.

I resupplied at the local grocery store in Agua Dulce. I didn't  
notice it being terribly overpriced. Where I live is overpriced so  
maybe I didn't notice.

For what it's worth, I find Trader Joe's to be kind of expensive,  
only because you can never get out of there without buying a whole  
lot of delicious things you didn't plan. And don't get me started on  
Costco. I have yet to see anyone walk out of there for under $200!


I did not attend the event last year and still ended up in the bubble  
of people. I think bunching up happens because the window to start  
the trek has an optimal time that is only about a month wide. You're  
going to hike in a crowd if you choose your start time for  
wildflowers and creeks and snow, as I did.