[pct-l] Basecamp searched

Thu Oct 1 17:22:19 CDT 2009

Hi Anna, 

If you can't find someone to ship resupply parcels for you, it is possible
to do it completely unsupported. In fact it's pretty easy to do.

As Radar suggested, you can buy food as you go. This is actually a much
better idea than shipping yourself food, because it gives you flexibility in
your diet when your tastes and calorie needs change (which they will).

For the most part you will do the entire trip using the same gear. You can
store small items (like replacement batteries, spare socks, map pages, water
purification, etc.) in a "bounce box" that you send forward to yourself
every few towns. (Most hikers use a 3gal or 5gal plastic paint bucket for
this and send it by Priority Mail to take advantage of free forwarding, when
unopened)

When/if need replacement gear some trail-towns and nearby large cities have
outfitters. You can order gera online or by phone and have the retailer send
it "General Delivery" to one of your upcoming resupply stops. Places like
REI.com, Backcountrygear.com and Backcountry.com are used to dealing with
thru-hikers and can send you stuff on the trail, as will many smaller
outfitters.

The few large items you have to be concerned with receiving mid-hike are a
bear canister and ice ax (and possibly a warmer jacket) for the Sierra, and
replacement shoes every 400-900 miles. 

You could order the ice-ax and bear canister from REI.com when you get to
the Saufley's and have them ship it to Kennedy Meadows General Store. Then,
when you are done with the Sierra, just ship it home (or donate it to the
loan program). 

Jim Payne/PITA runs a PCT bear canister loan program. I'm not sure the
specific details of how it works, but I know they loan out canisters to some
hikers for free (minus return shipping). I donated my bear canister last
year. You can contact him for more details. (enyapjr at comcast.net)

You can order shoes from REI.com, NBWebExpress.com or most online retailers
and have them sent to you on the trail. Just order a week or two in advance
of when you need them, and verify that they are in-stock when you place your
order.

(I'm not sure if you will run into problems ordering stuff with a Swiss
credit card, but it seems like it probably wouldn't be an issue.)

If you are planning on using a canister stove, here is a list of places
where you can (usually) find isobutene canisters on the PCT: 

http://www.pctatlas.com/fuel.htm

There are a few stretches where you will have to carry an extra canister or
two, or ship fuel to yourself. It's a hassle to ship fuel canisters, but it
is possible. There are just some special Postal regulations that need to be
followed:

Ken & Marsha have a write-up on shipping fuel here: 

http://www.gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel.htm

You can also go with an alcohol stove (although they suck, in my opinion)
and buy fuel in hardware stores and auto shops along the way.

Hope this gives you some food for thought. 

I agree with Radar's recommendation of Yogi's Handbook to help with your
pre-hike planning. You can get her book here: 

http://www.pcthandbook.com/

Happy trails!
Erik the Black
www.pctatlas.com

------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:36:52 -0400
From: Gary Wright <gwtmp01 at mac.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Basecamp searched
To: anna mathys <haexli333 at gmail.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <351D6251-C68D-42DD-9FE9-959F9966413C at mac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed; delsp=yes

On Oct 1, 2009, at 2:12 PM, anna mathys wrote:

> For my PCT-hike in 2010 I'm looking for a place to pack the ressuply  
> parcels
> and for someone who'd send them during summer (if possible the same  
> person).
> I'm Swiss, 24 and have never been to the States. I intend to fly to  
> the
> westcoast sometime in April and start hiking end of April/ beginning  
> of May.

I think there are two different areas of consideration:
1) gear/maps 2) food.

For gear/maps I think it would be very helpful to have someone in
the States who can be your basecamp but I don't think that would
help for food.  I would also recommend finding someone on the
West coast for your gear basecamp as that will cut down on
postage expenses.

For food, I would recommend purchasing along the way. For those
locations along the trail where you can't really shop I recommend
doing you're shopping at a larger town and then just shipping to
yourself. For example you can shop in Ashland for all of Oregon and
ship packages to yourself.  Similarly you can shop in Cascade Locks
and ship to yourself for all of Washington.

Using this approach you have control of your food rather than
depending on someone else.  You also save money because you
are sending fewer packages.

Yogi's handbook has all the details for these sorts of resupply
strategies (www.pcthandbook.com).

Radar

------------------------------

Message: 10
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 10:23:00 +1300
From: Kea <keahiker at gmail.com>
Subject: [pct-l] Weather
To: Pacific Crest Trail List <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID:
	<42f712b10910011423n34f8a144he6b6522e530e4cad at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

The PCT gets wind (primarily in the south I believe) and rain (primarily in
the north).  What is the likelihood (and frequency) of getting wind and rain
at the same time?  This is critical information in selecting a tarp / tent.

Kea

------------------------------

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End of Pct-l Digest, Vol 22, Issue 3
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