[pct-l] bounce box

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

I used a 3 gallon container, a Kirkland laundry detergent bucket.  
This was a mistake because being marked laundry detergent makes it a  
no-no for the post office. A nice lady at one of the post offices  
covered the bucket with priority mail stickers so you couldn't tell.  
Next time I'd go with a Scoop-away cat litter bucket, unless that's a  
no-no, too. 3 gallon is a good size.

Bounce box/buckets are expensive. It usually cost me $12-15 bucks. So  
I bounced infrequently. I sent it home completely at Cascade Locks  
deciding whatever was in there I would just do without. Ooops. I  
forgot my rain poncho was in there. Oh well. They sell ponchos at gas  
stations sometimes. And I found carrying a poncho makes it stop  
raining. Kind of like washing your car makes it start...

My phone charger was light enough to carry. My camera charger was  
pretty heavy. But the battery my camera used lasted almost the entire  
state of Oregon and it did last the whole state of Washington. So I  
carried two batteries and hoped I wouldn't need the charger once I  
sent the bounce bucket home. I didn't. I also broke the camera, but  
that's another issue completely...

Last year I swore I'd never do the bounce bucket thing again. But  
this year I still ended up with stuff I wasn't sure what to do with.  
At least the bucket was distinctive in appearance so that I could  
tell the post office clerk I could see it, there it is! Not so with a  
box. Sometimes they couldn't find my cardboard boxes even when they  
were there at the post office. That really sucks.

Another bonus of using a plastic bucket: the handle is handy. Another  
one: contraband won't leak out (shhh, I didn't say that.)

Good things to put in bounce buckets that you might not consider:
Bathing suit (for women) - Some pools don't allow street clothes.  
Only necessary if you like hotels.
Cleaning kit for your hydration bladder