[pct-l] bounce box statagies

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

For a bounce box I used an empty 3 gallon square-ish plastic laundry  
detergent bucket from the recycle bin of a neighbor. Scoop-away cat  
litter is a similar bucket. The Post Office says it is a no-no to  
mail laundry detergent and it doesn't help to tell them the bucket no  
longer has it in it anymore. Priority mail stickers made for a good  
disguise.

I realize that mailing it is expensive. I usually paid around $12  
each time.  I kept items to be refilled, repair/replacement/recharger  
items, cleaning kit for my platypus, guide books, town clothes, gear  
not needed now but possibly needed later plus some fancy dried fruits  
and veggies and a few other foods that you just can't get in any old  
store.

The town clothes thing didn't work all that well. Usually what  
happened is I'd arrive to town after the post office was closed. It  
was a bummer to sit around all stinky waiting for town clothes. I had  
rain chaps so sitting around naked in my rain gear was not an option.  
So then I sometimes would just pack my town clothes with me so I'd  
have them.

The worst thing was being a slave to the post office. If I arrived on  
Saturday afternoon I'd be stuck until Monday, getting back on the  
trail no earlier than about 10AM.

I did my hike in two sections. I swore the second time I would not do  
a bounce bucket, but I did. In some places I even had TWO of them!  
What a pack rat! I have a real problem with buying a nail clipper,  
using it and then throwing it away (toenails of iron, my pocket knife  
was worthless). I really wanted my battery chargers but I didn't want  
to carry them. I didn't want to throw away all this nice food that is  
hard to find and what's the difference if I ship it to myself over  
and over vs having to inconvenience someone to ship it for me? So I  
ended up doing the bounce bucket again.

When I got to Cascade Locks I had had enough of the darn thing and  
decided that's it and I sent it home. Stupid me, though, because I  
sent it home with my warm jacket inside. I endured really cold  
daytime temperatures and rain through Washington without a warm  
jacket and then really warm temperatures later without a cooler shirt  
to wear. I think the suffering was good for me. I felt strong and  
invincible. I wasn't going to die because I had a warm sleeping bag  
and was always warm at night, I just wasn't comfortable during the  
day and being uncomfortable in some ways enhanced the experience 10- 
fold.

Anyway, there's my bounce bucket story. Hopefully there's something  
useful in there for you.