[pct-l] On-trail shopping

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

The hike to VVR kind of sucks but it's not really all that bad. It  
only takes a few hours. It's not well-marked at the end, though, but  
I found my way and even found a shortcut.

$50-$75 won't get you very far in town if a restaurant meal is  
included. It won't even get many groceries unless you are really  
strict with yourself.

What I would do is pick a different place to try and be super budget- 
minded in the resupply department. The High Sierra left me shrunken  
and thin. I had no more womanly attributes after only half-way  
through, if you know what I mean. But other parts of the trail I  
sailed through quickly and was even able to put weight on. There are  
other parts of the trail that are the same length but you'll be able  
to do them in a fraction of the time that the High Sierra will take  
you. For instance, in the High Sierra it took most of the day to hike  
19 miles and I was left starving and battered, but in Northern  
California I was able to hike 27-35 miles a day easily.

On Jan 20, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> I had an idea of seeing how far $50-75 would get me on the trail,the
> section that ive been talking about not resupplying on(ken to
> mammoth). I desperatly want to peak whitney,but if no food,no go. I
> dont drink booze and hope to spend all nights on the trail(loud,early
> riser,shy),or nearby. So town means eating,resupply,possible
> librarys,phone calls,postcards. Cheap in the grand scheme of things. I
> myself have given supplys for free to thrus in the past(as a dayhiker
> or wked warrior hike),so I think a barter attempt might get me at
> least a few lbs. of food. I also thought a cheesy air mattress might
> get me to VVR,free of toll,maybe duct tape my pack to it or leave it
> stashed and use mattress to get across? Even if I was just going for a
> hot meal,it might be huge at that point. Ive grown up in the sierra
> and just walking thru is enough for me(ill be back),this trip is cut
> and dry,get to point a to b,as fast and as cheap as humanly
> possible,fun is only a sidebar and or byproduct. Would you sell me a
> granola bar for a few bucks?  Thanks for all the great feedback.