[pct-l] Re-supply

[Bob Bankhead]

There are only a few places along the PCT where you really cannot resupply
locally and must plan to send yourself a supply package. Perfect examples of
this are Kennedy Meadows (limited store) and Muir Trail Ranch (no food
available for purchase) in the Sierra, and Belden (really limited store).
For places like these, you must allow extra time at an earlier town stop to
buy whatever you'll need, both for the next section AND for the next "no
local resupply possible" spot, and to package and ship the box(es). Plan to
stop far enough in advance to allow your package time to travel - use USPS
Priority Mail only - to said "no local resupply possible" spot. Allow at
least 2 weeks; many remote sites like MTR only go to town once a week to
pick up packages.

Bear in mind that the possibility of resupply by buying locally is vastly
dependent upon your personal definition of what is acceptable menu-wise. If
you expect to live on truffles, bangers and mash,  and Champaign, you're
probably looking at a long series of resupply packages. If you can live on
Cheetos, potato chips, and Snickers bars, you'll rarely need a pre-shipped
package. The primary key to success in long distance hiking is flexibility.
As Dwight Eisenhower is reported to have said in WW2, "No battle plan
survives first contract with the enemy, but planning is essential".

Yogi's PCT Handbook is worth the money. It gives you a good idea of what's
available at each  potential resupply point.

There is one other salient point that many hikers overlook; TIMING. Every
April, there is a huge surge of thru-hikers leaving at roughly the same time
from the ADZPCTKO at Lake Morena. This "herd" is not unlike a swarm of
locusts; when they hit a resupply point, they strip the shelves of
everything edible. So, if you are within or shortly behind said herd, you
might well get into a spot where one might normally be able to do a complete
local resupply only to find that depleted store inventories have not yet
been restocked. There are resupply advantages and
route-finding/trail-breaking disadvantages to being ahead of the unwashed
masses. Again, planning and personal flexibility are key to success. 








-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Geoff Eldridge
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:20 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Re-supply


I live in the UK and I am considering doing the PCT next year but there are
somethings I need to know before making that final decision.It is not
possible to re-supply with food parcels sent up the trail for collection
from the UK because of customs restrictions on food stuffs so:- (1)  Is the
currently in place any kind of structure in the States that could help me
out with this? (2)  Is it viable to do the trail on only what I could
purchase as I went along.   Thanks Geoff Eldridge(The Aimless Rambler)