[pct-l] Muir Trail Ranch

[Town Food]

A few miscellaneous MTR resupply comments:

- There's a standard 5 gallon bucket design that you can get at any
number of hardware stores.  They'll all work, though note the following
caveat:

- You need to tape the bucket closed.  But, the designs that are printed
on some buckets make the tape fall off.  The tape sticks to the ink,
instead of the bucket, and the ink falls off, so the tape falls off.
You end up with the print of the Home Depot Man stuck to your tape,
which has now fallen off the bucket.  I had this problem with the orange
Home Depot bucket.  So, I removed the design by sticking and removing
tape from all over the artwork.  Once the design was removed, tape would
stick to the bare orange bucket just fine.

- MTR is really serious about closing resupply pick-up at 5PM exactly.
If you get there at 5:05 you will not get your resupply until the next day.

- When I hiked the JMT in late August to early September, the hiker
boxes at MTR were overflowing.  When I hiked the PCT and hit MTR on its
opening day in late June, they were almost bare.

- I don't recommend trying to resupply from the hiker boxes unless you
already have some experience with improvising a resupply from poor food
choices.  It takes some practice to figure out what you can prepare and
eat successfully, and what will be enough food.

- When I hiked the JMT, I stayed a night at MTR, but I regret it.  The
tent cabins were way too cold that time of year for me to sleep, even
with both beds' sheets on one bed.  I would've been much more
comfortable in my own tent.  It was nice to be able to shower, but that
was not worth $170.

As for the phone question, I don't know about satellite phones, but I
think they have Internet for rent -- you might be able to use skype.
They may also rent a phone.  I think their website is outdated in this
regard.  I'm not 100% certain though.

 -=Marcus

On 03/04/2017 05:44 PM, Melanie Clarke wrote:
> Hello Pamela,
> 
> Yes, those 5-gallon orange buckets will work just fine for a food drop at
> Muir Ranch.  Since the price is the same, send the biggest bucket you can.
> It is expensive but they are very organized and it's a convenient halfway
> point between Kennedy Meadows and Yosemite.  There aren't many other good
> resupply options for about 215 miles.  Please note though, they don't open
> if there is too much snow in the Sierras.  They may not be open if you
> start hiking the PCT too early.  They make no guarantees when they will
> open as it is based on the snow levels.  Maybe you can give them a call
> when you are in Wrightwood or Agua Dulce to see if they're open.  Maybe you
> can send your Wrightwood or Agua Dulce food drop in a bucket and use it to
> forward some food to Muir Ranch if they are open.
> 
> I hiked the JMT in August and there was a lot of food in the hiker box,
> LOTS!!!  I regretted paying the fee as it seemed like I could have gotten
> enough free food.  However, there may not be a lot of extra food when the
> PCT herd goes through in June.
> 
> Good Luck
> 
> On Sat, Mar 4, 2017 at 7:03 AM, Pamela Bryant <pambryant58 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hello fellow hikers, I would be interested in hearing your stories of your
>> resupply experience at Muir Trail Ranch in the Sierras. We are considering
>> resupplying there. I know there are other resupply areas near Muir Ranch
>> too.
>>
>> What little I know is that Muir Trail Ranch charges $75. And it has to be
>> packed in a bucket.
>>
>> Question #1. What buckets have you used like from Home Depot or . . . .
>> Are there different sizes. And what are some things/tips I should keep in
>> mind when packing the bucket. Any info would be welcome and appreciated,
>> even if it was in 2000, etc.
>>
>> Question #2. Also if you used a Satellite Phone there, what brand of phone
>> was it and how was your reception?
>>
>> Please reply through list or off line. Thank you!
>>
>> Mucho Gracias, Pam Bryant (trooper-Section hiker)
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