[pct-l] Boxes for resupply

[Jesse.Whyte@us.gambro.com (Whyte, Jesse)]

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Thanks for the spending the time to respond.  I just finished spending a
small fortune at Sams Club and Costco on food.  I tried to purchase a lot of
different and eclectic food types that fell within my caloric and vitamin
guidelines to avoid having the same dinner for 155 days.  I'm sure that it
won't work perfectly, but I'm hoping that having the same food for 20 or 30
meals won't be too boring.

Unfortunately, cost is a significant factor in my preparations so I'm trying
to minimize my expenses wherever possible.  Pre-buying food will probably
save me 10-15% of my total food cost, by my estimates from staring at
receipts and comparing them to inflated grocery store (or gas station)
prices.  Plus, the process of preparing food for this trip is helping to
keep my motivation up for the next six months until trail time rolls around.

Do you think it makes sense to use heavy-duty boxes (moving boxes from a
Uhaul or Ryder) or would lighter boxes that I could pick up from liquor
stores or discount clubs still work fine?  I want to start sorting all this
stuff into individual resupplies, but I'm trying to make informed decisions
before I storm off to buy packaging supplies.

Thanks again...

Jesse

-----Original Message-----
From: Ronald Moak [mailto:rmoak@fallingwater.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 11:16 AM
To: 'Whyte, Jesse'; 'PCT-L@mailman.backcountry.net'
Subject: RE: [pct-l] Boxes for resupply

Jesse,
If I had to do it over again, I'd do the absolute minimum of boxes needed.
Which would probably be just parts of Oregon and Washington with a couple in
Northern California, VVR, Kennedy Meadows and Yosemite. The rest I'd
re-supply at trail towns.
I'd make them as small as possible to keep the shipping cost down. Also a
good trick is to get some bright day-glow paint to spray on the outside of
the box. It helps to make yours stand out from the rest of the brown
cardboard boxes.
What I'd include in the boxes would be a variety of spice mixtures that can
be added to the meals. Rice, mash potatoes and Ramon noodles that can be
picked up at virtually ever stop along the trail. So no sense shipping them.
I'd also add some dried vegetables to be added to the mixture. I'd also add
Jerky and possibly Gorp which can be purchased or make in bulk a lot cheaper
than along the trail.
Since you're going at a slower pace, you may want to take some time to hitch
to some of the towns a little farther off the trail. Better for re-supply
and great for getting to know the local culture.
You maybe different, but many, if not most hikers, soon tire of the food
they've prepackaged for the trail. I've still got a couple of boxes of food
left over from 2000. Want any?
-Fallingwater