Before Trip During Trip After Trip Day Hikes Equestrian Info
   
  Before Trip  
  FAQs  
  Permits  
  Health & Safety  
  Re-Supply Strategy  
  Print Mailing Labels  
  Resources  
     
  Re-Supply Strategy By Chris and Jenelle, Leavenworth, Wash.
  
 


In 1995, when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, I used the typical resupply strategy of frequent (about 20-25) mailed food parcels. I became increasingly fed up with the limitations of this method, the cost of postage, the wrong assumptions I made in planning, the food I could no longer stand, etc. By the second half of the AT, I was telling my support person to stop sending me maildrops and I was buying my food as I went. This method worked well for me.

In 1998, while planning for my PCT thru-hike, my partner, Jenelle and I decided not to use mailed food parcels, except in a few places, and those we would mail ourselves from the trail. This method worked well for us.

This document was written to give potential thru-hikers some ideas about alternatives to relying on mailed food resupplying during their hikes. Historically, mailing food drops has been the preferred method. But more and more, thru-hikers are interested in relying less on that approach. Here is why:

Concerns

First, mailing food is expensive, often more expensive than the food itself. If you live on the east coast or even the mid-west, you will not get a break on the postage by sending your packages parcel post. Parcel post rates are based weight and on the number of zones between where you’re mailing from and where you’re mailing to. If you cross enough zones (there are 8, I think, in the continental U.S.) you will save only a nickel (yes, 5 cents) by going parcel post versus 1st class (priority mail – same thing). A 15 lb. box of food mailed cross-country 1st class will cost around $20. You will have to save a lot of money on your shopping to make up for all the postage costs.

Second, your preferences might change. I suspect it’s happened to every thru-hiker (well, except maybe a few): you can no longer stand something in your maildrops, but guess what? you’ve got five of them in every box for the next 2,000 miles! So you’re forced to either eat something you can’t stand or waste it or try to pawn it off on someone else (it’s probably the same thing they’re sick of anyway, so this won’t work).

Third, (and this can go both ways) preparing all those maildrops in advance is a huge undertaking. Some folks relish all the planning, shopping, repackaging, etc. Some folks are into pain, too.

Fourth, it is a somewhat more difficult proposition to rearrange your itinerary if you’re having food mailed to you. What if you decide to flip-flop? What if you decide to skip around the Sierras and return to them later? What if you’re going faster or slower than you expected?

Fifth, you will probably make some poor assumptions during the planning phase and end up with too much or too little or the wrong kinds of food. In these cases, you will either have to dispose of food or purchase supplemental food. Plus, you will probably purchase some food in most places where it’s available. You’ll buy some donuts, a bag of chips, etc. So, you’re already in a store, carrying a basket or pushing a cart: why not just resupply there?

Sixth, thru-hikers are often criticized (probably unfairly) for not really contributing anything to local economies along the trail. Locals see us getting huge boxes of food at the post office instead of buying it at their establishments. This may seem trivial, but I believe that thru-hikers will be better accepted if they are thought to make a positive economic contribution to the community. I feel that anything we can do to encourage friendly relations and "good vibes" in trail communities is worthwhile.

Finally, what if you are forced to leave the trail. No one likes to think about it, but the success rate on the PCT is, at best in a good year, 50%. Half the hikers who spend weeks or months preparing maildrops end up with a lot of (hiking) food to dispense with.

Caveats (read these before proceeding!)

Diet We are not picky eaters and don't insist on variety. We want fuel and we want it now. We don't put much faith in miracle foods like corn pasta. We supplement our diet heavily during town stops. We tend to eat the same few things and are happy with them. We like dinners that cook quickly and require just one pot. If this sounds like you, you may be well-suited to a shop-as-you-go resupply plan. If this sounds horrible, don't waste your time reading the rest of this. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of our menu:

Breakfast A variety of cold cereals with powdered milk. We ate this every day for breakfast. Fast (don't need to mess with a stove in the morning), doesn't use fuel or require much water and there’s hardly any clean-up. We ate everything from granola (low-volume) to Grape-Nuts (yummy with raisins and walnuts) to Captain Crunch (very bulky but oh so delicious).

Lunch A bread substance with a cheese substance. Or, a bread substance with a peanut butter substance. Also, cookies, candy bars, pop tarts, you know, junk food. You'll make it up as you go along.

Dinner Instant Betty Crocker seasoned mashed potatoes almost every night, made with powdered milk. In addition, mac and cheese or Liptons or instant white or brown rice or lentils with some sort of seasoning. The super-magical secret to our success: Jello instant cheesecake every night (1/2 packet made with powdered milk).

Hitch-hiking A shop-as-you-go resupply approach basically requires more hitching. While many of the places on the "Jardine" or "Craig" plans where you can get mailed food are close to the trail, many of the stores we used are a little further away. If you aren't comfortable hitching, use Ray's resupply points. If you don't mind hitching, read on.

By the way, getting a ride doesn’t always mean hitching. One approach that works quite well is to simply ask someone for a ride. This is not yogiing! Many of the places where you’ll need a ride will also be places where there are people with cars: trailheads, overlooks, highway passes, parks, etc. Pick someone and ask. You might be surprised how infrequently you are turned down, especially if you preface your proposition with an introduction: "Hi, I’m hiking from Mexico to Canada on the PCT and I need to get into so-and-so to buy some groceries. Would you happen to be heading that way?" People are often thrilled to learn about your hike and hear your stories. This is a great way to connect and allow others to experience your journey vicariously. Some of our best people experiences on the trail were during one of our hitches to get groceries.

If you are a solo woman or anyone else leery of hitching, this approach gives you a lot of control over the situation. My personal feeling is that hitching from the trail into nearby towns is relatively safe. But you must use your own judgement. Don’t be in such a hurry to get to town that you take chances when your instincts are screaming, "CAUTION!"

One final tip for graciously refusing an offered ride. If you get a bad feeling after someone’s already pulled over, slap your forehead and say, "Oops, I left my camera back at my last break. Thanks, anyway, but I’ve got to go get it." (Thanks to someone, somewhere for this suggestion.)

Definitions

So everyone knows generally what we mean when we describe resupply possibilities.

Small store Ramen, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cereal, powdered milk, oatmeal, cookies, crackers, candy bars. Basically a camp store or convenience store: no specialty items but enough to get you by for a couple of days if you're not picky. Can be very useful for snacks and lunch stuff, if you want to carry enough dinners and breakfasts. Usually fairly expensive, but may still be cheaper than postage.

Medium-sized market Will have a complete selection of items if not a lot of variety. You may, for example, have to buy a large box of powdered milk, or settle for "cheap" bagels. Prices lower than a "small store," but higher than a large market or supermarket.

Large market There is a slight difference between a large market and a supermarket, but for the purposes of a thru-hiker, probably not a significant difference.

Supermarket Like the one near where you live, you know?

Compact town The main services are within a half mile radius.

Unless we note otherwise, every place we list with a store is a place where we feel you could re-supply, based on our explanations above.

A Little of This – A Little of That

Unless we note otherwise, all the places we list also have P.O.'s. This brings up an interesting hybrid approach which works pretty well: you could mail some food -- like wonderful home-dried tomato sauces and other goodies, but buy your everyday food at the store. A combined approach like this would make your logistics a lot simpler. You could mail very small, forwardable packages with specialty items, but not 8 for $1 ramens that you can buy anywhere; or cookies that are going to go funky in your food boxes. You don't have to adopt an either/or approach. But it definitely doesn't make sense to us to mail elbow macaroni first class across the country. (A useful tip: if you’re going to mail food that came in a store wrapper, leave it in the store wrapper until you receive it. Store wrappers keep food fresher than food that’s been transferred into ziplocs.)

A note about mailing: Remember, if you mail something first class (priority) and don't open it, you can forward it for free. Also, you can mail very large, heavy boxes very inexpensively from one trail town to the next 4th class (parcel post) very inexpensively ($3-5 for a 20 lb. box), and you're unlikely to beat it there walking. Think about using a drift box for food extras, especially if you think you might actually eat the food later. Also remember: you can buy money orders with your credit card at most P.O.'s and then use the money order to buy food if the store doesn't take credit cards.

The Nuts and Bolts

Note: I'm not trying to re-write the available town guide here (in fact I don't even have a copy of it in front of me right now). This is not an exhaustive listing of the services available, only a few highlights, especially as they relate to a shop-as-you-go resupply strategy and a few other things that my addled brain can remember. I would suggest buying the PCT Town Guide available through the PCTA. It is a good start toward an AT-quality town guide.

Campo to Mt. Laguna  -  43 miles
  • Walk to Mt. Laguna (<1/2 mile): Small store, motel, restaurant, pay phone, not sure about laundromat (but hell, you've only been out 2-3 days, whadya need a laundromat for?) The Laguna Campground (map A8 bottom right) has coin showers. Ask for directions to there from the store. There's a back way.
Mt. Laguna to Highway 78   -  35 miles
  • Hitch to Julian (about 13 miles): Medium-sized market, pricey hotels (go ahead, splurge - you deserve it), good restaurants (Mamas Café or Romano's), hardware store with camping supplies, small outfitter, NO laundromat. You can catch a bus to Julian from where the trail crosses Highway 78. There's a link to the service in one of the digests. I think it goes 3-4 times a week at about 8:00 a.m. Compact town, except for P.O., which is still pretty close.
  • Hitch to Borrego Springs (about 15 miles): Large market, reasonable hotels, restaurants, laundromat, shops, drug store, ATMs. It is very hot here! Julian is much cooler. Good compact trail town, except for the heat. The bus also serves Borrego Springs. Borrego Springs can also be accessed from S22 at the 102-mile (from the Mexican Border) mark via a 15-mile hitch.

Notes: the one drawback of resupplying via Highway 178 is that you'll have a heavier pack for the San Felipe traverse. The good thing about resupplying here is that you can solve the Scissors Crossing water dilemma.
Highway 78 to Idyllwild  -  102 miles
  • Walk/hitch to Idyllwild (2.5 mile hike, then 1.5 mile hitch or walk): This is a well-described, compact resupply town with a medium-sized market as well as a specialty food store with some very interesting and enticing foodstuffs that will appeal to backpackers. Take advantage of the hiker/biker sites at the very nearby state campground if you're on a limited budget. All the usual amenities.

Notes: There are three ways to shorten this leg: hitch to Borrego Springs at S22 (shortens leg 24 miles, but 15 mile hitch); re-supply by mail at Warner Springs P.O., which has no supplies except maybe a few candy bars and a good burger at the clubhouse (shortens leg 33 miles, but 1.3 mile detour); or re-supply at Anza via Pines-to-Palms Highway and Highway 371 (shortens leg 52 miles, but 6 mile hitch). I don't have any info on Anza other than what's in the guidebook or has been posted to the PCT-list.
Idyllwild to Big Bear City   -   87 miles
  • Hitch to Big Bear City (about 5 miles): Hitch from the PCT's crossing of Highway 18 at mile 55.4 of Section C. Don't bother with Van Dusen Canyon Road: it gets much less traffic. Otherwise, this is also a well-described resupply with a small-medium-sized market in Big Bear City near the P.O., or a supermarket available nearby (1-2 miles depending upon where you stay) on the bus line.

Notes: There are ways to shorten this leg, but really no need and they're probably not worth it. Don't pass up the South Fork Mission Creek Hostel if it's still in operation when you go by. You won't regret stopping there.
Big Bear City to Wrightwood   
-  104 miles (via the hitchable route)
-  98 miles (via the Acorn Canyon Trail)
  • Walk to Wrightwood (3.5 miles via the Acorn Canyon Trail)
  • Hitch to Wrightwood (7-8 miles via the Angeles Crest Highway 2): Compact town with medium-sized market, but no laundromat. The Pines Hotel (I think that's its name) allowed thru-hikers to use their laundry facilities and were pretty reasonable to boot. There are some host families in Wrightwood. Personally, I'd hitch to town from Highway 2 (even though that gives you a longer leg from BBC) and save yourself the climb back up the Acorn Canyon Trail with a full pack.

Notes: There are ways to shorten this leg but I don't have much info on them other than the Summit Valley Store (right off the trail before Cedar Springs Dam; has snacks, pastries and maybe a few dinner items: you could probably get enough here to get by to Wrightwood), and the new McDonalds at Cajon Pass (load up your food bag with Egg McMuffins!). You could actually hitch to Wrightwood fairly easily from Cajon Pass, but then you'd have a full pack on your looong climb up into the San Gabriels.

Wrightwood to Agua Dulce  -  84 or 90 miles
     (depending on how you went to Wrightwood)
  • Walk right through Agua Dulce: Small town without lodging, or a laundromat, but with one host family who is on a mission to put up every single thru-hiker that comes through town and do their laundry. Don't worry: someone will point you in their direction.
Agua Dulce to Tehachapi/Mojave  -  100 miles (to Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road)
  • Hitch to Tehachapi (9.4 miles): Tons of services, but very spread out. A much prettier town than Mojave. They moved their P.O. from a convenient downtown location to a location about 1.5 miles out of town, near the site of a proposed planned community. Fascists!
  • Hitch to Mojave (12 miles): Not a pretty town and much hotter than Tehachapi, but somewhat more convenient and compact than Tehachapi. White's Motel will shuttle back to the trail. They're pretty centrally located, too.

Notes: Both towns can also be reached via Highway 58, 8 miles further on, but it is a limited access highway and harder to hitch.
 Tehachapi/Mojave to Walker Pass  -  92 miles
OR
Tehachapi/Mojave to Kennedy Meadows  -  143 miles
  • Hitch to Onyx/Kernville/Lake Isabella (17.6 miles to Onyx; public transit to Kernville and Lake Isabella): The small store at Onyx could probably get you by the 51 miles to Kennedy Meadows. But if you get there and just can't resupply, take the bus to Kernville (which runs a few times/day). Kernville is full service (medium to large market), compact and scenic. Lake Isabella is full-service (supermarket), but quite spread out. You could do some rafting in the area if you're looking to take a lay-over. The public transit is excellent and will take you just about anywhere between Onyx and Bakersfield. Busses don't run on Sundays.
  • Walk to Kennedy Meadows Store (about a mile): You cannot reasonably expect to resupply out of this store for the longish legs ahead. But you might be surprised how easy it is to get a ride to Ridgecrest from here. I wouldn't go, though, unless it were a round-trip ride.

Notes: However, here's how you can avoid needing to resupply at KM (if you want): Resupply at Kernville with enough food to get from Walker Pass to Trail Pass (91 miles). Be sure to account for any time you might spend loitering at KM, though between the trail angels who frequent the place and the General Store, you could probably get by okay. From Trail Pass, hike to Horseshoe Meadows Road (2.1 miles) and then hitch to resupply in Lone Pine (medium-sized market). The potential glitch in this approach is that at times there apparently isn't a lot of traffic on this road and it's a long walk to where the road intersects the Whitney Portal Road, where there is lots of traffic. The total distance from the trailhead to Lone Pine is 22.8 miles. I think it's about 17 miles to the Whitney Portal Road.

Here's another approach: You could resupply in Kernville with enough food to get from Walker Pass to Whitney Portal (128 total miles to trailhead, not including side-trip of 1.8 miles each way to the summit of Whitney). From the Whitney Portal trailhead, it should be an easy hitch to Lone Pine. When you return to the trail, you could consider returning via Horseshoe Meadows Road and Cottonwood Pass, to avoid climbing back over 13,100%' with fully loaded food bags. You will re-hike a fairly level 16.5 miles (~1500' of climbing over those 16.5 miles), but it might be worth it to avoid the ~4000' of climbing over 8.7 miles to return to the trail via Whitney Portal (the net gain from Horseshoe Meadows Road TH to Cottonwood Pass is ~1300'; the net gain from Whitney Portal to Trail Crest is ~5300'). Your choice: walk extra miles with a full pack or climb extra elevation (at high elevations) with a full pack.
Kennedy Meadows to Independence/Lone Pine  -  95 miles
     (via Kearsarge Pass to Onion Valley TH):
OR
Kennedy Meadows to Vermilion Valley Resort  -  162 miles
     (assuming you take the boat)
  • Walk and hitch to Independence (9 mile walk; 15 mile hitch to Independence): Small to medium-sized markets. Compact. Nice city park and nearby camping.
  • Walk and hitch to Lone Pine (same as above, except additional 10 mile hitch to Lone Pine): described above.
  • Walk or ride boat to V.V.R. (described in guidebook)

Notes: If you did resupply at KM, these are your next logical options. If you use V.V.R., I assume you're going to have to do a maildrop, though I haven't been there so I don't know what's available to purchase.
Independence/Lone Pine to Red's Meadow/Mammoth Lakes  -  124 miles
     (via Kearsarge Pass)
OR
Independence/Lone Pine  to V.V.R  -  95 miles (via Kearsarge Pass)
  • Walk or ride boat to V.V.R (described in guidebook)
  • Walk to Red's Meadow Resort (1/2 mile): small store - you could get by to Tuolumne Meadows.
  • Walk to Red's Meadow then take public transit/hitch to Mammoth Lakes (~12 miles total): The bus only runs to Mammoth Mountain Resort in the summertime so you have to hitch the remainder of the way (about 4-5 miles) to town. The town of Mammoth Lakes is full-service if a little spread out. A little spendy for hotel rooms, too, but this is one place you might feel like it's worth it, especially if you just came all the way from Kearsarge Pass.
V.V.R. to Tuolumne Meadows  -   65 miles
OR
Red's Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows  -  36 miles
  • Walk right through Tuolumne Meadows: Though none of the services here were open in '98 when we hiked through, I understand the store here is quite adequate. I've heard they've actually had bears break in to the P.O. and steal hiker boxes, though. Hah! We hitched to Lee Vining (~20 miles) to the small store there to get enough to get us to Sonora Pass. Another option is to hitch or take the bus down to Yosemite Valley. Don't know much about that, either.
Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass/Bridgeport  -  76 miles
  • Hitch to Bridgeport from Sonora Pass (33 miles): Medium-sized, but expensive store. Expensive motels. Some stealth camping available on outskirts of town -- or you could just get yourself arrested for the night. Laundromat with coin showers. Despite its length, this wasn't a difficult hitch.

Notes: This is a rather short leg, with a long hitch to resupply. We did it this way because we had heard (and it turned out to be true, especially in '98) that this was a very strenuous leg, too.  There is new large market called Liras in Meyers, good size store, has everything, also a deli and a nearby Mexican restaurant. Grover Hot Springs offers a $5 soak. Also, dont bother going to Markleeville for a store, there is not even a little store, nothing but a pretty nice restaurant (pricey) and a post office in the 1 block long town! Kennedy Meadows Horse pack station (Hwy 108/Sonora Pass) has a small general store, like Echo Chalet, and a cool saloon/restaurant, home cooked, great food,ie/hot meal and a cold brew...

Sonora Pass to Echo Lake Resort -   76 miles
  • Walk right through Echo Lake Resort: A small store, with enough to get by on if you're going to resupply again at Tahoe City or Tahoma. I don't think I'd try to get all the way to Sierra City on what's available here though. Call from here (the number is posted) if you're going to stay at the aforementioned hotel in South Lake.

Notes: You save 2.5 miles if you just hitch to Meyers or South Lake Tahoe from Echo Summit, though the guidebook says it's difficult (?).South Lake has everything, including supermarkets and public transit (useful since it is a bit spread out). The little branch P.O. nearby won't (sometimes) hold General Delivery packages, making you figure out how to get to the Main Branch a couple of miles away. The Town Guide has info on the one motel proprietor in South Lake that caters to thru-hikers, including pick-ups and drop-offs at Echo Lake Resort once a day. He will hold packages.

Echo Lake Resort to Tahoma  -  32 miles (via Barker Pass/Forest Route 3)
OR
Echo Lake Resort to Tahoe City  -  32 miles (via Barker Pass)
OR
Echo Lake Resort to Tahoe City  -  53 miles (via Granite Chief Trail)
OR
Echo Lake Resort to Donner Pass  -  61 miles
  • Hitch to Tahoma (~6 miles): Has a small store, laundromat, pizzeria, lodging. You can catch a bus from here to Tahoe City (10 miles north) several times a day. Tahoe City has supermarkets, a great outfitter, cool shops and places to eat and drink. One word of caution: Forest Route 3 may not be open to Barker Pass in big snow years, though there will be lots of runners and bikers using the closed portion. This is probably not a concern in most years. When open, the road is well-traveled.
  • Hitch/take public transit to Tahoe City (12 miles): see above.
  • Hike via the Granite Chief Trail to Squaw Valley and then hitch to Tahoe City (3.8 miles walking; a few miles hitch): I'm not familiar with the services available at Squaw's base area, but some are mentioned in the guidebook (page 343).
  • Hitch to Donner Trail Grocery from Donner Pass (not Summit) (3.2 miles): I only know what I read in the guidebook (page 328). I've heard about "Pooh's Corner," some folks nearby that host hikers.
Barker Pass/Tahoe City   to Sierra City  - 70 miles (my preferred option)
  • Walk or hitch to Sierra City (about a mile from each of two different spots): Small store. Not much else. Not really worth hitching to Downieville unless you just can't find enough to eat at the Sierra City store. Downieville does have a slightly larger store and expensive pay showers and an ATM.
Sierra City to Quincy  -   73 miles
  • Hitch to Quincy via Bucks Lake Road (~10 miles): This busy road will take you to full-service Quincy, with supermarkets, laundromat, thrift store, health clinic. It's a nice little town and fairly compact.
Quincy to Chester -  56 miles
  • Hitch to Chester via Highway 36 (8 miles): This, too, is a busy road and will take you to full-service Chester, with a supermarket, laundromat, etc. Rooms in town are a little expensive for what you get.
Chester to Burney  -   81 or 87 miles (depending on route into Burney)
  • Hitch to Burney via Highway 299 or Highway 89 (~7 miles either way): These two busy roads will take you to Burney, an excellent resupply town. Very compact with large market, P.O., laundromat, hotels, etc. You can easily camp at the Burney Falls S.P. PCT campground, then in the morning, hitch into town and be back to the trail in 2 hours.
Burney to Dunsmuir -  84 miles (assuming from Burney Falls SP)
  • Hitch/walk to Dunsmuir (~4 miles): Another excellent resupply town. You can (now) legally walk along the railroad tracks to the edge of town and then hitch or walk the remainder of the way into town. We hitched at the bottom of the on-ramp and got the first ride. The Travelodge has great deals, there's a medium-sized market, movie theater, laundromat, etc.
Dunsmuir to Etna  -  100 miles
  • Hitch to Etna (~10 miles): Etna Summit doesn't have much traffic, but most of it will stop to pick you up: it's almost all locals. The town of Etna is great. An excellent, cheap, medium-sized market, as well as a laundromat, and a hiker-friendly bed & breakfast: Bradley's Alderbrook Manor, on the edge of town as you're coming into town. She and the town's other hotel's proprietor will shuttle back to the trail.
Etna to Ashland, OR  -  122 miles
  • Hitch to Ashland, OR via I-5 (13 miles): Hitching on Interstates in Oregon is legal. Ashland is a large college town and a cool place to lay-over. It has everything you might need, though it is a little spread out. There is public transit and you can catch free theatrical performances each evening in the commons area downtown. Just ask around for details. The health food coop in town is an excellent place to resupply and is closer to the hostel than the supermarkets are.

Notes: Most people use Seiad Valley (57 miles into this leg), which has a small store you could barely resupply out of and the world famous Pancake Challenge at the café. We witnessed only the fourth person to win the Pancake Challenge in the last 14 years: another thru-hiker, Josh Dhasalear. Seiad Valley remains an option - hell, you walk right through it - but if you don't mind a 122-mile leg, just plan on resupplying at Ashland.
Ashland, OR to Crater Lake National Park  - 103 miles
OR
Ashland, OR to Diamond Lake Resort  -  126 miles
(Remember these are easy Oregon miles)
  • Hike to Mazama Campground Camp Store at Crater Lake National Park (< 1 mile): The small camp store could be used for resupply if you don' set your sights too high. If you do a mailed resupply to Crater Lake, be certain to send your parcel UPS and be sure to check at Mazama Village for your package before you continue up to the rim to Crater Lake Lodge. There has been some confusion in the past about where UPS parcels get left. They're supposed to be left at Mazama Village.
  • Hitch to Diamond Lake Resort via Highway 138 (~ 6 miles): This is a beautiful place, with a small store, café, laundromat and even canoes and paddle boats for rent. Camping nearby or get a room. Going here is one way to break up that long waterless stretch from Crater Lake Lodge to Thielsen Creek.
Crater Lake Rim Village to Sisters  -  154 miles (via Highway 242)
OR
Diamond Lake to Sisters  -  137 miles
  • Hitch to Sisters (15 miles): Sisters is a beautiful town with everything a thru-hiker could want, except cheap hotel rooms. There is camping in a town park, but no showers. Everything is close together except for the supermarket, which still isn't far. Go to Sisters and make some friends; then ask your new friends if you can take a shower! Better yet, go to Sisters with some friends and split the cost of a room. Don't miss the Gallery Restaurant - the locals' favorite.

Notes: It is possible to shorten this leg by doing an intermediate resupply at Shelter Cove Resort near Cascade Summit (77 miles from Sisters), and/or Elk Lake Resort (31 miles from Sisters). I didn't visit either of these places, so I can't say whether you could buy enough to get you by. I suspect that at best these stores would fall into the category of small. Also, at Highway 58 at Willamette Pass Ski Area (about half-way through this leg and 300 yards from the PCT), there is a pizzeria/snack bar open during summer months. They sell pastries, bagels, candy bars and of course, pizza. Eat one there, take one to go and consider yourself resupplied! Keep in mind that this is pretty fast, easy hiking through here.
Sisters to Cascade Locks   -  166 miles
  • Hike right through Cascade Locks: Almost a perfect trail town: medium-size market, pay showers, laundromat, cheap or free camping along the Columbia River. Cheap waffle cones. This town actually appreciates stinky, smelly thru-hikers. Go figure.

Notes: Again, there are some intermediate resupply opportunities if you want to shorten this leg, including: Olallie Lake Resort, 63 miles into the leg and right on the trail. You can get by at their small store for a few days, but be prepared to spend a little. 113 miles from Sisters, where the trail crosses Highway 35, you can hitch 6 miles west to Government Camp, which has what the guidebook calls a "moderately well-stocked store." I've never been there so can't confirm, but it sounds good to me. Next time, I'll probably go to Government Camp and then do a short leg to Cascade Locks. Can't remember why we didn't do so this time. Oh yeah, we were flying and with the few things we picked up at Ollalie, didn't need to. Traditionally, hikers mail boxes to Timberline Lodge, 118 miles into this leg and 48 miles from Cascade Locks. There will be a charge of $2.00 for each box and letter. All mail must be picked up by October 15 unless contact lodge to hold longer. UPS mail can not be returned to sender.
Cascade Locks to White Pass   - 148 miles
  • Hike to Kracker Barrel Grocery (< 3/4 mile): You could actually resupply for the next leg out of this store, but it would be spendy. The condo complex next door rents reasonable little skier efficiencies, which are often set up for large groups. They have a pool and a pay phone. The store has a coin laundry.
  • Hitch to Packwood (<20 miles): A medium-sized market, and the usuals.

Notes: This is one place along the trail where there are very few options, but there are at least two: You could shorten the leg by 34 miles by hitching back down fairly busy Wind River Road to Carson (about 8 miles) and if you couldn't get enough groceries there, continue on a few miles to Stevenson, where you could definitely resupply. (For north-bounders, there will be a fair amount of traffic on the roads in this region as hunting season will have begun.) One advantage to this approach, aside from giving you just a 114 mile leg to White Pass, is that you'll carry a light pack for the grueling, uninspiring 34 miles from Cascade Locks to Wind River Road.

You could also hitch down fairly busy Road 23 before entering the Mt. Adams Wilderness (83 miles into this leg) to the town of Trout Lake. This would be about a 20 mile hitch and the supplies in Trout Lake would be fairly limited, but this may be worth checking in to.
White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass   -  99 miles
  • Hike to the convenience store (<1/2 mile): Another one of those "you could get by" situations. If you're tired of just getting by:
  • Hitch to Cle Elum (34 miles): Supermarkets and everything else. A lot of the folks who work in the Snoqualmie Pass area live in Cle Elum. Even though you can't hitch on the Interstate, getting a ride shouldn't be too difficult.
  • Hitch to North Bend (23 miles): Same situation as above. Or if you're really wanting a dose of city life:
  • Hitch or ride the Dog to Seattle (54 miles): This is done more often than you can imagine.
Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass  -  75 miles
  • Hitch to Skykomish (15 miles): Friendly town, but small and lacks decent grocery store. Nevertheless, most thru-hikers go here.
  • Hitch to Leavenworth (34 miles): Where I live! Has two medium-sized markets and a health food store, tons of lodging and restaurants and it's quite compact. We're slowly converting everyone in town into a fan of thru-hikers. You can even take Trailways back and forth from Stevens Pass. You can also ride the free bus from here another 20 miles down valley to the large city of Wenatchee, which has everything. It also rains less in Leavenworth than Skykomish, which might be a big deal depending upon when you arrive. I will be hosting hikers (if I'm around) and I'll post notice at the pay phone at Stevens Pass. If you're having trouble when you get to Stevens Pass (say with bad weather) be aware that there are Pass employees that live up there and will assist you. Don't be afraid to go knock on some doors and ask for help. They are generally aware of the trail and thru-hikers.
Stevens Pass to Stehekin -   97 miles
  • Take the bus to Stehekin (~10 miles): Believe it or not, we bought enough food at the tiny store and the (AWESOME!) bakery to get us to the Canadian border. But this is one place (you didn't think I'd say it, did you) that you might seriously want to consider mailing yourself a box (like from Leavenworth).
Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass   -  117 miles (optional)
  • Hitch to Winthrop (~30 miles): Winthrop has a medium-sized market and the typical array of amenities. A long hitch, but probably not difficult.
Stehekin or Rainy Pass to THE BORDER: (the rest of the miles)

 

Epilogue

See, you really can go from Mexico to Canada without mailing yourself a single food box. You didn't think it could be done, did you?

Mailed Resupply From the Trail

Here's a little information about a hybrid alternative.

Instead of preparing all your maildrops in advance of your hike, why not carefully choose some strategic places you want to mail to and then prepare your maildrops for those locations during a layover in a good-sized town prior to those places.

For example, if you wanted to maildrop to some places in Oregon, why not take a day and box a bunch of food up in Ashland, where you can get anything you want. Then you could mail them parcel post and save yourself a bundle. (Don't forget to UPS to Crater Lake, though).

Same goes for Washington. The store at Cascade Locks isn't huge, but it's good-sized. You could do your Washington resupplies from there.

One advantage to this approach is that if for some reason you are forced to get off the trail, you won't have boxes of hiking food to deal with. Also, if your tastes change, you can vary your menu. Imagine getting sick and tired of all those curry lentil dinners you so carefully dehydrated over several months this winter.