| Miles Fm | Miles | Hiking | ||
| Town | Springer | Fm Last | Days | Notes |
| Fontana Dam, NC | 166 | 12 | Full Resupply (6 days thru GSMNP) | |
| Kincora Hiking Hostel | 412 | 246 | 19 | Resupply staples |
| Pearisburg, VA | 626 | 214 | 16 | Swap winter gear for summer weight |
| Waynsboro, VA | 853 | 227 | 17 | Resupply staples (*) |
| Harpers Ferry, WV | 1013 | 160 | 12 | Full Resupply |
| Delaware Water Gap, PA | 1284 | 271 | 20 | Full Resupply (*) |
| Dalton, MA | 1560 | 276 | 21 | Resupply staples |
| Hanover, NH | 1737 | 177 | 14 | Swap gear for winter weight (*) |
| Pinkham Notch, NH | 1865 | 128 | 11 | Resupply staples |
| Monson, ME | 2064 | 199 | 18 | Full Resupply (*)(100 Mile Wilderness) |
| Katahdin, ME | 2184 | 120 | 12 | Trail's End! |
I'm going to do the bulk of my resupply at grocery stores along the way. I'll supplement that with some staples I can buy in bulk, and that I may not be able to find in stores. Things like dehydrated vegetables and beans from Harmony House, Nido dried milk, instant hummus, quinoa, powdered cheese, tomato powder, Ova Easy powdered eggs ... I won a year's supply of various Clif Bar products in a contest, and I'll be splitting those up into each box. I'm sponsored by Emergen-C and will be getting enough vitamin packets to supply me, and to give away to fellow hikers So they'll be split up into all the boxes. I've got a full set of maps for the AT, and the unbound version of the 2012 AT guide coming, so relevant sections will be placed in each box. I'll be placing 6oz bottles of Permethrin* into every other box, starting in Waynsboro, to help keep the ticks at bay.
This topic is always a controversial one on hiking forums. Many experienced thru-hikers were perfectly satisfied with the food they found along the way, and swear they wouldn't tie their itineraries to drop boxes if they did it over. I expect that my hybrid approach will add some complexity to my hike, but that it will also provide me with better nutrition along the way. The proof will be in later blog posts ... Stay tuned!
thanks for the info, i have come back to it several times as i try to find the most efficient way to use the the mail drops. i hope to stay on the trail as much as possible and just keep going. So i am hoping to find Post Offices or sources of mail close to the trail. this is only because i made up a gorpy concoctions of food i hope to see how it energized my body: 6 ounces: 1/2 cup oatmeal, full whey protein based meal replacement, whole nuts, raisins, vitamin, fish oil, dark choclate and minor additions for variety, add water as needed. If two or three of these is adequate then this added burden of Post Offices will be worth it.
ReplyDeleteAre there any suggestions for convenient locations to augment your 4 prior to Harper's Ferry? Thanks you.
I'd recommend you pick up a copy of the 2012 A.T. Guide and look for trail towns that are spread out a distance you want to hike between resupplies, and that are easily accessable.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to rethink Kincora. Bob Peoples drives hikers into town for resupply...and you are only three easy hiking days from Damascus.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. The box I'm sending to Kincora (once I get their ok) just has staples like dehydrated veggies, beans, meat substitutes, spices, herbs - stuff I bought in bulk that I'd be unlikely to find in town. Also some of the Cliff bars I won, some meds/suppliments, and a 15-day supply of Emergen-C.
DeleteI'll still go into town to buy enough food to get to Damascus.
We, in NH, are routing for ya! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you New Hampshire! Been a lot of years since I camped and hiked up there with the boy scouts.
DeleteThanks for this list, I have been debating a few of these and now I have my final list of 8.
ReplyDeleteNice round number. Enjoy your hike! Maybe we'll run into each other along the way.
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