Resupplies

The decision about how to get food on trail is not a trivial one. You can only carry about five days of food at once, and must go off trail into nearby towns to restock. Resupplying in trail towns can look a couple ways. Some hikers solely buy food in town, often at the local grocery store. This can be a little unpredictable and expensive, particularly if you have a special diet. The other option is to mail yourself resupply boxes. These boxes are usually sent by flat rate USPS. They're either sent from a home base (like your parents' house), or from yourself on trail when you're at a particularly well-stocked town. Some towns are much better than others, and unsurprisingly, there's a plethora of resources detailing at which towns a resupply box is recommended.

Pros and Cons of Packages

My plan is to be mostly resupplying in towns, with the occasional package. I'm vegetarian and fairly picky, so I want to make sure I have good food at each stop along the way. I've spent quite a while researching the best towns to stop at, and where a box would be most appreciated. Packages are nice because you can buy in bulk and repackage, plus you can include treats you're unlikely to find in town. You can also cut down on the time spent in town wandering around a grocery store. But with packages, the schedule is less flexible. You often need to mail a package a couple weeks in advance, and be well aware of post office hours. Some towns have hostels, hotels, or trail angels that will accept packages as well. But it's hard to make last minute changes, like if the rest of your trail family is stopping one town over. Also, since you're packing most of your boxes months in advance, your eating preferences might change drastically. A food you loved at the start might be unbearable by the time you receive the box.

On the other hand, buying food in town allows for a lot of flexibility. You can go into town on a whim, or match your schedule up with your trail family. You can also change your diet without any trouble - buying whatever appeals to you most. But some towns are very under-stocked, like Sierra City that only has a gift shop with snacks. These towns tend to be exorbitantly expensive as well, and you might find your shopping trips adding up. Every minute you're shopping is also a minute you're not on trail or relaxing in a hotel, so you can waste a lot of time finding food you want and consolidating and repackaging everything. Some grocery stores are also on the outskirts of town and harder to walk to.

A good in-between is to send resupply boxes while on the trail. When you stop at a large town, you can make a couple boxes to mail on ahead. This lets you change your plans and food preferences if needed, while saving time and money at those future towns. Another good method to know is that you can always bounce boxes ahead. The USPS will let you forward a box to the next town free of charge, so if you change your mind, you can always pick it up later.

The Plan

This map details all of the potential trail towns to stop in. Below it, I've laid out my current resupply plans. They're definitely subject to change, but I'll start packing boxes about a month before the trail.

Days of carrying (±1)	Trail town (mile marker)	Type of Resupply + Notes
4	77 Julian	In town
2	109 Warner Springs	Resupply box
4	179 Idyllwild	In town
5	275 Big Bear City	In town
6	369 Wrightwood	In town
5	454 Agua Dulce	In town (limited)
5	566 Tehachapi	In town
5	648 Onyx	In town (long hitch)
3	702 Kennedy Meadows	Resupply box + Sierra gear
5	786 Bishop	In town (long hitch)
6	906 Mammoth Lakes	In town (long hitch)
5	1016 Kennedy Meadows North	In town
2	1091 South Lake Tahoe	In town
3	1153 Sierra City	Resupply box + visit
6	1289 Belden	In town (limited) + my bday
5	1423 Burney	In town + July 4th + visit
3	1517 Dunsmuir	In town (limited)
4	1606 Etna	In town + package boxes
6	1726 Ashland	In town
3	1829 Crater Lake	Resupply box
4	1912 Shelter Cove	Resupply box
3	2001 Sisters	In town
4	2107 Timberline Lodge	Resupply box + visit
2	2155 Cascade Locks	In town + package boxes
3	2234 Trout Lake	In town (limited)
2	2303 White Pass	Resupply box
4	2402 Snoqualmie Pass	In town (limited) + visit
4	2476 Skykomish	Resupply box + visit
4	2580 Stehekin	Resupply box

Summary: 30 resupplies, 9 boxes sent (3 from home, 6 from trail)

Visit: Friends/family will visit me on trail (may bring food)

Bold: Possible zero