Lots of people spend a lot of time meticulously planning their resupply strategy for their five month walk on the PCT. I'm not one of them.
My plan is to figure it out as I go along. I don't really know how much I'll eat, for one: I tend not to eat much when I'm hiking, which makes it more difficult because I know I will get hungry after a few days and have no idea how much I'll want to eat. Now, I could prepare and buy a lot of food for that eventuality and mail out 27 different boxes of food that I may or may not eat (or even like).
Or I can just see how it goes--it's fairly easy to get to well stocked stores for the first month, and put some more concrete plans for a few difficult spots where there aren't a lot of resupply points.
Here's what my plan looks like, with mile markers and dates. C-Store means "convenience store", often a gas station or small grocery. Later dates are fuzzier.
Southern California resupply plans
| Date | Mile | Method | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17 | 0 | Start | Campo | Start with 6 days food |
| Mar 23 | 109 | USPS | Warner Springs PO | 4 days food |
| Mar 26 | 183 | Buy | Idyllwild | 6 days food (and decide if Palm Springs is a rest day) |
| Mar 28 | 201 | Buy | Palm Springs | Possible resupply at Palm Springs, 4 days food |
| Apr 1 | 266 | Buy | Big Bear City | Vons, 6 days. Plus a rest day |
| Apr 5 | 341 | Buy | I-15 El Cajon Pass | Small resupply as needed at c-store |
| Apr 7 | 369 | Buy | Wrightwood | 4 to 6 days food |
| Apr 13 | 465 | Buy | Agua Dulce | 5 days food |
| Apr 16? | 566 | Buy | Tehachapi | Albertsons, 7-8 days food |
| Apr 23? | 702 | USPS | Kennedy Meadows | Ice ax, crampons, bear canister, warmer clothing, with 7 days food |
| May 1? | 789 | Buy | Bishop/ Independence | 10 days food crammed into bear canister (or maybe a day's worth of bulky food in a sack for a bear box storage at night). Might need a USPS package sent from home. |
| May 11? | 902 | Exit | Mammoth | Get off trail at Horeshoe Lake |
Post-Mammoth resupply plans
After a short break, I get back on the trail, staying overnight in Mammoth the night before..
| Date | Mile | Method | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 902 | Buy | Mammoth | Vons, food for 12 days (that's really too much to carry) |
| May 28 | 940 | Buy | Tuolumne Meadows | Food top up, if store is open |
| Jun 2? | ??? | USPS? | Central Sierra? | Need a resupply. It's 12 days walking from Mammoth to South Lake Tahoe. It's early season as well; Tuolumne Meadows Store may not be open, and TM is only 2/3 days from Mammoth anyways. Plus bears, so food has to be compact. |
| Jun 8 | 1092 | Buy | S Lake Tahoe | Raleys. Food for 5 days, ship ice ax, crampons home. |
| Jun 13 | 1192 | Buy | Sierra City | Grocery, food for 7 days |
| Jun 17 | 1265 | Buy | Bucks Lake | C-Store top-up as needed |
| Jun 18 | 1290 | Buy | Belden | Grocery, food for six days |
| Jun 24 | 1415 | Buy | Burney | Safeway, 7 days. Perhaps USPS, and motel? |
| Jun 29 | 1506 | Buy | Dunsmuir | Grocery top-up to 7 days |
| Jul 4 | 1607 | Buy | Etna | Grocery top-up as needed. Maybe a rest day |
| Jul 7 | 1661 | Buy | Seiad Valley | Groceries |
| Jul 11 | 1726 | Buy | Ashland, OR | Groceries in-town and a rest day. Mail resupply package ahead to Crater Lake |
| Jul 17 | 1829 | USPS | Mazama Village | Crater Lake NP |
| Jul ?? | 1989 | Buy | Sisters | Groceries and a rest day |
| Aug 1 | 2154 | Buy | Cascade Locks | Stevenson, WA has bigger grocery stores if needed |
| Aug 9 | 2302 | Buy | Packwood, WA | Probably overnight from Whites Pass and pack USPS supplies for Snoq Pass and Stehekin |
| Aug 14 | 2402 | Buy | Snoqualmie Pass | Limited options for food; might USPS |
| Aug 19 | 2476 | Buy | Skykomish | |
| Aug 26 | 2580 | USPS | Stehekin | |
| Sep 1 | 2668 | Exit | Manning Park, BC | Done! |