The logistics of hiking the PCT are complicated. Fortunately, I’m not packing food for one really long hike. I’m really determining the logistics of a series of three-to-five day hikes. Just thirty of them in a row! Regardless, after a couple of days in the wild, I will reach a town. Some of them will be full-service. It will have everything I need including a gear store. Some of them will have just a gas station and a mini mart. Some of them will have no resupply options at all. Nearly the entire State of Washington has no resupply options.
Now, I could buy all my food in bulk at home and mail boxes to each resupply point. In theory, this would same me money, because I could buy in bulk. Costco is your friend The problem with this method is that eventually you will get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. Also, what do you do if you don’t finish?
Buying local is a better solution. However, not every town has a grocery store. Sometimes it is just a gas station. I’m not sure how many calories there are in a urinal mint.
So, I have been spending hours researching each and every town. I’m also using the Halfmile Anywhere 2017 Survey as a guide. Based upon that survey there are thirteen towns were I will need to ship a box. They are the following locations:
- Warner Springs (Desert)
- Kennedy Meadows South (Sierra)
- Kennedy Meadows North (NorCal)
- Sierra City (NorCal)
- Belden (NorCal)
- Crater Lake/Mazama (Oregon)
- Shelter Cove (Oregon)
- Timberline Lodge (Oregon)
- Trout Lake (Washington)
- White Pass (Washington)
- Snoqualmie Pass (Washington)
- Stevens Pass/Skykomish (Washington)
- Stehekin (Washington)
It turns out that my very first resupply point after about five days is one of the towns on the list — Warner Springs. So, before I leave, I will ship a single box to Warner Springs. That box will have four-days of food in it. That may be overkill, because will stop at the Paradise Cafe for lunch and get a burger. It is a rite of passage on the trail.
For Kennedy Meadows South (Yes, there are two towns with the same name in California), I will do a gear swap. Before I can enter the Sierra Mountains, I will need a bear canister, an ice axe, micro-spikes for my shoes and a warmer base layer. I will keep this heavier gear only as long as I need it.
For the Northern California towns, I will ship boxes myself. I will ship a box from Tuolumne Meadows to Kennedy Meadows North. From South Lake Tahoe, I will ship a box to Sierra City and Belden.
For Oregon I will use a similar strategy. From Ashland, I will ship a box to Mazama and Shelter Cove. From Bend, I will ship a box to Timberline Lodge.
That leaves Washington. There are not many options there. The most likely strategy there is full resupplies from home. I’ll worry about that when I get there.
Using this strategy, I only have to pack one box before I leave. That makes this trip much simpler.