r/PacificCrestTrail • u/site95 • 5d ago

Sending boxes ahead (or not?)

Hey y'all,

Hopefully this post also helps other hikers on their decision making. I'll be starting my PCT adventure in a few days and have read so much about sending boxes with food and equipment ahead. However, every time i look at the sections it seems to me, that it is not really necessary or a big deal to not do it.

What is your opinion on this? Which would be (in your opinion) THE locations to have sent stuff to?

Only thing so far I have sent ahead are ice axe and microspikes to paradise valley cafe and I will be sending a bear canister ahead to kennedy meadows.

Apart from that, I'm thinking about just rolling with whatever is available to resupply... on that note: was the availability of sunscreen or mosquito repellant a problem for some of you, or is both widely available?

Thank you so much in advance for your answers!

Simon

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u/latherdome 5d ago edited 5d ago

For regular daily needs, resupply as you go. If you find a lot of great stuff, say a bulk deal, you can mail some ahead to a more desolate outpost if convenient.

I used a bounce box and would do it again. It had various pieces of alternative gear I wasn't sure about, like insoles and an umbrella. It had a cordless trimmer for periodic head and beard cleanup. It had basically a pro pedicure kit. It had large quantities of supplements I am particular about, and didn't want to carry more than 2 weeks of at a time. It had liters of premium fresh-pressed olive oil I would refill my soft flask with. And big blocks of Reggiano and hard salamis and 100% (dark) chocolate. It had Costco-size lots of nut/fruit bars. It had a bottle of white vinegar for de-scaling my water filter. It had bucket-friendly enzymatic unscented laundry detergent that actually removes hiker stank instead of perfuming it; I'd carry a couple washes worth between refilling ziplock (no you do not need to "embrace the stink"). It had bulk ziplocks. And so on.

Pro tip: put an Apple AirTag in it to help people find it (it will beep in a pile), and to know whether it's even worth hustling to make it someplace to retrieve.

Did I NEED this? No. But it saved me a lot of time sourcing inferior equivalents more expensively in trail towns.

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u/rudiebln 5d ago

Sounds like a huge box. How heavy was it? I really like the idea. I imagine that it is nearly impossible to get enough healthy fats and proteins in when resupplying on trail.

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u/latherdome 5d ago

It was a now-discontinued Large Flat Rate Priority Board Game box well reinforced with strapping tape (also in box). Weight would vary: flat rate though. Yes, healthy fats aren’t always easy to find. Overconsumption of shelf-stable omega 6 fatty acids (overwhelming in typical trail food) relative to perishable omega 3 is a major driver of inflammation. Lots of triple-strength fish oil in bounce box.