resupply
Since you’ll be out for a few weeks, you can’t carry all your food at once – you have to stop and restock regularly. Most people resupply 4-6 times, but there are a fair number of road crossings and opportunities to get into town along the trail. So resupplying can often be easy if you want to reduce the food weight in your package. Keep in mind that stops in the city can be expensive and often take a lot of time. You have to weigh the convenience of carrying less food against the time it takes to stop.
You can restock supplies by pre-shipping boxes to a post office or a place in town that offers hikers’ boxes (such as a hostel), by having a friend or relative meet you at road crossings with fresh supplies (hikers traveling with a dog often chooses this option), or a drive to a nearby town for the supermarket. If your restocking plan includes shipping packages, ship them well in advance to make sure they arrive on time for you to pick them up.
If you’re shipping your supply boxes to a post office (make sure the PO in your target city accepts general delivery), here’s how you’ll want to address your box:
Your name
c/o General delivery
City name, VT 01234
Arrival at: ETA
It’s also a good idea to write your name or place a special marker (such as colorful scribbles or stickers) on all sides of the box to make it easier for postmen to find among the treasures of other boxes.
