Best 5-10 Maildrop locations

[BRamsey]

Vets, section hikers. I am doing a NOBO thru hike this year and would like to keep my mail drops to a minimum, and plan to buy most of my provisions along the trail. This being the case, I hear that certain places offer either a limited or expensive selection of food. I would like to keep my drops to about 5, and so far am planning on Mountain Crossings (I want to start out light with 2-3 days of food), Fontana Dam, and Monsoon. I would like to include 3-5 days of food, first aid stuff, Permethrin to treat clothing, meds. etc. in the drops. I have the AWOL guide, and would prefer to ship to businesses/hostels. Any suggestions?

[Sly]

Nantahala Outdoor Center, 50' off trail (save a two day carry)

Port Clinton, Pa. (PO) is a possible mail drop if only because you walk right by the PO. Otherwise you could find your way to Walmart 1 mile off trail.

Bear Mountain, N.Y. (PO) is closer to the trail than the super market several miles away in Fort Montgomery.

Check out the AT Mailing Label page for more info (and printed labels)

[soilman]

Hike Inn at Fontana is a great place to stay and they will hold a mail drop.
Standing Bear north of GSMNP
Kincora or Black Bear Resort at Dennis Cove.
ATC in Harpers Ferry
Pine Ellis in Andover, ME
Northern Outdoors or Sterling Inn in Caruntunk
Either Shaws or Lake Shore House in Monson

[RED-DOG]

after completing the AT three times these is where i would think good mail drops would be.
1 Mountain crossings at Neels Gap ( food their is just too exspensive to buy ).
2 Fontana Dam ( the "Village Lodge" will accept mail drops even if you don't plan to stay ).
3 standing bear farm hostel ( it's really a crap shoot if curtis stocks up or not expect atleast a two day resupply here ).
4 Kincora Hostel ( bob does take people into hampton but a mail drop would make things a little easier ).
5 Atkins VA ( theirs a motel beside the truckstop they do accept maildrops but i don't remember their name i have always gotten resupplied at the truck stop but their is also a crap shoot ).
6 Glasgow VA ( might be a good spot for one ).
7 Harpers ferry WVA ( theirs a hostel about two miles up the C&O towpath this is a hard place to get resupplied ).
8 Delaware Water Gap ( church of the Mountains Hostel ).
9 Hanover NH.
Monson ME.

[gden]

Red-dog has a pretty good list.
Re no. 5, the motel in Atkins, Va that is near the trail is The Relax Inn, not fancy but close to the trail.
Also, Woods Hole Hostel is not a bad choice for a mail drop, then you can skip Pearisburg.Good luck

[CarlZ993]

I resupplied by mail drops almost exclusively on my thru-hike. A couple of times, I had to wait until the PO opened the following day. So, when in doubt, mail your stuff to a business rather than a PO.

If your preference is to buy but use mail drops on occasion, I'd do the following at the start:
Mountain Crossing (mail drop)
Hiawassee (buy)
NOC (mail drop)
Gatlinburg (mail drop @ outfitter or Gran Prix motel)
Hot Springs (buy)

In Aikins, VA, I used a mail drop @ the Relax Inn motel on a short mileage day. You could use the Barn restaurant instead & keep on hiking after a meal there.

In Harpers Ferry, you have to catch a bus to get to a grocery store (Walmart). Doable, but a hassle. You could send a mail drop to the ATC. You're going to stop there anyway to get your picture taken (it's required!).

Good luck in your planning & subsequent thru-hike. You can check out my schedule below in the signature. It lists each place that I resupplied along the way. Like I say, I'd do it slightly different the second time around (mail to more businesses; less food per resupply as I went along - I started doing more miles & didn't need to carry as many days food as I thought).

[BRamsey]

Excellent, Thank you, sir.

[BRamsey]

Mucho Gracias, sir. Very helpful.

[Poedog]

I can't imagine you'd need a drop in Hanover. One of the best co-op's in the East is right on the trail.