Mad resupplies

[strollingalong]

I'm flying into either LA or SF will have 24 hours in whichever city to pick up some last minute gear and post resupplies to myself from there (I live in Mexico so doing it before isn't an option). Going to have to send boxes of food.... I've seen buckets or whatever, not sure how I'd get that done, is that necessary?

I'm clearly going to have a very good shopping list and so on and get it in the post office in Lancaster I guess before boarding the bus.

I'm heading out of Cottonwood Lakes to do that plus JMT... 25 miles before hitting Whitney and will be starting out at about 10 miles a day for the first few days then upping to average 12 a day over 20 days in order to finish. I'm able to maintain this pace.

How many resupply boxes should I be banking on? How many days of food should I start out with?

[Sirsnappy09]

The start will be the longest stretch. You can get off and go into bishop or independence but that can be a couple of days affair. I 've you hit Muir ranch you can resupply there, vvr, reds meadow, and tuolumne meadows at the po. The southern part from Whitney portal to Muir ranch is pretty remote( first 7-10 days) after that rsipply is easy.

[Sirsnappy09]

A good sourc for resupply information is jmt- hiker.com

[Maui Rhino]

If you are planning to send resupplies to yourself, you really only have a few places to resupply. I've never hiked the stretch from Cottonwod to Whitney, so I can't advise you on that section. From Whitney, headed NOBO, its about 3-4 days to Kearsarge Pass. You can mail a resupply box to the horsepacker near Onion Valley Campground. They can deliver it to you on trail for a fee, or hold it for you to pick up. Picking it up would require a 14mile round trip hike over a nearly 12000' pass. You can also arrange to spend the night in the hostel in Independance and they will pick you up and return you to the trailhead. A days hike further north is Woods Creek Bridge, where a horse packer can also meet you. 4-5 days north of Kearsarge is Muir Trail Ranch. They are nearly right on the trail. They require that you send your supplies in a bucket. Great place to resupply, and the hiker bokxes were fun to sift through. About a day north of MTR is Vermillion Valley Ranch. Very popluar resupply point but they are several miles off the trail and across a lake. There is a ferry, which may or may not be running due to water levels. ~5 days North brings you to Reds Meadows. I sent my resupply to them in a USPS Flat Rate Box, but you can also send buckets. They also had a hiker box. From Reds, it is also easy to access the town of Mammoth, but would probably require a night off trail. ~3 days walk north will put you into Tuolumne. The post office is right by the general store and grill. I sent a flat rate box. From Tuolumne, its only 2-3 days to Yosemite Valley. You'll want to send yourself a box there too, with a set of street clothes and your duffel bag for your pack (if you used one to fly into Cali).

When I hiked SOBO in 22 days last year, I started at ~8mi/day for the first three days, then averaged 10~12mi/day for the reminder of the trip. I hiked it in 22 days. I left the Valley with 3 days of food. Picked up 3 days of food in Tuolumne, 5 days at Reds Meadow, 5 days at MTR, and 6 days from a horsepacker (Cedar Grove pack Station) at Woods Creek Bridge.

[strollingalong]

Thanks for the tips man, appreciate it. How would one go about sending a bucket?

[strollingalong]

what i should say is getting a bucket in order to send

[strollingalong]

in LA with 24 hours

[Sirsnappy09]

Get a 5 gallon with lid front he hardware store.

[CarlZ993]

Muir Trail Ranch has very specific rules on how to mail food drops there. 5-gal paint bucket from Home Depot (or Lowe's) w/ the handle attached but taped down.

On my SoBo JMT hike, I resupplied @ Tuolumne Meadows, Reds Meadows, & Muir Trail Ranch. Big, heavy food load coming out of MTR. Took 17 days on the hike. Wished I would have split the last section's food in half & had a resupply like Maui Rhino.

[Hot Flash]

Picked up 3 days of food in Tuolumne, 5 days at Reds Meadow, 5 days at MTR, and 6 days from a horsepacker (Cedar Grove pack Station) at Woods Creek Bridge.

If you don't mind me asking, which horsepacker was it, and how much did they charge you?

[Hot Flash]

If you don't mind me asking, which horsepacker was it, and how much did they charge you?

Oh, my bad...I see you did mention the packer. Too early, no coffee. Would still be interested to know what they charge you, though, thanks!

[garyp]

fresno, rei works or even herb bauer's