What Kind of Mail Magic Did You Most Look Forward To?

[Different Socks]

For me it would be anything with peanut butter, anything gooey and chewy like cookies and brownies, any flavor rice crispie treat and not just 2 or 3 but more like 5--6 each box. Pound cake, any kind of baked bars, candy bars with caramel and PB.

[QuabbinHiker]

We did not get packages on the trail. We supplied in towns.

[Captn]

Throw in a mountain house dehydrated meal .... Not the most nutrition, but many thru hikers would salivate over the Spaghetti or beef stroganoff.

when I section hike I always carry an extra or two, as space permits, and hand em out to thru hikers near the end of my week. Last one I gave out was raspberry crumble .... You would have thought I gave him a million dollars.

[HikerMom58]

We did not get packages on the trail. We supplied in towns.

Well, then that's why you need to get one of these packages when you hike next year.

This mail magic is a great idea!

[RED-DOG]

When i thru- Hiked in 2006 and 2012 my MOM would send me Homemade chocalate chip cookies, and alot of banana nut bread which is my all time Fave but she would only send it to the hostels i planned to stay at which is really COOL since i don't do mail drops, but i would have to say send plenty of banana nut bread.

[Jack Tarlin]

I remember getting to a town once, and completely by surprise discovered that a friend had known I was gonna be there, and sent along a card and a check, telling me my hostel stay was covered and that I should use the rest to buy and cook dinner for everyone present, which is exactly what happened. So as vulgar as it might sound to some, probably the nicest thing you can do for a friend or family member who's away on a long hike is to send them money so they can treat themselves and perhaps their friends to a few treats of their own. (On another occasion, I arrived at a friend's hostel and there was a letter from a stranger saying "You cooked me dinner here last year and it was a great time. Please do the same for whoever is there tonight." Inside was 50 bucks, and to this day, I still don't know who sent it. Bud, if you're reading this, about 15 people had one hell of a lasagna!!)

[OutlawBlues]

When i thru- Hiked in 2006 and 2012 my MOM would send me Homemade chocalate chip cookies, and alot of banana nut bread which is my all time Fave but she would only send it to the hostels i planned to stay at which is really COOL since i don't do mail drops, but i would have to say send plenty of banana nut bread.

Good thought. Not everybody does mail drops. I may have to send my care package to a hostel.

[RCBear]

Ganja brownies

[Hill Ape]

hostel or post office, the real issue is will the hiker ask for mail they are not expecting? even if you know what hostel they intend to be at, and when they intend to be there (within a few days either way) its not likely that the owner will say hey, i've got this package for you. the hiker has to ask. asking means letting the hiker know there will be a drop.

as appealing as the surprise sounds, the logistics of it don't really work that way.

[Jack Tarlin]

Gee, actually I think I know a thing or two about the logistics of sending and receiving mail while on the Trail. If you send mail to where you know a friend is going to be then he will in all likelihood have no trouble getting it. In the cases I mentioned, the mail was sent to the proprietor of the establishments, along with my expected day of arrival. Both letters were hand delivered to me minutes after my arrival. Truly, this is not that complicated.

[Drybones]

I remember getting to a town once, and completely by surprise discovered that a friend had known I was gonna be there, and sent along a card and a check, telling me my hostel stay was covered and that I should use the rest to buy and cook dinner for everyone present, which is exactly what happened. So as vulgar as it might sound to some, probably the nicest thing you can do for a friend or family member who's away on a long hike is to send them money so they can treat themselves and perhaps their friends to a few treats of their own. (On another occasion, I arrived at a friend's hostel and there was a letter from a stranger saying "You cooked me dinner here last year and it was a great time. Please do the same for whoever is there tonight." Inside was 50 bucks, and to this day, I still don't know who sent it. Bud, if you're reading this, about 15 people had one hell of a lasagna!!)

Great story Jack, thanks for sharing.

[JustaTouron]

hostel or post office, the real issue is will the hiker ask for mail they are not expecting? even if you know what hostel they intend to be at, and when they intend to be there (within a few days either way) its not likely that the owner will say hey, i've got this package for you. the hiker has to ask. asking means letting the hiker know there will be a drop.

as appealing as the surprise sounds, the logistics of it don't really work that way.

Doesn't mean you can surprise them up to a point. When they get to town let them know to ask for a package via whatever check method they use in each town (email, voicemail, text msg, etc). You don't have to tell them what is in it at that point. And it will still be a surprise when they are checking email that they need to ask at the front desk for package.

[McPick]

Cheeseburger and cold beer...via the mail!?! I would have to work hard to make that happen.

OK, Outlaw. No probs... Just send the beer!

[Doctari]

Sectioner not Thru, but have been s l o w l y heading NOBO for 15 years & married for a LOT longer :-) so wife know me: She usually slips a few post cards & notes in my mail. Sometimes she is "Mean" & says "I miss you! Ready to quit?" & etc. Usually with a big LOL after it. I also get pictures & stuff like: Candy, seasonings, etc.
She also knows that I will very likely leave whatever behind! Although, often my mail TO trail is used to send un-needed or broken stuff home. So I send the cards & pictures back home with the gear. I also include my journal to that point & a few love letters: "YOU could join me out HERE if you miss me that bad!" For some reason I never send home the candy or any other food. LOL