The Pacific Crest Path (PCT) spans 2,650 miles (4,265 kilometers) from Mexico to Canada by California, Oregon, and Washington.
This long-distance mountain climbing path takes most walkers 4-6 months to complete.
One of many largest planning duties for PCT hikers is organising a great resupply system.
Hikers can’t carry meals for the entire path directly.
Most have to get extra meals each 3-7 days.
This information will discover the other ways to resupply well whereas going by the Pacific Crest Path.
By the top, you’ll have the know-how wanted to plan your PCT meals technique, even in case you are a first-timer or an outdated professional seeking to make your subsequent hike higher.
Why PCT Resupply Planning Issues?
The Pacific Crest Path (PCT) crosses Southern California’s sizzling deserts, the excessive Sierra Nevada mountains, and the forests of Oregon and Washington.
Hikers cope with excessive warmth, rocky paths, and snowy mountain passes.
They have to be sturdy, capable of find, and all the time prepared for sudden climate adjustments.
Resupply factors, that are present in cities or shops like Kennedy Meadows and Mammoth Lakes, are spaced about 30 to 100 miles (48 to 161 km) aside.
These are some stops the place hikers can get extra meals and kit, whereas there is usually a lengthy distance between every cease.
Some spots supply simply the fundamentals, whereas others have all the things a hiker would possibly want.
In distant areas just like the Excessive Sierra, hikers could carry as much as 10 days of meals.
As a result of some areas are restricted or onerous to succeed in, many hikers plan their resupply stops fastidiously.
Methods to Plan Your PCT Resupply Schedule?
Planning your resupply schedule on the Pacific Crest Path (PCT) is vital to staying well-fed and energized all through your hike.
Listed below are three widespread methods to handle your meals and provides effectively.
1. Purchase as You Go
You should purchase meals and provides at cities alongside the path, the place supermarkets and shops are extra widespread now.
This technique helps you to carry much less weight and modify your wants as you go.
2. Ship Resupply Bins
Mail packages with meals and kit to put up workplaces or particular areas on the path.
This helps when cities have restricted or costly choices, making certain you’ve gotten what you want.
3. Mix Each Methods
Combine shopping for regionally with sending containers for distant sections or particular objects.
This versatile strategy balances comfort and preparedness in your hike.
Steps to Plan Earlier than Making ready for Resupply
Earlier than resupply, know learn how to attain cities. You would possibly hitchhike, trip a shuttle, or get a pickup from a hiker-friendly hostel.
Use useful path apps like FarOut (Guthook), Gaia GPS, or PCT Planner.
These apps present cities, miles, and the place to resupply.
Test if shops are open and the way far they’re from the path. Good planning retains you from working out of meals or strolling too far with out figuring out the place to go subsequent.
The place to Resupply on The PCT: Regional Breakdown
Understanding the place to resupply is vital to planning a profitable PCT hike.
The path passes close to many cities and repair factors the place hikers can restock.
1. Southern California Area
These resupply factors assist hikers by the recent, dry desert part in the beginning of the PCT.
- Mount Laguna (Mile 42): Small retailer with fundamentals however dear.
- Idyllwild (Mile 179): Full grocery retailer, gear store, and put up workplace.
- Massive Bear Metropolis (Mile 266): Giant supermarkets and all companies.
- Wrightwood (Mile 369): Good grocery retailer and hiker-friendly city.
- Agua Dulce/Acton (Mile 454): Grocery retailer in Agua Dulce.
2. Sierra Nevada Area
These stops help hikers by the best and most difficult terrain on the PCT.
- Kennedy Meadows (Mile 702): Well-known cease earlier than the Sierra, however has restricted provides.
- Independence/Bishop (Mile 789): Attain from Kearsarge Move.
Bishop has all of the companies. - Mammoth Lakes (Mile 907): Full companies, giant shops.
- South Lake Tahoe (Mile 1092): All companies and huge shops.
3. Northern California Area
These resupply factors assist hikers by the forested mountains of Northern California.
- Sierra Metropolis (Mile 1198): Small retailer with fundamentals.
- Belden (Mile 1289): Very small resupply at resort.
- Chester (Mile 1333): Good-sized grocery retailer.
- Mount Shasta (Mile 1501): Full grocery store and companies.
4. Oregon Area
These stops provide hikers by Oregon’s volcanic landscapes and forests.
- Ashland (Mile 1727): Giant shops and full companies.
- Crater Lake (Mile 1830): Small retailer at Mazama Village.
- Bend/Sisters (Mile 2000): Full companies, reached by hitchhike.
- Cascade Locks (Mile 2155): Small grocery and bridge to Washington.
5. Washington Area
These remaining resupply factors help hikers by Washington’s difficult mountain terrain.
- Trout Lake (Mile 2234): Small retailer with fundamentals.
- White Move (Mile 2303): Small retailer with hiker fundamentals.
- Snoqualmie Move (Mile 2402): Small grocery at fuel station.
- Stehekin (Mile 2580): Restricted retailer, well-known bakery, final cease earlier than Canada.
Most hikers use 25-30 resupply stops throughout an entire thru-hike, averaging one cease each 4-5 days, relying on mountain climbing pace and private wants.
Methods to Mail Resupply Bins for the PCT?
Planning to hike the Pacific Crest Path? Resupply containers assist you keep prepared, fueled, and targeted.
Right here’s a fast information to maintain issues clean in your enterprise.
Know When & The place to Ship
Some cities don’t have many shops—plan forward.
Ship containers 2–3 weeks early for distant locations; 1–2 weeks is okay for greater cities.
Pack Good & Mild
Maintain containers below 20 kilos to make carrying simpler.
Medium USPS flat-rate containers match 4–7 days of meals good.
Gasoline Your Hike Proper
Purpose for 3,500–5,000 energy a day to maintain your power up.
Add particular meals or gear you’ll want for the following path part.
Label & Monitor All the things
Write your title, “Maintain for PCT Hiker,” and ETA on every field.
Use brilliant tape and save monitoring numbers simply in case.
Decide-Up Ideas & Further Charges
All the time deliver your ID and verify the put up workplace hours.
Some locations could cost $5–$15 to carry your field—verify earlier than you ship.
NOTE: All the time embody a backup plan for resupply factors – climate delays or closures can occur unexpectedly. Double-check pickup hours and phone info earlier than you hit the path.
Budgeting Your PCT Resupply Prices
Understanding the meals prices for a Pacific Crest Path (PCT) hike is essential for efficient budgeting and planning.
| CATEGORY | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Day by day Path Meals Value | $10-15 per day, totaling $1,500-2,250 for a 5-month hike (path meals solely). |
| City Meals Bills | Extra prices for meals in cities usually are not included within the path meals funds. |
| Value Variation by Location | Small path city shops cost 30-40% greater than bigger metropolis shops. |
| Mailing Field Prices | Transport a medium USPS flat-rate field prices $16-20 per field. |
| Field Holding Charges | Some resupply factors cost $5-15 to carry mailed containers. |
| Complete Resupply Finances | Ranges from $2,000 to $3,500 for meals, relying on decisions and methods. |
Tricks to Save Cash on PCT Resupply
These methods will help stretch your meals funds all through your hike:
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Good Purchasing Technique: Purchase meals in bulk at giant shops like Walmart or Costco, then use a mail-forward strategy by buying 2-4 weeks price of provides directly and delivery containers to imminent resupply factors.
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DIY Meals Preparation: Dehydrate your individual meals as a substitute of buying costly freeze-dried choices, and give attention to high-calorie meals with the perfect cost-per-calorie ratio like peanut butter, oats, and pasta.
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Maximize Free Assets: Reap the benefits of hiker containers at hostels and path stops without cost donated objects, and contemplate group shopping for with mountain climbing companions to separate bulk buy prices.
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Management City Bills: Restrict restaurant meals since one meal can value as a lot as 2-3 days of path meals, and keep on with buying lists to keep away from impulse purchases once you’re hungry after lengthy path sections.
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Proper-Measurement Your Provides: Keep away from overpacking meals (most hikers carry an excessive amount of initially), and if funds run low, contemplate selecting up odd jobs in path cities to complement your funds.
With cautious planning and sensible buying, you’ll be able to preserve good diet whereas protecting your resupply prices manageable all through your PCT trek.
What to Do When Resupply Plans Fail?
Even the perfect plans can collapse on the Pacific Crest Path, so it is very important keep calm and assume clearly.
If a package deal is misplaced, contact the mail provider utilizing your monitoring quantity for assist or redirection to the following cease.
Publish workplaces can typically ahead containers, whereas close by fuel stations or campgrounds could have fundamental meals when shops are closed.
Test hiker containers at hostels for leftover meals and ask path angels or locals for assist with rides or provides.
The mountain climbing group is supportive, so construct friendships and share helpful info when attainable.
All the time carry additional meals for one or two days and ration in distant areas if wanted.
Maintain an inventory of resupply cities, contact particulars, and carry emergency money in case you might want to attain greater cities.
Frequent Errors to Keep away from
Many PCT hikers run into the identical resupply issues that may be simply prevented with higher planning.
- Not checking path updates: Fires, snow, or path adjustments can block your deliberate resupply cease, leaving you stranded with out meals.
- Poor meals planning: Packing too little selection results in meals fatigue, whereas skipping meals to avoid wasting weight will go away you weak and sluggish on the path.
- Over-relying on know-how: GPS units and apps can fail when batteries die – all the time deliver paper maps and backup money since some cities don’t settle for playing cards.
- Skipping follow runs: Take a look at your packing system at house to see what matches and what doesn’t, moderately than figuring it out on the path.
- Being too inflexible with plans: The path adjustments continually, so your resupply technique wants flexibility to adapt to new situations and your physique’s altering wants.
Being conscious of those widespread pitfalls helps create a resupply technique that helps moderately than complicates your hike.
Wrapping It Up
Planning your PCT resupply is vital to a great hike, however it doesn’t should be onerous.
By mixing retailer resupply with some mail drops, you’ll have meals when wanted with out an excessive amount of stress.
Most hikers discover that easy plans work greatest: resupply each 4-5 days, ship containers solely to spots with poor choices, and adapt as you go.
Do not forget that your meals wants and tastes will change on the path. What appears scrumptious at house won’t work after weeks of mountain climbing.
With the correct mix of planning and adaptability, your PCT resupply technique will help your hike with out taking on your journey.
