The Pacific Crest Path (PCT) spans 2,650 miles (4,265 kilometers) from Mexico to Canada by means of California, Oregon, and Washington.
This long-distance mountaineering path takes most walkers 4-6 months to complete.
One of many largest planning duties for PCT hikers is organising an excellent resupply system.
Hikers can not carry meals for the entire path without delay.
Most have to get extra meals each 3-7 days.
This information will discover the alternative ways to resupply neatly whereas going by means of the Pacific Crest Path.
By the tip, you’ll have the know-how wanted to plan your PCT meals technique, even if you’re a first-timer or an previous professional trying 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 take care of excessive warmth, rocky paths, and snowy mountain passes.
They should be robust, in a position to find, and all the time prepared for sudden climate modifications.
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 equipment, whereas there is usually a lengthy distance between every cease.
Some spots provide simply the fundamentals, whereas others have the whole lot a hiker would possibly want.
In distant areas just like the Excessive Sierra, hikers might 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 rigorously.
How one can 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 frequent methods to handle your meals and provides effectively.
1. Purchase as You Go
You should buy meals and provides at cities alongside the path, the place supermarkets and shops are extra frequent now.
This technique allows you to carry much less weight and alter your wants as you go.
2. Ship Resupply Containers
Mail packages with meals and equipment to put up places of work or particular places on the path.
This helps when cities have restricted or costly choices, guaranteeing you might have what you want.
3. Mix Each Methods
Combine shopping for domestically with sending bins for distant sections or particular gadgets.
This versatile method balances comfort and preparedness in your hike.
Steps to Plan Earlier than Getting ready for Resupply
Earlier than resupply, know methods 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.
Verify 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 understanding the place to go subsequent.
The place to Resupply on The PCT: Regional Breakdown
Realizing 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 means of the recent, dry desert part at first 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.
- Large Bear Metropolis (Mile 266): Giant supermarkets and all providers.
- 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 means of the very 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 providers. - Mammoth Lakes (Mile 907): Full providers, giant shops.
- South Lake Tahoe (Mile 1092): All providers and enormous shops.
3. Northern California Area
These resupply factors assist hikers by means of 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 providers.
4. Oregon Area
These stops provide hikers by means of Oregon’s volcanic landscapes and forests.
- Ashland (Mile 1727): Giant shops and full providers.
- Crater Lake (Mile 1830): Small retailer at Mazama Village.
- Bend/Sisters (Mile 2000): Full providers, reached by hitchhike.
- Cascade Locks (Mile 2155): Small grocery and bridge to Washington.
5. Washington Area
These closing resupply factors help hikers by means of 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 mountaineering pace and private wants.
How one can Mail Resupply Containers for the PCT?
Planning to hike the Pacific Crest Path? Resupply bins allow you to keep prepared, fueled, and targeted.
Right here’s a fast information to maintain issues easy in your enterprise.
Know When & The place to Ship
Some cities don’t have many shops—plan forward.
Ship bins 2–3 weeks early for distant locations; 1–2 weeks is ok for larger cities.
Pack Sensible & Gentle
Maintain bins below 20 kilos to make carrying simpler.
Medium USPS flat-rate bins match 4–7 days of meals excellent.
Gas Your Hike Proper
Purpose for 3,500–5,000 energy a day to maintain your vitality up.
Add particular meals or gear you’ll want for the following path part.
Label & Observe Every little thing
Write your identify, “Maintain for PCT Hiker,” and ETA on every field.
Use brilliant tape and save monitoring numbers simply in case.
Choose-Up Suggestions & Further Charges
All the time convey your ID and verify the put up workplace hours.
Some locations might 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 make contact with 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 will not be included within the path meals finances. |
| Value Variation by Location | Small path city shops cost 30-40% greater than bigger metropolis shops. |
| Mailing Field Prices | Delivery a medium USPS flat-rate field prices $16-20 per field. |
| Field Holding Charges | Some resupply factors cost $5-15 to carry mailed bins. |
| Complete Resupply Finances | Ranges from $2,000 to $3,500 for meals, relying on selections and methods. |
Tricks to Save Cash on PCT Resupply
These methods may also help stretch your meals finances all through your hike:
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Sensible Purchasing Technique: Purchase meals in bulk at giant shops like Walmart or Costco, then use a mail-forward method by buying 2-4 weeks value of provides without delay and delivery bins to approaching resupply factors.
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DIY Meals Preparation: Dehydrate your personal meals as a substitute of buying costly freeze-dried choices, and deal with high-calorie meals with the very best cost-per-calorie ratio like peanut butter, oats, and pasta.
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Maximize Free Sources: Benefit from hiker bins at hostels and path stops at no cost donated gadgets, and contemplate group shopping for with mountaineering companions to separate bulk buy prices.
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Management City Bills: Restrict restaurant meals since one meal can price as a lot as 2-3 days of path meals, and follow buying lists to keep away from impulse purchases while 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 finances.
With cautious planning and sensible buying, you’ll be able to preserve good vitamin whereas holding your resupply prices manageable all through your PCT trek.
What to Do When Resupply Plans Fail?
Even the very best plans can collapse on the Pacific Crest Path, so you will need to keep calm and suppose clearly.
If a bundle is misplaced, contact the mail service utilizing your monitoring quantity for assist or redirection to the following cease.
Submit places of work can usually ahead bins, whereas close by fuel stations or campgrounds might have fundamental meals when shops are closed.
Verify hiker bins at hostels for leftover meals and ask path angels or locals for assist with rides or provides.
The mountaineering group is supportive, so construct friendships and share helpful info when doable.
All the time carry further 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 it’s worthwhile to attain larger cities.
Frequent Errors to Keep away from
Many PCT hikers run into the identical resupply issues that may be simply averted with higher planning.
- Not checking path updates: Fires, snow, or path modifications 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 gadgets and apps can fail when batteries die – all the time convey 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 residence to see what matches and what doesn’t, slightly than figuring it out on the path.
- Being too inflexible with plans: The path modifications continuously, so your resupply technique wants flexibility to adapt to new situations and your physique’s altering wants.
Being conscious of those frequent pitfalls helps create a resupply technique that helps slightly than complicates your hike.
Wrapping It Up
Planning your PCT resupply is vital to an excellent hike, however it doesn’t need to 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 bins solely to spots with poor choices, and adapt as you go.
Keep in mind that your meals wants and tastes will change on the path. What appears scrumptious at residence may not work after weeks of mountaineering.
With the correct mix of planning and suppleness, your PCT resupply technique will help your hike with out taking up your journey.
