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Pacific Crest Trail: Resupply Logistics

One of the main keys to a successful thru hike is logistics, which mainly means having enough food. My general strategy for resupply on the PCT was to avoid hitchhiking when possible (even if it meant carrying extra food or mailing a package) and when in civilization prefer to buy food, rather than mailing a box. I did have someone at home mailing my packages, so I did not have to worry about sending them further up trail myself. I am not a very picky eater, which made finding food a bit simpler. There are a million different resupply options on the PCT, but planning seemed less overwhelming than on the CDT. I am not sure if things really were simpler or I have just gotten better at it.

Definitions
Mail	Picked up a package with all my food for the next section
Buy	Bought all my food for the next section from a store
Buy snacks	Bought only additional snacks from a store
Restaurant	Ate a restaurant, but did not carry out any extra food

PCT Resupply Logistics
State	Location	Distance (mi)	Method	Comments	Changes¹
California	Warner Springs	109.5	Mail
	Paradise Valley	70	Restaurant
	Idyllwild	70	Buy		Skip²
	Ziggy and the Bear	30	Mail
	Big Bear City	56.5	Buy
	Cajon Pass	56.5	Restaurant		Buy snacks
	Wrightwood	76	Buy
	Agua Dulce	112.5	Buy
	Mojave	112	Buy
	Kennedy Meadows	135.5	Mail
	Mammoth Lakes	205	Mail bear canister, buy food		Skip. Mail food and bear canister to VVR³
	Yosemite Valley	36	Buy	Or buy in Tuolumne Meadows if skipping the valley
	Echo Lake	152	Buy	Mailed bear canister home
	Sierra City	103	Buy
	Belden	92	Buy	Buy if Belden Town Resort store is open, otherwise mail
	Chester	46	Buy		Skip⁴
	Old Station	46	Restaurant		Mail
	Burney Falls	42	Mail		Buy
	Dunsmuir	83	Buy		Mail to Castella
	Seiad Valley	155.5	Buy
Oregon	Callahan’s	65	Mail
	Crater Lake (Mazama Village)	102	Mail		Buy
	Shelter Cove	83	Mail
	Big Lake Youth Camp	89	Mail
	Olallie Lake	53	Buy snacks		Buy
	Timberline Lodge	54	Mail		Do not mail a package, eat buffet
	Cascade Locks	48	Buy
Washington	White Pass	148	Mail		Buy
	Snoqualmie Pass	99	Buy
	Barring	74	Buy		Mail package to Stevens Pass
	Stehekin	104	Mail

Journal

1 If I hiked the trail again, I would make these changes to my resupply

2 Going into Idyllwild was unplanned, but necessary because of the Mountain Fire closure. Resupply at both Idyllwild and Ziggy and the Bear was overkill. If the trail was open I would have skipped Idyllwild. If you go into Idyllwild though, sending a package to Ziggy and the Bear is unnecessary.

3 I had a very low snow year in the Sierras. In a normal year it would be almost impossible to go straight from Kennedy Meadows to Mammoth Lakes

4 I got off trail here for Project AWARE. Otherwise I would not have gone into town