The PCT Resupply Guide: Class of 2020 Survey

I often advise that hikers not to worry about resupply before beginning a thru-hike, but I am not always believed. Barring any dietary restrictions or a tight resupply schedule (i.e. you’re on a PCT speed run), there’s little reason to stress about where you’re going to buy food in Northern California in a couple of months. The Pacific Crest Trail runs society adjacent and it isn’t difficult to get yourself to somewhere where you can pause and organize yourself and your hike.

Using data from the 2020 Pacific Crest Trail Thru-hiker Survey, I’ve compiled the following picture of what resupply looks like over the course of a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike. Hopefully, this let’s all you would-be PCT thru-hikers focus on more important things (like spending all your money on fancy gear).

Sometimes your options are limited to a gas station or a very expensive general store (which is where some hikers may prefer to send themselves packages). Other times, you’ll find yourself in a large town with a supermarket (this is a good place to get a resupply to send ahead somewhere).

Before delving into the “best” strategy for PCT resupply, I must warn you (again) to not fall into the trap of attempting to plan your entire hike ahead of time. It (probably) is not going to work (although I’ve been proven wrong in the past).

Plans change, post offices aren’t always open, boxes get lost, hikes end early – a lot can happen between your start date and the resupply box you hoped to retrieve weeks or months later.

On top of all that, unless you’ve done a long-distance hike before (and based on the statistics from the PCT Survey – you probably haven’t), it can be hard to imagine what you, in a month (or two…or three…), is going to want to eat all day after having hiked hundreds of miles.

But since practically all hikers send at least some boxes, let’s examine how many boxes were sent, how frequently they were sent, and what was done before starting vs. on the trail.

Number of Resupply Boxes

Number of Resupply Boxes Prepared Pre-trail

This year’s average number of boxes sent was 10.4, the median was 8, people who sent 5 wanted to send more, and people who sent over 12 wanted to send fewer. So the ideal number of resupply boxes according to this year’s class is somewhere between 5 and 12. Let’s call it 8 or 9?

Remember, there is no correct “number of PCT resupply boxes”, but there are most-definitely places where a prepackaged and curated selection of your own preferences will be preferable to the local selection.

Before you plan all of your boxes and everywhere you’re going to resupply, remember that for the first 1,700 mi / 2,700 km of the Pacific Crest Trail (assuming a northbound thru-hike), the PCT Class of 2020 suggests you send four boxes – the first of which doesn’t come until nearly 20% into the hike.

Many hikers fail to realize that you can easily send yourself boxes from towns on the trail (instead of having to prepare your boxes ahead of time). You are not committed to the plan you have on the first day you set foot on the trail.

The PCT is long. But it simply connects a series of smaller trails between resupply stops. Nothing is stopping you from going to a supermarket, buying yourself delicious hiker food, and mailing it to yourself further up the trail (unless it’s Sunday because the post office is closed on Sunday – which may sound unimportant now, but will be an important thing to remember whilst on the trail).

For the sake of simplicity, let’s suppose you’re strictly following the advice of this year’s PCT class. The number of resupply boxes that you will be sending to each section of the PCT is:

• Desert: 2 (Warner Springs, Acton KOA)
• Sierra: 1 (Grumpy Bears Retreat/Kennedy Meadows)
• Northern California: 1 (Sierra City, Belden)
• Oregon: 0
• Washington: 3 (White Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, Stehekin)

Maybe you’re going to prefer carrying more food and resupplying less often. Maybe you’re going to prefer a lighter load with more frequent stops in town. Maybe you’re going to be injured or quit in the first week (or die) and none of this will even matter.

So what’s the right balance between resupply and hiking? It’s different for everyone. A response that many of you may not want to hear, but also the most accurate response I can offer you. That said, here’s a look at what this year’s hikes looked like in terms of resupply.

Between many resupply stops, you may pass a location where you can get a meal (Timberline Lodge in Oregon, for example) or a place where you can buy some snacks (Mount Laguna in the Desert, for example). Remember that this post is meant as a tool to gently guide you towards a more successful resupply plan (whatever that means – since, as I’ve already told you, planning resupplies is a not great investment of your time).

Hitchhiking to Town

What about hitchhiking to resupply stops? You may not realize it, but hitchhiking plays a big role on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s not unusual (and is actually quite common) for hikers to hitchhike into town to buy or pick up their resupplies.

As part of the PCT Survey, I ask hikers what resupply stops (if any) they had difficulty hitchhiking to from the trail. The top responses were (from south to north):

1. Bishop via Onion Valley/Independence (Sierra) – 11.8%
2. Big Bear Lake (Desert) – 11.8%
3. Lone Pine via Horseshoe Meadow (Sierra) – 7.4%

Remember, hitchhiking can be a very subjective/random experience. It may be you get a ride with the first car past at a place where others stand waiting for hours.

Resupply Advice

We’ve covered a lot thus far, but enough with the numbers and colored labels and bulleted lists of places you may or may not have ever heard of. What did thru-hikers have to say about Pacific Crest Trail resupply?

• What I packed, by the time I got to the box a month later, I was sick of eating that food. Put in some things you weren’t eating prior to getting there!
• I planned one box ahead of time. Resupply is not complicated, just figure it all out as you go along. By the time you need to mail boxes in Oregon/Washington, you will be able to send a much better box of food to yourself.
• Definitely don’t buy overpriced food at Kennedy Meadows North or Sierra City. If trying to minimize the number of boxes sent, don’t exclude these California stops.
• Cheese sticks are an excellent way to add flavor and calories to many entrees.
• Don’t stress about resupply boxes. Towns aren’t as far apart or hard to get to as they might seem. Hitching is really easy.
• Only pack a few boxes ahead of time for the spots that are notoriously bad for resupply, have maybe one extra packed but not addressed so you can be flexible. Resupplying as you go is much less stressful than trying to catch boxes, just accept that you might not get the perfect resupply every time.
• The more you think about it, the more it’ll be a problem. Make sure that you have enough to stay alive but other than that give yourself the space to make mistakes. You have a long time to figure this out and you need to accept that you won’t get it right on your first try. Once you move past that it actually becomes a lot more fun!
• Dehydrated refried bean flakes are the bomb – quick and healthy(ish). Don’t send a million bars in your resupply boxes, you will hate them. Send way less food than you think you’ll need, you’ll end up wasting a bunch of food otherwise and you can always supplement everywhere you pick up your boxes.
• Pack toilet paper, wet wipes, and laundry tablets in each box.

But most of all – have fun out there! And don’t die.

If there is anything you can think of that would make this information more useful (or any more resupply related cross-referencing you would like to see), then please leave a comment and let me know.

For more on PCT Resupply, check out these posts.

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