Maildrops Done!

Ah. So, I believe I have my maildrops set up. Thank the Lord. It's been so stressful thinking about this; how to plan for situations I've never been in, when half the variables are unknown (how fast will I be hiking? Will this or that store be open yet? How willing will I be to take extra time off in towns?). I hate planning, especially on a thru-hike, which is so much about freedom, being in the moment, and living simply, day to day.

Anyway, Here's the list:

• Agua Dulce (maps only)
• Kennedy Meadows
• South Lake Tahoe (maps only)
• Belden (maps only)
• Ashland (maps only)
• Crater Lake at Mazama Village
• Cascade Locks (maps only)

I had planned a drop at Vermillion Valley Resort, but figure I'll hope the store and hiker boxes are stocked enough for a couple days, at which point I will be able to get into Mammoth Lakes for full resupply. When I scrapped that idea, I had all this food sitting in my room, and figured I'd box it up and send it to Crater Lake, where I planned a drop anyways, but one to be sent from the trail.

I was also going to send a drop to Tuolumne Meadows, at least maps, but with the crazy heavy snow year (near record) it may not be open in time, at least not in enough time to get a package sent there. I hope it will be open and I can grab some food from their store. If it opens early and I hear about it, it's likely I will send a small drop there from the trail

And that's exactly my plan for the rest of my maildrops. Much of the Trail in Oregon, and Washington for that matter, doesn't go by towns much. Instead "resupply" points are at ski resorts and the like, and the resupply is pretty iffy. So I'll probably send a big batch of drops from Ashland, OR to the Oregon resorts, and do the same from Cascade Locks, OR for the Washington section. No sense mailing it all the way across the country, and anyways I don't really have a resupply person as such. My sister said she or my bro-in-law would send out the few drops I do have. But I don't want to leave a ton of stuff for them to do.

The boxes for Kennedy Meadows (the 2 on the right) are rather funny. I may or may not be oversupplied for it, but I do know those boxes feel heavy. Two large Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes stuffed with food and warm clothing. Those, plus my ice axe, which is a mess of cardboard and tape. Looks kinda scary, I hope the PO will ship it!