John Muir Trail Resupply

Well folks, in two weeks time, I'll be in Yosemite National Park picking up my hiking permit!! I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I'm getting super excited with every passing minute.

Day dreaming about the future is nice (especially when it promises adventure & novelty), but it's great having "chores" such as getting my resupply packages together that bring me back to reality.

bear proof food canister (left), homer bucket (middle) for 2nd resupply, and large Priority Mail Flat Rate Box (right) for 1st resupply 

resupply package 1

Label me loco but I really enjoy this particular task. Setting myself up to succeed and avoiding headaches on the trail turns tedious tasks into creative, problem solving puzzles. For example, in the above photo, notice the number "9" written on the plastic bag.

I place each day's food in separate bags and number them. Then I pack the bags into the resupply boxes with the lowest number first. This way, when I open the package at my resupply location, I can transfer the bags directly into my food canister without having to figure out which bag is for which day. Simple, effective, awesome.

resupply packages & their contents

7 days worth of food crammed into my bear can

Also, figuring out how much tp I'll require for a particular section of trail (luckily I have previous knowledge to draw upon for this one), whether or not to include junk food to break the monotony of trail food at resupply points (which I will be doing), and testing to see if a 7 day food supply will fit in my bear can are all fun stuff I've been contemplating and testing.

Good times I tell ya.

Well, the fun will end when I take my packages to the post office and ship em off in the morning. No matter, I'm sure I'll find some other way to amuse myself ;)

Besides, shipping my resupply packages makes this hike that much more real. And, I won't have to think about whether or not I've packed everything any longer.

If you are planning your own thru-hike, I highly suggest checking out Boston & Cubby's entry on trail journals.  These ladies were gracious enough to share their knowledge & expertise regarding resupplies with the world. THANK YOU LADIES!!

Now I just need to figure out how to make my boxes stand out from the crowd like they did. Any suggestions?