I think the most overwhelming thing, other than walking for 5 months non-stop, is the question of what do I eat, and where do I get food? Especially if this is your first time in the US it can be really overwhelming. How many days should we carry food? How much food do we need? How do I get into town? Should I send packages? There are so many questions and so many ways of doing this. Always remember that you can be as flexible as you want to be. I want to show you what I did while planing and organizing my resupply, what I did and why I did it. Hopefully this helps you on your own PCT journey.
Disclaimer: The miles vary each year, due to rerouting, fire closures or other events that change the route. So please use the updated information and trail route and only use the mileage as a rough guide.
What does resupply mean?
A resupply strategy simply means making a plan to have food with you at all times while you are hiking the length of a long distance trail. Trails normally don't go
through big towns or have places with cheap options to buy food, and hikers normally don't carry all their food with them. That would be an extremely heavy backpack. We usually have to leave the
trail and venture into a town to find a bigger supermarket and get food for the next stretch. There are, however, a few locations where it is too difficult or too far to reach a bigger town. In
that case, we usually pack packages ahead of time and send them to a post office or similar in order to pick them up when we arrive.
Hikers use different strategies depending on their need, financial abilities, time or dietary needs.
- A full resupply means that you have nothing left when you reach town, and buy everything you need until your next stop.
- A partial resupply means that you already have everything you need and only need a top-up. It is also possible to simply head into town because you crave a burger or pizza and to carry out a subway.
- Sending packages means you already have your food ready and just need to pick it up at the place where you sent it to.
- A bounce box basically means that you keep sending a box from place to place and take out and add what you need or don't need.
An important thing to remember here is that you cannot plan everything ahead of time. The freedom and flexibility you get from not sticking to your plan too strictly helps you to enjoy the hike more and to not beat yourself up over it. And not only that, maybe a heavy snow fall or wildfire forces you to reroute or change your hike. I would always recommend adding a bit more budget to your planning to adjust for those plan changes.
How often do I resupply?
That question is really hard to answer and is really individual. It depends on how much food you want to carry and how far you are capable to hike. I never wanted
to carry really heavy, and my limit was 30 miles a day. I am not from the US so sending packages from Germany was a non-negotiable, as it was too expensive. So I sat down and did the math.
- I made a list with all the towns the trail would run through and bigger places that were nearby.
- I calculated how many miles I felt comfortable walking - 25 miles - and took off a few miles due to my lack of elevation training. So I ended up at 20 miles.
- I then went to figure out all the distances between each town on the trail - don't worry, I will share this list with you.
- I then checked how many days I would need to get from town to the next, with the 20 miles I knew felt comfortable for me.
- Afterward, I tried to figure out what kind of resupply places are in the specific towns. That helped me find out if I had to leave the trail for food, if I could get things in the hiker town, or if I had to possibly send boxes.
Also remember that you might be a lot slower in the first week, as your body is still getting used to hiking each day. Especially when you are doing a thru hike for the very first time.
I know it does sound really overwhelming right now. But don't worry, I will give you an excellent overview, to make your life easier.
California
Campo
Mile 0
20 Miles to go
Resupplied in San Diego
Did not resupply.
Lake Morena
Mile 20.6
23 Miles to go
Trail goes straight through. Water, coin showers, small grocery store.
Did not resupply, but they offer a great breakfast.
Mt. Laguna
Mile 43.0
35 Miles to go
0.4 miles off trail. Small but expensive store. Charge $10 for holding a resupply box.
Your Name
c/o Laguna Mountain Lodge
PO Box 146
Mount Laguna, CA 91948
Did not resupply.
Julian
Mile 77.6
32 Miles to go
12 miles off trail. Hitch necessary. Mom's pie offers a slice of free pie for PCT hikers. Julian Post office:
(your name)
c/o General Delivery
Julian, CA 92036
Resupply via store at Jack's Grocery. Stayed one night in hotel for laundry and shower.
Warner Springs
Mile 109.6
70 Miles to go
1 mile off trail. No grocery store but a gas station next to the post office:
(your name)
c/o General Delivery
Warner Springs, CA 92086
Did not resupply. It looks like the Warner Springs Resource Center no longer hosts hikers. Sending a box might be smart.
Paradise Valley Café
Mile 152
Bonus :)
1 mile off trail. Worth it. Food is amazing. Last chance to send micros pikes.
Your Name
Hold for PCT hiker – ETA
c/o Paradise Valley Cafe
61721 State Highway 74
Mountain Center, CA 92561
Ate breakfast. Felt sick on the next climb. All worth it.
Idyllwild
Mile 178.6
31 Miles to go
5.5 mile off trail. Grocery store, laundromat, showers on campground. Say hello to Mayor Max. Post office:
[Your
Name]
c/o General Delivery
Idyllwild, CA 92549
Resupply via grocery store Fairway market. Perfect place for a little zero day.
I-10 Cabazon
Mile 209.6
56 Miles to go
4.5 miles off trail with a dollar general store, In-n-Out Burger.
Did not resupply. Pro tip: You can order through Uber Eats to the I-10 underpass.
Big Bear
Mile 265.3
77 Miles to go
7.5 miles off trail. Brilliant mountain town.
Post office:
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
472 Pine Knot Ave
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
Resupplied via grocery store. I went into town to resupply and hitched back out to hike for a bit longer.
I-15 Cajon Pass
Mile 342.1
28 Miles to go
0.4 miles off trail. McDonalds on trail waiting for you to enjoy.
Ate hundreds of nuggets and drank way too many sodas.
Wrightwood
Mile 369.5
85 Miles to go
7.5 miles off trail.
I went into town to resupply and hitched back out to hike for a bit longer. Post office:
Your Name
Mountain Hardware
1390 Hwy 2 P O Box 398
Wrightwood, California 92397
Resupplied via grocery store. Incredibly hiker friendly. They offer a backpack storage and tons of outlets.
Agua Dulce aka. Hiker Heaven
Mile 454.4.5
63 Miles to go to Hiker Town and 105 Miles to Tehachapi
Back in my day, the spot to be for PCT Hikers was called Hiker Heaven. I heard there is a new heaven in town: Serenity´s OASIS.
[Your Name]
c/o Serenity’s OASIS
33571 Agua Dulce Canyon Road
Agua Dulce, CA 91390 USA
Did not resupply but took a break.
Hiker Town/ Tehachapi
Mile 517 and Mile 559
94 Miles and 133.6 to go
Tehachapi is 9.5 miles off trail, Hikert Town on trail.
Hiker Town:
[Your Name]
c/o Hiker Town
26803 W. Ave. C-15
Lancaster, CA 93536
Tehachapi:
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
Tehachapi, CA 93581
Resupply in Tehachapi. For all my Germans out there. There is an approved German Bakery. They even have Maggi. We slept one nigh at Hiker town before heading off to Tehachapi for a resupply.
Walker Pass
Mile 652
51 Miles to go
Did not resupply, but you can also hitch out into town from there.
Did not resupply. Maybe you are lucky. We had a trail angel set up at the parking lot who made pancakes for us.
Kennedy Meadows
Mile 702.8
87 Miles to go
0.8 miles off trail. We only bought a few more meals, additional gear items and ate a lot of food at the general store and Grumpy Bear's Retreat.
[Your Name]
c/o Kennedy Meadows General Store
96740 Beach Meadow Rd.
Inyokern, CA 93527
[Your Name]
c/o Grumpy Bear’s Retreat
98887 Kennedy Meadows Rd
Inyokern, CA 93527
Did not fully resupply due to our flip flop. But this is where you send a box. Showers, laundry, camping free. Shuttle from General store to Grumpy Bears.
Otherwise, walk about 3.4 miles. Triple Crown Outfitters has a great gear selection for the High Sierra.
Bishop/Independence
Mile 788.8
90 Miles to go
7.4 miles off trail and then a hitch into town. Both work, but Bishop has a longer hitch.
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
Independence, CA 93526
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
Bishop, CA 93514
Resupply through an Trail Angel. But you can resupply in Bishop or send boxes to both locations.
Muir Ranch
Mile
Bonus
1.5 miles off trail
Information for sending a
resupply bucket.
There is so much left over, especially during JMT Season. They have the biggest Hiker "Buckets". We were able to fully resupply for free.
VVR
Mile 880
30 Miles to go
7 miles off trail or to ferry 1.5 miles.
Please check resupply address here. They are unique. Careful, they charge $30 to hold
packages. Plus the ferry is about $20.
I did not resupply here. Too expensive for my taste.
Red´s Meadow
Mile 906
36 Miles to go
0.3 miles off trail.
For a resupply, follow the instructions on their page.
Has a small general store. There is a shuttle into Mammoth for $10 each way. Mammoth has a lot of options for you.
Tuolumne Meadows
Mile 941.9
77 Miles to go
0.3 miles off trail. Check if the store is still open.
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
Tuolumne Meadows
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
Arriving by: [Your ETA]
We resupplied before. Also be careful you need a permit for camping in Yosemite. There is a hiker box but only a few people get to check it out at a
time.
Kennedy Meadows North
Mile 1018.5
75 Miles to go
9 miles off trail. They offer shuttle services, or you hitch from Sonora Pass. $5 fee for your package.
Your Name and ETA
c/o Kennedy Meadows Resort & Pack Station
42421 State Hwy 108
Pinecrest, CA 95364
We did not resupply. New rule as of 2023. You need your bear canister for the Desolation wilderness if you are camping.
Echo lake
Mile 1093
104 Miles to go
Hitch into Lake Tahoe 10–13 miles off trail.
[Your Name]
c/o General Delivery
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Did not resupply.
Northern California
Sierra City
Mile 1197.6
92 Miles to go
1.5 miles off trail. There is a general store with some expensive resupply options.
Post Office:
[Your
Name]
c/o General Delivery
Sierra City, CA 96125
Country Store (UPS,FedEx,UPS):
[Your Name]
c/o Sierra Country Store
213 Main Street
Sierra City, CA 96125
We sent a box. Be aware of Box Office opening times. We had to sprint to make it.
Belden
Mile 1289
46 Miles to go
It's on trail. But if you want to stop for a resupply or camping, go to Caribou Crossroads RV park:
[Your Name]
c/o Caribou Crossing RV Park
16242 CA-70
Belden, CA 95915
It has a small option to resupply, bit expensive but sure was enough to make it to the next spot.
Chester
Mile 1335.8
42 Miles to go
You can mail your package to the post office:
Your Name
c/o General Delivery
Chester, CA 96020
Did not resupply.
Old Station
Mile 1378
38 Miles to go
0.5 off Trail
You can get a few snacks. JJ's Café.
Your Name
c/o General Delivery
Old Station, CA 96071
Did not resupply. Go get yourself breakfast at JJ's Café.
Burney Falls
Mile 1415.9
90 Miles to go
0.5 miles off trail. They stop serving ice cream at 5pm. $5 fee for holding packages.
[Your Name]
c/o Burney Park Camp Store
McArthur Burney Falls State Park
24900 State Highway 89
Burney, CA 96013
Check out the waterfall. The state park campground has a free area for hikers.
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