Question about resupply on the PCT in Oregon

I was set on mailing myself boxes for the whole Oregon section until I read a post from a guy who hiked it last month. He said the stores in Sisters and Mazama Village had everything he needed and he saves 40 bucks by buying as he went. Has anyone else just bought food on trail through that stretch?

2 comments

2 Comments

harperwright12d ago

...and that guy probably started in April with a 35 pound base weight and a box of Ramen bombs too. Look, buying as you go sounds good on paper and saves you a few bucks sure, but you're gambling on what the store actually has in stock that day. If you hit Sisters right before a holiday weekend half the shelves could be picked clean and you're stuck paying tourist prices for a bag of trail mix that costs twice what it should. Plus Mazama Village is a resort store so you know they markup everything because convenience is the name of the game. I'd rather shell out a little extra for shipping and know I'm getting exactly the calories I planned for than waste half a day hiking to a resupply that might not even have enough dinner options.

victor21912d ago

Wait, has anyone actually tried resupplying at the post office in Crater Lake though? I heard they hold packages for hikers but the hours are weird and you might have to knock on a side door to get in. That's kind of what happened to me when I tried to pick up a box at the Mazama Village store last July. The lady behind the counter said they had my box but couldn't find it for like 20 minutes, and I was standing there with my pack on sweating while she dug through a pile in the back. @harperwright is totally right about Mazama being a resort store, I paid six bucks for a single can of tuna there and it wasn't even the fancy kind. Honestly I think the whole "buy as you go" thing works way better if you're in a town with a real grocery store, not a tourist trap in a national park. But if you're set on shipping boxes, make sure you check the pickup hours before you mail anything, because I've heard stories of people showing up at 5pm to a locked post office and having to hike another 10 miles hungry.