“The Plan”

Below is my resupply and side quest “plan.” A thru-hikers “plan” isn’t a plan. It is a “plan.” There is nothing in this world that can guarantee any sort of “plan” as all “plans” on a thru-hike change. You will learn to adapt to weather, sickness, minor/major injuries, I-don’t-feel-like-it feelings, fire closures, snow closures, enticing extra zero days, etc, etc.

Another thing we should consider is that this is only ~30 resupply places. There are hundreds of places I could resupply at, I just picked these because they seem the most conducive to my “plan.” So these may not be the actual places I resupply at. Perhaps a town gets over run by zombies and I don’t want to stop there, I have other options.

Additionally, the side quests here are only the ones I’m interested in. There are several other side quests that do not interest me. One example of a side quest that isn’t location based is the McDonalds challenge. There is a certain mile marker along the way that directly passes a McD’s. At this mile marker a lot of folks will go into that McDonalds, load up on food, and attempt to live off McD’s for 24 hours straight. No thank you.

I’m sharing a note I have in my phone. Let’s dissect it and understand its meaning. The note:

PCT Resupply Towns
+++ = Suggested places to ship a box to
S = Sidequest
⛺ = Resupply directly on trail

Desert Resupply

• Mile 77: Julian (77)
• Mile 109: Warner Springs ⛺ (32)
• Mile 179: Idyllwild ⛺(70)
• S – Mile 181 – San Jacinto Summit (+5.7)
• S – Mile 240 – San Gorgonio Summit (+21)
• Mile 266: Big Bear Lake (87)
• Mile 363: Wrightwood (97)
• S – Mile 378 – Mount Baden-Powell Summit (+0.4)
• Mile 455: Agua Dulce (92)
• S – Mile 51 – Aqueduct Night Hike (+0)
• Mile 530: Hikertown (75)
• Mile 566: Tehachapi (36)

Sierra Resupply

• +++ Mile 703: Kennedy Meadows ⛺ (137)
• S – Mile ? – Mount Whitney (+22)
• Mile 880: Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) (177)
• Mile 908: Mammoth Lakes (28)
• S – Mile 908.4 – Devils Postpile National Monument (+0)
• S – Mile 948 – Yosemite Valley (+44 – take the shuttle)
• Mile 1018: Kennedy Meadows North (110)

Northern California Resupply

• Mile 1093: South Lake Tahoe (75)
• +++ Mile 1197: Sierra City ⛺ (104)
• Mile 1332: Chester (135)
• S – Mile 1378 – Subway Cave (+1)
• Mile 1412: Burney (80)
• S – Mile 1420 – Burney Falls (+0.5)
• Mile 1502: Mount Shasta (90)
• Mile 1601: Etna (99)
• Mile 1657: Seiad Valley ⛺ (56)

Oregon Resupply

• Mile 1720: Ashland (63)
• +++ Mile 1822: Crater Lake (Mazama Village Store) ⛺ (102)
• S – Mile 1824 – Crater Lake Rim Route (-4.7)
• +++ Mile 1908: Shelter Cove Resort ⛺ (86)
• Mile 1985: Bend (77)
• S – Mile 2100 – Timerline Lodge (+0)
• S – Mile 2102 – Ramona Falls (+2)
• S – Mile 2109 – Timberline Trail (+26)
• S – Mile 2130 – Eagle Creek Alt (-5)
• Mile 2149: Cascade Locks ⛺(164)

Washington Resupply

• Mile 2232: Trout Lake (83)
• S – Mile 2279 – Old Snowy Mnt Trail (+0.4)
• +++ Mile 2298: White Pass ⛺(66)
• S – Mile 2315 – Wonderland Trail (+28)
• +++ Mile 2396: Snoqualmie Pass ⛺(98)
• Mile 2467: Leavenworth (71)
• +++ Mile 2575: Stehekin ⛺(108)

Let’s look at the Washington Resupply section, starting with Trout Lake as our example.

• Mile 2232 is the mile listed for this resupply town, along the FarOut app.*
• Trout Lake is the name of the destination.
• (83) is the number of miles from the previous resupply town, in this case it is Cascade Locks. While I am resupplying in Cascade Locks, I can instantly know how many miles it will take me to get to the next resupply town.
  

Now, what’s this business with lines that start with “S?” Let’s use Old Snowy Mnt Trail as our example

• S indicates this is a side quest location.
• Mile 2279 is the FarOut mile this side quest occurs on.
• Old Snowy Mnt Trail is the name of the side quest.
• (+0.4) is the additional mileage I must do to complete this side quest. If I’m resupplying at Trout Lake and look to see that my next side quest is only +0.4 extra miles, I know I don’t have to pack extra food! …but take a look at the resupply at Mile 179. Those two side quests give me extra food to carry. Perhaps I do that, maybe I don’t. Maybe I do only one of the side quests, or none. Perhaps the rumors on the trail are that one or both of those locations are full with snow. No one knows if the “plan” will come to fruition until we get there.

*FarOut is THE app that everyone uses on any long trail (not just thru-hikes). It is the bible for all hikers everywhere. This app is a miracle of modern technology as it includes things like a detailed map, elevation information, points of interest (like where is the water!), town information, and the most important info of all: comments!!! You will instantly know if the water source coming up is dry, tainted, or otherwise, due to someone already passing it and leaving a comment of its condition!