Tucson, Resupply, and Food

I made it safely to Tucson.  I was upgraded to first class, which was quite pleasant.  The TSA checkpoint scanner operator spent a long time staring at my stove on his screen, but much to my surprise did not ask to see it.  My checked box full of metal poles and pills (trekking poles, tent stakes, ibuprofen, etc) did appear to have received a thorough looking over, however.

I am staying the night with my mother's friends before taking a bus to Lordsburg tomorrow evening.  On Sunday morning, I am catching a ride to the border with another thru-hiker.  We will be caching water along the way, so I expect to get started from Crazy Cook Monument (the Mexican border) sometime in the afternoon.

If I take the 'official' trail back to Lordsburg, I should return to civilization in four or five days.  I am also considering skipping it and taking an alternate straight to Silver City, which would be six or seven days.

Resupply

I am frequently asked how I resupply.  The answer varies based on what city, town, or middle-of-nowhere post office is nearby in a given area.  Ideally, the trail walks right into a town with a well-stocked market, in which case I buy enough food to get me to the next ideal town (including fresh food!).  When that does not happen, I can either hitchhike to a sufficient town when the trail crosses a major road or mail myself a resupply to a rural post office or friendly backcountry store, lodge, etc.  I put the resupply boxes together as I go from the larger towns, as Yogi's CDT Handbook includes great information about the amenities offered at each town or resupply delivery point.  I also have a "bounce bucket" that I send to myself at intervals of several weeks along the trail that contains items that I will need later, but do not want to carry now (such as my rain pants), and items to restock my first aid kit, etc.

These two resupply methods are much preferred to sitting up late at night over the winter making spreadsheets of projected usage, calorie needs, and destinations in order to pre-pack supply drops for the entire trip.  Invariably most things will be wrong.  Why on earth would you think you wanted to eat macaroni and cheese for three months?  What if you decide to take an alternate route, but your box is sitting along the route some jerk's blog recommended?  What if you do not finish, and are stuck staring at three months of supply boxes, reminding you of your failure?

Food

I try to refrain from counting the number of calories I am carrying or calculating calories per ounce.  I do not bother with fancy dehydrated meals, but instead purchase whatever suits my fancy at the grocery store.  The picture is pretty typical, with the addition of bagels and my noxious breakfast shake mix (vegan protein powder, powdered superfood, powdered soy milk, Nesquik, Nescafe, and oatmeal).  In the baggies are: olive oil, textured vegetable protein, couscous (a good filler if the Pasta Side won't be quite enough), Gatorade, chia seed (drank with the Gatorade), and powdered hummus mix.  I am attempting to make wiser diet choices than I did on the PCT, where I once bought Nutter Butters and a jar of frosting for dipping in an attempt to get enough calories.

I make no attempt to feed myself from the wilderness, apart from nominal berry picking.  I am not a fisherman and am unfamiliar with plants in this area, so experimentation with either seems impractical.