How to Send a Resupply Package
There are numerous reasons you might want to receive mail on trail: shoes, medications, contacts, snow gear, etc. This might be the first time you need to somehow get mail when you don’t have an address to send to! This post will cover the ins and outs of sending or orders packages to trail.
There can be a lot that goes into sending and receiving mail on trail. We will cover the main points of making sure your package gets to you at the right spot and at the right time.
Finding locations to mail
Understanding General Delivery
How to label boxes
Mailing from Amazon or other online stores
Where to Send your Box? How to find Locations to Mail.
Generally speaking, you have two categories when selecting a mail location (1) USPS Post Office (2) business accepting on your behalf (hostel, gear shop, restaurants, etc.)
FarOut is the best resource for finding locations and addresses. Post Offices in nearly every trail town are marked on FarOut with the address. You can also locate Post Offices on Google and use the USPS website to make sure that location accepts general delivery.
You can also find businesses who accept packages on their FarOut listing. Typically the “About” section will mention if they accept hiker mail, but always check comments to verify.
Post Office vs Business Mail Drop
Private Business Package Hold
More flexible hours, open later and on weekends.
Not uncommon to charge a fee for package pick up.
Depends on the business how long they will hold a package.
Cannot bounce packages. The delivery is considered complete. If you need to mail further ahead on trail you will need to pay shipping.
Post Office - General Delivery
Can only mail USPS.
Limited hours (close early, not open on weekends.)
Free pickup!
By law they are required to hold for 30 days.
Can bounce a package ahead for free as long as you do not open it.
It is not to say that one option is better than the other. There are pros and cons to each, and sometimes depending on the trail town you do not have option.
2. Understanding General Delivery
There are a few nuances to spending a package general delivery. To start off, what even is “General Delivery”? General Delivery is a USPS specific term and service. You can mail a package addressed to yourself (or another person) to be held at a post office location for pick up. The post office will hold this item for 30 days. There is no charge associated with general delivery.
Here are the few rules for sending general delivery:
Item must be sent via USPS. If it is sent with another carrier, they might either decline the item or charge the shipping cost at pick up.
The addressee must specify that it is for “General Delivery”.
The name on the package must match the ID of the person picking up the package.
Not all post office locations offer general delivery as service. Most locations in trail towns do so there is no need to double check. However, if you are picking up from a post office that typically does not assist hikers, I recommend double checking. You can find that information on the USPS website when you search for a specific location. On that location’s page it will have a list of services offered and “General Delivery” will be listed in that section if they participate.
3. How to Label Packages
For general delivery, the format is as follows:
General Delivery
LEGAL NAME
POST OFFICE ADDRESS
As a reminder, the post office will check your ID when you pick up the package so send with your legal name and not a trail name.
Since they are required to hold packages, it is not required to include an ETA, but some request it to help with sorting.
To send to a business for hiker hold, the format is as follows:
NAME (recommend legal name)
HIKER HOLD
C/O (care of) BUSINESS NAME
ADDRESS
Most places request you include an ETA, you can write the ETA anywhere on the box.
I always recommend including the company name because sometimes the addresses are nebulous in smaller towns but the local post office the local businesses.
4. Ordering from Online stores to Trail
Receiving a package on trail can be tricky when you cannot control the carrier or the label printing. However, it is convenient and sometimes necessary to order a specific item to trail, namely shoes. Below are our tips:
Enter the mailing name as “Your Name - Hiker Hold”.
In address line 2 include either “General Delivery” or the business name as applicable.
If you need to enter an ETA, include that in address line 2.
Note the carrier options, on Amazon you cannot select a carrier so general delivery may not be an option. Some smaller companies allow you to choose between USPS and UPS/FedEx.
Example below:
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