Since I am trying to hike the AT on a shoestring budget, I am planning my meals through mail drops. That way, I won't have to carry excess cash, and will be better able to keep to my budget. The following is a list of the things I would like to have in order to prepare my maildrops. The items that are marked as "bulk" are items that I need in great quantities. The items that are marked "small" are items that I need in the smallest possible container you can find.

I will be updating this list as I buy and receive more items, so keep checking back to make sure that I still need the item that you want to get me. You can also e-mail me to double check that I still need an item or not.

I thank you all in advance for your support in helping me achieve my goals.

FOOD

• mashed potato flakes (bulk)
• rice - the stuff that cooks in five minutes (bulk)
• those Lipton pasta & rice meals. (bulk)
• basically anything that can be put into a ziploc bag for transportation & cooked in water over an open flame & still taste good. Hamburger helper, mac & cheese & those East India cous cous meals are good. Lipton cup o' soup would be good. Oh, and ramen noodles, but I think most of those use chicken or beef stock. (bulk)
• power bars (bulk)
• granola bars (bulk)
• other snack foods that have a long shelf-life (bulk)
• pasta (bulk)
• powdered milk (bulk)
• oatmeal (the little Quaker one-serving packages)(bulk)
• cereal (bulk)
• peanut butter, in the smallest plastic bottles they have. (bulk)

DRUGS

• multi vitamins (bulk - or enough to last 6 months)
• Ibuprofen (bulk)

FIRST AID/TOILETRIES

• small gauze pads (small)
• Neosporin (small)
• sunscreen (small)
• Rubbing alcohol
• wet-naps (bulk)
• terlit paper - probably just a couple rolls of Scott tissue would be fine. Most shelters have rolls in them, but there will be days when I won't have access to any gimmies.
• ob tampons (bulk)
• pantyliners (bulk)

OTHER

• duct tape
• AA batteries (I'd say 8 would probably do me just fine, I'll only need them for my flashlight)
• zip-lock bags in a variety of sizes (bulk)
• aluminum foil (small)
• 3-4 small spiral notebooks (for journals)
• cheap bic pens, and maybe a couple pre-sharpened pencils
• 35mm film (color & B&W) (bulk)

MONIES

• gift certificates to Campmor
• travelers checks (much wiser idea than cash, as I can't trust myself to not spend the cash before the trip, and I can mail the travelers checks to my mail drops, so I can better budget myself and not spend foolishly when I'm in town)

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