Wanna Send Us Mail As We Hike?

We'd love to get letters and care packages from you! I know there are a lot of instructions here, and we don't want to scare you. We're just making sure we actually get the mail you send. Picking up mail on the trail is much more involved than simply going to the mailbox that's in front of your house.

Letters can be mailed First Class [this is normal, regular mail].

Any boxes you send MUST be mailed via Priority Mail through the US Post Office. If you send a box via first class or parcel post, we probably won't get it. Don't believe the post office employees when they tell you they can have a parcel post box to us in a week to 10 days. It's not true.

We are not using any mail drops that use UPS or FedEx. All our mail drop addresses are USPS addresses. Please do not use UPS or FedEx.

However, if you do send a box, please make sure that we DO NOT have to sign for it.

What should you put in a box? Care packages don't have to be huge. We would love to get letters and pictures from you with updates on life and fun stories! As far as other stuff...food is always a great option! We would love things like beef jerkey, homemade cookies, chocolate chip cookies, dried fruit, nuts [almonds!], gummy stuff [trolli strawberry puffs, sour patch kids, fruit snacks], granola bars/protein bars, combos [pizzaria pretzel/cheddar cheese pretzel], trail mix, peanut butter m&ms, etc. We aren't cooking at all along the trail, so it has to be food we can eat without cooking. But be creative! I'm sure that you could come up with something fun that we haven't thought of.

What should you NOT put in a box? Anything we will have to carry. If you send us cute little stuffed animals, books, food in cans [that we can't eat right away] or any food that we have to cook, we will either have to give it to someone who is cooking or send it home because we won't be able to take it on the trail with us.

We do not have firm dates for when we'll be at specific places. If we say we'll be someplace on June 5, it's possible we will get there on June 3 or June 7; it's possible we could be off by a week or more. Plans are never set in stone on the trail, so it's a good idea to plan for your box to get to the town a couple days earlier than our scheduled ETA [estimated time of arrival]. We will try to keep you updated on our blog if the dates change, so please check back before you send something.

It's very important that you address each letter/box exactly as we've detailed here. DON'T FORGET to write "Hold for PCT Hiker. ETA: [date]" on the bottom left corner of all boxes and letters. It's also helpful if you write our last name in big block letters on all sides of any box. Surprise packages are nice, but if you want to let us know you've sent something so we can ask for it at a post office, feel free to email either Mark or I or leave a comment on the blog.

Remember that mail is slower since it's being sent to smaller post offices in the mountains. Make sure you send mail far enough ahead of time so that we don't beat it there!

Here's is how you address mail to us [make sure you address the boxes exactly like this!]:

At the bottom left of ALL letters/boxes, write:
Hold for PCT Hiker
ETA: [date]

Here are the specific addresses to mail to:
Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Big Bear City, CA 92314
ETA: May 12

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o the Saufleys
11861 Darling, Rd.
Agua Dulce, CA 91390
ETA: May 21

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Mojave, CA 93501
ETA: May 28

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o Kennedy Meadows General Store
PO Box 3A-5
Inyokern, CA 93527
[mail needs to be here a week before our arrival date!]
ETA: June 5

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Independence, CA 93526
ETA: June 10

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151
[they will only hold packages for 30 days before returning to sender]
ETA: June 25

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Dunsmuir, CA 96025
ETA: July 14

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Etna, CA 96027
ETA: July 18

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Ashland, OR 97520
ETA: July 23

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o Post Office General Delivery
Crater Lake National Park, OR 97604
ETA: July 27

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Sisters, OR 97759
ETA: August 3

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Cascade Locks, OR 97014
ETA: August 10

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068
[Please write on mail/pkgs: "Please hold up front at the Chevron"]
[May only hold mail/pkgs for 2 weeks!]
ETA: August 20

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Skykomish, WA 98288
ETA: August 23

Mark and Jessica Schmerse
c/o General Delivery
Stehekin, WA 98853
ETA: August 27

Thanks for checking in! We leave tomorrow to fly to San Diego. We'll try and update as often as we can! We look forward to hearing from you!