Chris "Maverick" Sharpe overlooking the Appalachian Trail from McAfee Knob

Redefining Resupply

Trail-ready food boxes, mailed right to your next stop.

Why I started this

I thru-hiked the AT in 2026. I was shocked by how most people resupplied on the trail.

My name's Chris "Maverick" Sharpe. In setting out to hike the AT, I was beyond thankful to have my mom, KC, support me by mailing boxes to me throughout my hike, which is referred to on trail as "mail dropping". In her honor, I have named this company KCK for "KC's Kitchen." Thank you mom for your unwavering support of my adventure! I hope where others do not have the opportunity to do what you did, this company can do just that.

My name's Chris "Maverick" Sharpe. On the AT, my mom, KC, mailed me boxes the whole way, which hikers call "mail dropping." In her honor I named this company KCK, for "KC's Kitchen." Thank you, mom! I hope this gives hikers without that support the same help.

In starting the trail I was surprised that most thru-hikers were just winging it. I realized the problem wasn't a lack of effort. Most people do not have another legitimate option. A real mail-drop system only works if someone back home can pack and ship a box for you — every single week, without fail. Very few people have that level of support.

Most thru-hikers are just winging it. A real mail-drop system only works if someone back home packs and ships a box every single week, and very few people have that support.

I couldn't believe this need was not met by a business yet. So I built it.

~50%

of bounce boxes never make it on time to the hiker they were mailed to.

25–50%

typical markup outfitters add to individual resupply items.

~5%

of hikers actually pull off a real DIY mail-drop system from back home.

Order

Box

A KCK Resupply van driving through the mountains

Ship

Receive

The problem

Showing up without a box in town not only costs you time, it costs you money.

"Bounce Boxing" (mailing ahead in bulk to yourself) ends up with missing or late boxes at least half the time. It has to be done through USPS to be accepted, and it creates tremendous reliance on an inefficient, government run system. So most people give up on that concept and shop in town.

Bounce boxes go missing or arrive late at least half the time, and they have to ship through USPS. So most hikers shop in town, which means hoping for a Dollar General, paying a shuttle to a Walmart, shopping hungry, and buying bulk sizes because nothing is sold by the unit.

Showing up in town to shop means hoping there's a Dollar General, paying to get to a Walmart, if there is one, and paying a shuttle you hope will agree to take you there and back. Not to mention the hidden costs of shopping hungry. Additionally, nothing is sold on a unit basis. You can not buy peanut butter, coffee, or other critical items without paying for it in bulk pricing.

Trail-town outfitters are the most common resupply option. They are convenient and often are where you are sleeping. However, they carry high-margin items, usually an assortment of $12 Mountain House pouches — priced 25–50% above what the same dinners cost at Walmart or Amazon. Cost effective meals like ramen are rare as they can not make money selling them.

Outfitters are convenient, but they stock high-margin items like $12 Mountain House pouches, priced 25–50% above Walmart or Amazon. Cheap meals like ramen are rare.

A typical trail-town outfitter shelf — mostly Mountain House pouches, little variety

Order

Box

Ship

Receive

A wall of packed KCK Mail Drops Made Easy boxes, ready to ship

The vision

Mail drops made easy. Run as a business.

Every box is packed to order and shipped straight to your next stop — no favors, no waiting on someone else's schedule. We're the person back home you wish you had, doing it every single week, without fail.

Every box is packed to order and shipped straight to your next stop, every single week, without fail.

Outfitters mark up individual resupply items 25–50% over retail. We charge a flat 10% on top of real Walmart/Amazon cost — the same price you'd pay if you drove to the store yourself.

Outfitters mark up items 25–50%. We charge a flat 10% on top of real Walmart/Amazon cost.

Order by the pack, not the case. Need five oatmeal packets and three ramen for the next stretch? That's what ships, in the original sealed packaging, not a case you didn't need to carry.

Order by the pack, not the case. Need five oatmeal packets for the next stretch? That's what ships.

The best part

50/50

Half of our profit goes back to the trail.

We split profit 50/50 with organizations doing the real work of keeping these trails open, maintained, and welcoming — instead of keeping it all for ourselves.

We split profit 50/50 with organizations that keep these trails open, maintained, and welcoming.

Charity 1 (To Be Revealed)

Charity 2 (To Be Revealed)

Charity 3 (To Be Revealed)

The numbers

What it actually costs you — and what it actually takes to eat.

Cost

A full 5-day resupply box, priced two ways — real Walmart/Amazon cost plus our minimal markup and average shipping, versus what a trail-town outfitter charges for the same items based on my experience.
A full 5-day box at real Walmart/Amazon cost plus our minimal markup and shipping, versus what a trail-town outfitter charges for the same items.
Outfitters' "convenient" round-number pricing looks harmless per item, but scaled across your whole hike it adds up to a substantial cost increase.
Round-number outfitter pricing adds up fast over a whole hike, before counting the savings of ordering only the packs you need.
And this doesn't even factor in the extra savings from ordering only the packs you need instead of buying whatever case or multipack happens to be on the shelf.

$1,985.88

Cost savings for average thru-hiker duration of 6 months

Example box: The Thru-Hiker — $247.48 total (including shipping)

Item	Qty	Outfitter	KCK	Difference
Breakfast
Quaker Instant Oatmeal — Maple & Brown Sugar	15	$15.00 ($1.00 ea)	$3.30 ($0.22 ea)	$11.70
Justin's Nut Butter Squeeze — Classic Peanut Butter	10	$10.00 ($1.00 ea)	$8.90 ($0.89 ea)	$1.10
Pop-Tarts — Frosted Strawberry	10	$10.00 ($1.00 ea)	$3.10 ($0.31 ea)	$6.90
Nescafé Taster's Choice — House Blend Instant Coffee Sticks	5	$5.00 ($1.00 ea)	$1.65 ($0.33 ea)	$3.35
Lunch
Mission Flour Tortillas — Burrito Size	10	$10.00 ($1.00 ea)	$4.40 ($0.44 ea)	$5.60
Bridgford Pepperoni Stick — Original	10	$10.00 ($1.00 ea)	$5.50 ($0.55 ea)	$4.50
Dinner
Mountain House (Freeze-Dried) — Lasagna with Meat Sauce	4	$51.96 ($12.99 ea)	$39.16 ($9.79 ea)	$12.80
Mountain House (Freeze-Dried) — Beef Stroganoff with Noodles	4	$51.96 ($12.99 ea)	$39.16 ($9.79 ea)	$12.80
Peak Refuel (Freeze-Dried) — Chicken Alfredo Pasta	3	$50.97 ($16.99 ea)	$41.85 ($13.95 ea)	$9.12
Peak Refuel (Freeze-Dried) — Beef Pasta Marinara	3	$50.97 ($16.99 ea)	$44.85 ($14.95 ea)	$6.12
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup — Beef	4	$6.00 ($1.50 ea)	$1.28 ($0.32 ea)	$4.72
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup — Chicken	4	$6.00 ($1.50 ea)	$1.28 ($0.32 ea)	$4.72
Kraft Mac & Cheese — Original	4	$6.00 ($1.50 ea)	$4.00 ($1.00 ea)	$2.00
Dessert
Snickers Full Size Chocolate Candy Bar	5	$10.00 ($2.00 ea)	$6.55 ($1.31 ea)	$3.45
Ancillary
Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier — Lemon Lime	15	$30.00 ($2.00 ea)	$22.50 ($1.50 ea)	$7.50
Subtotal		$323.86	$227.48	$96.38
Average Shipping Cost	1	$0.00	$20.00	-$20.00
Total		$323.86	$247.48	$76.38

Outfitter prices are estimates from personal experience, not exact quotes.

Calories

Hiker hunger is real — appetite dips the first week, then climbs hard through weeks 3–5 and stays elevated. Boxes sized for week one will starve you by week six.
Hiker hunger is real: appetite dips in week one, then climbs hard through weeks 3–5. Boxes sized for week one will starve you by week six.
Budgeting for less food than you'll actually need doesn't save you money — it just means buying the gap at outfitter prices later.
Underfeeding doesn't save money. You just buy the gap at outfitter prices later, and it can jeopardize whether you finish.
And being underfed can jeopardize whether you finish at all. "Hey, why'd you get off trail?" "I lost too much weight" has to be the lamest exit story in thru-hiking.
Not sure what that means for you specifically? Use our calorie builder — tell it your week, weight, and budget, and it'll put together a box sized to your actual needs.

Do yourself a favor: Make Mail Dropping Easy

Build a resupply box in minutes — real retail prices, shipped to your next town.

Shop Resupply Store Use Our Calorie Calculator

Featured Resupplies

Shop all →

🐜

Small But Mighty

5-day box sized for a smaller hiker or a lighter appetite.

Days: 5
~Calories/day: 3,028
Weight: 142.24 oz

$128.1211 items

🥾

Wannabe Thru-Hiker

5-day box sized for an average hiker's daily appetite.

Days: 5
~Calories/day: 4,470
Weight: 194 oz

$176.8713 items

🔥

The Thru-Hiker

5-day box sized for a big hiker in full hiker-hunger mode.

Days: 5
~Calories/day: 5,504
Weight: 229.39 oz

$227.4815 items

✨

My Order

My 5-day resupply order from the trail focused on cost savings.

Days: 5
~Calories/day: 3,999
Weight: 184.08 oz

$71.7612 items