...that I haven't heard elsewhere.
At each town, machine dry any down-insulated gear for 15-30 minutes at the lowest setting. Leave it in a bit longer to let it absorb residual heat to remove additional moisture. Drying it out like this in every town will preserve loft.
In southern Oregon, wash down with down detergent (e.g. NikWax Down Wash) per manufacturer instructions. My sleeping quilt had lost much loft by NorCal, but it only becomes bothersome in Oregon where the nights finally become cold. Note that Enlightened Equipment quilts must be handwashed in a bath tub so as not to void the warranty. Washing and drying mine took 6 hours. It came out of the dryer puffier and the warmth was restored.
Bounce all warm clothes except puffy jacket from Chester (mile ~1,300) to Ashland (~1,700), or somewhere around those places.
Ship packages to private businesses via UPS or FedEx as much as possible, and avoid the PO. PO's have inconvenient hours, often closed on weekends, and will cause delays. Pretty much any business described as "hiker friendly" in Guthook or Yogi was ok with receiving my boxes when I called to ask. Some hikers had luck calling up random businesses (barbershops, restaurants), finding that they were fine with receiving and holding hiker packages.
As of 2016, the mobile carrier with the best reception in the Sierra Nevada was AT&T. Many hikers were disappointed by this. Some never got reception in Kennedy Meadows, so this can make for a long stretch off the grid. Also lots of photo ops, and no Instagram.
Mammoth Lakes is a much better place to stop for resupply than VVR. It’s got a great outfitter (Mammoth Mountaineering Supply), full size grocery, and good restaurants.
For what is likely to be your final resupply, the General Store at the North Cascades Lodge in Stehekin (i.e. "the Stehekin general store") accepts packages via UPS and can give them to hikers any time the store is open, seven days a week. This is way more convenient than the PO which is closed on Sunday and open only in the morning on Saturday. There were huge numbers of hikers stressing over getting to the PO before it closed, a source of anxiety that was completely avoidable.
For what is likely to be your final resupply, the General Store at the North Cascades Lodge in Stehekin (i.e. "the Stehekin general store") accepts packages via UPS and can give them to hikers any time the store is open, seven days a week. This is way more convenient than the PO which is closed on Sunday and open only in the morning on Saturday. There were huge numbers of hikers stressing over getting to the PO before it closed, a source of anxiety that was completely avoidable.
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