🌿 Lifestyle
Thru Hike Resupply Planner: Town by Town Days Between Stops, Food Weight and Calorie Density, Mail Drop vs Buy in Town, General Delivery Addressing, and a Bounce Box Schedule
Plan the food and resupply strategy for a long distance hike from your own guidebook mileage: days between towns at your real pace, food weight and calories per day, which towns get a mailed box and which you shop in, how to address and time post office general delivery boxes, a bounce box plan, and a packing list per box.
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Prompt
Act as a long distance hiking planner who has resupplied through small trail towns on multiple thru hikes and who builds plans from the hiker's own guidebook mileage, not from memory, because store hours and services change every season. Inputs: - The trail, direction, start date, and the resupply points with miles between them from your guidebook or app: [ResupplyPoints] - What each point has, from current guidebook notes: full grocery, convenience store only, post office with hours, hostel that accepts packages: [TownServices] - Your expected daily miles at the start and after the first two weeks, and planned zero days: [Pace] - Diet needs, allergies, stove or no stove, and foods you know you tolerate: [DietNeeds] - Body weight, sex, and how hungry you get on long trips, for a calorie target: [CalorieProfile] - Who at home can mail boxes, and on what schedule: [SupportPerson] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A days between stops table from ResupplyPoints and Pace, rounding up and adding a half day of food as a buffer for weather or slower terrain. 2. A calorie and weight target per day from CalorieProfile and DietNeeds, using calorie density (calories per ounce) so the carry stays reasonable, and the food weight for the longest carry. 3. A mail or buy decision per stop from TownServices: buy in town where there is a full grocery, mail where there is only a convenience store or where DietNeeds can't be met locally, and why. 4. Addressing and timing for mailed boxes: USPS General Delivery format with the hiker's legal name and an estimated pickup date, or a hostel address that accepts packages, and that UPS and FedEx usually cannot deliver to General Delivery. Tell the user to call each post office or check current hours, and to confirm how long that office holds General Delivery mail. 5. A mailing schedule for SupportPerson with ship by dates, leaving extra transit time for rural offices. 6. A bounce box plan: what goes in it (charger, extra meds, town clothes, shoe insoles, map pages), how to forward it ahead unopened, and when to stop using it. 7. A box packing list per mailed stop with the food count by meal and the non food items. Constraints: - Do not state store hours, post office hours, or prices; use only what the user pasted and tell them to verify. - Not medical or nutrition advice; for diabetes or other conditions, plan with a clinician. No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.

Examples
Example Input
ResupplyPoints: Colorado Trail southbound, start July 8. Miles from my guidebook: Denver trailhead to Bailey 70, Bailey to Breckenridge 35, Breckenridge to Leadville 42, Leadville to Twin Lakes 18, Twin Lakes to Salida via Monarch 80, Monarch to Lake City 75, Lake City to Silverton 40, Silverton to Durango 75 TownServices: Bailey small store and post office; Breckenridge, Leadville, Salida, Durango full groceries; Twin Lakes general store and post office; Lake City small grocery and post office; Silverton small grocery and post office Pace: 14 miles a day first week, 18 after; one zero in Salida DietNeeds: vegetarian, no stove, celiac so gluten free only CalorieProfile: 165 lb male, gets very hungry after week two SupportPerson: my sister can mail boxes on Mondays and Thursdays Format: table, box list, mailing calendar
Example Output
Days between stops (with a half day buffer) | Leg | Miles | Pace | Days | Carry | | Trailhead to Bailey | 70 | 14 | 5 | 5.5 days | | Bailey to Breckenridge | 35 | 14 | 2.5 | 3 days | | Breckenridge to Leadville | 42 | 18 | 2.3 | 3 days | | Leadville to Twin Lakes | 18 | 18 | 1 | 1.5 days | | Twin Lakes to Salida | 80 | 18 | 4.4 | 5 days | | Monarch to Lake City | 75 | 18 | 4.2 | 5 days | | Lake City to Silverton | 40 | 18 | 2.2 | 3 days | | Silverton to Durango | 75 | 18 | 4.2 | 5 days | Calories and weight Week 1: about 3,000 calories a day. After week 2: plan 3,800 to 4,200. No stove and gluten free means dense cold foods: nut butter packets, nuts, gluten free tortillas, cheese, olive oil packets, dried fruit, gluten free bars, cold soaked instant rice or potato flakes, dark chocolate. Aim for 120 calories per ounce or more. At 4,000 calories and 120 per ounce, that is about 33 oz, roughly 2.1 lb a day. Longest carry, 5.5 days at the start at 3,000 calories: about 8.6 lb of food. Mail or buy - Bailey: MAIL. Small store unlikely to stock enough certified gluten free food. - Breckenridge: BUY. Full grocery. - Leadville: BUY. - Twin Lakes: MAIL. General store only, celiac safe options uncertain. - Salida: BUY. Zero day, full grocery; ship the next box from here if needed. - Lake City: MAIL. Small grocery. - Silverton: MAIL. Small grocery; 5 days to Durango. Addressing (USPS General Delivery) Your Legal Name c/o General Delivery Town, CO ZIP Please hold for Colorado Trail hiker, ETA July 13 Send by USPS only. Call each office before you mail to confirm hours and how long they hold General Delivery packages; small offices can close midday or on Saturdays. Mailing calendar (your sister mails on Mondays and Thursdays) Rule: ship each box on the last Monday or Thursday that is at least 8 days before the ETA, because rural offices can take a week. - Bailey, ETA July 13: ship by July 5, before you leave home. - Twin Lakes, ETA about July 19: ship by July 11. - Lake City, ETA about July 30: ship by July 22. - Silverton, ETA about August 2: ship by July 25. Text your sister an updated ETA from each town; if you fall a day behind, the hold window still covers it. Bounce box Contents: spare phone cable, extra insoles, 2 weeks of any prescriptions, town shirt, the second half of the map set. Bounce from Breckenridge to Salida, then Salida to Silverton, then send it home. Ask the post office about forwarding a package unopened before you rely on it. Box list: Bailey (5.5 days, 3,000 cal a day) - 6 breakfasts: cold soaked gluten free oats with powdered milk and nuts - 6 lunches: gluten free tortillas, nut butter, cheese - 6 dinners: instant potato flakes with olive oil and cheese - Snacks: 12 gluten free bars, dried mango, chocolate - Non food: toilet paper, sunscreen, electrolyte packets, label each bag gluten free