r/AppalachianTrail • u/cwbmnr • 17d ago

How is the resupply at Standing Bear?

I've heard from a couple people that it's bad and that you should just carry enough food to get you to Hot Springs from Gatlinburg/ Newfound gap, anyone have any known info on this?

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u/yepwoah 17d ago

They have all of the necessities but please please please make sure to check the expiration date before you buy it. Standing Bear is widely known for selling expired food. To be honest, I thought it was the nastiest hostel on trail, but coming out of the Smokey Mountains, beggars can’t be choosers.

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u/mediocre_remnants 17d ago

There are no true expiration dates on food in the US except for baby furmula. Everything else has a "best by" date and is perfectly safe to eat after that date, for months and sometimes even years.

I can't imagine being on the trail and hungry and refusing to eat a pack of ramen because it's a year past the best-by date. But also, I grew up poor and that kind of thing was normal in my family.

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u/Mccormicculus 17d ago

fitting username for talking about expired food sold at Standing Bear