This is my resupply box. It took me a trip into town and all day with a tape measurer to find it. My ice ax just fits in it. Even if I had Photoshop, I don’t think I would put a big sunburst coming off of it, but I guess it will do. In the picture it looks pretty good. After I took the picture, I wrapped more cardboard around it so the ice ax won’t punch a hole in it. I used tape and wood glue. Now it looks like a big mess that is going to be caught up in the automated machine at the post office.
I have made big signs with my name and brightly colored dots on them to decorate each side. I did that so that at the post office I can say, “It’s the big box with my name and big colored dots on it” and they can quickly find it.
Once I used a plastic bin to mail my maps and stuff I needed for a trail. I think the post office thought it looked suspicious because it disappeared and I didn’t get it until my trip was done.
My dream box is a plastic or waxed corrugated box with a lid that fits all the way over it so that it’s doubled. I would make it a couple inches too big so that my ice ax could be seated in foam to keep it from gouging my box. When I wasn’t off hiking, the box could be used to store my gear in.
Maybe that is too big of a dream for this year but I did find a a place on the internet called custommadeboxes.com that makes boxes like this. I wrote away for an estimate.
Update: custommadeboxes.com got back to me with a quote. The price for 1 of a double cover box in a coroplast material with the dimensions 26 x 12 x 14 is $37.58 plus shipping. That sounds like a nice box but I think I will use the box I have for this year and continue to think about my options for my permanent resupply/gear box.