Cannister Re-Supply in Towns?

[Dayzy]

I don't plan to mail myself any re-supplys, but I am planning to bring a cannister stove on my 07 PCT attempt. Any input on finding cannisters for sale and/or in hiker boxes along the way? I'm planning to use small cans except in the Sierras, and I don't mind carrying an extra backup if I need to for long cannister-less stretches.

[chai guy]

I used a Jet Boil stove for the length of my hike (Mexico to Cascade Locks, Or).

I cooked 2x per day, and found that the medium cannister generally lasted me 12-15 days.

That said I only had to buy 2 cannisters on the whole trip. Why? I just found them half-full (sometimes completely full) in hiker boxes along the trail.

I wasn't always checking for cannisters, why would I, there were usually 5 or so in each hiker box, but I do remember seeing cannisters in these places (this is in no way a complete list, but places that I remember seeing them:

Idyllwild
Big Bear City
Kennedy Meadows
Mammoth Lakes
Red's Meadow
Tuolumne Meadows
South Lake Tahoe
Sierra City
Old Station
Shasta City
Ashland
Cascade Locks

I can say also that I looked for fuel cannisters in Belden, CA and Sisters, OR and did NOT find them there at all. So you may want to plan on having some mailed to you there (remember, they have to be labeled and mailed USPS ground ONLY).

http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52_print.htm