Planning on sending resupply packages to Reds and MTR for my JMT hike in late August, but trying to figure out what I else I can pick up at stores, cafes, etc. along the way. Is the selection at the Tuolumne store decent? I was hoping to only start off with enough food to get me from the valley to Tuolumne, have lunch at the snack bar there, then pick up enough food at the store to get me to Reds 2 days later. Same question with the facilities at Reds, VVR and MTR. In my research so far, I just see things like "They have a public phone, and a small store" but I can't find any decent info listing the types of things they have at the stores. Do they sell freeze dried meals and such or is the selection more limited and really only good for a few snacks.

You can send yourself a package to the TM store and have that waiting for you. I think you could fit plenty of food in a standard USPS Priority box to get to Reds.

Also, there is a grocery store in the valley, where it would be really easy to put together all the food you'd need to get to TM without any problem.

You'll still need a bear canister, though.

Thanks Steven. Unfortunately, I'll be starting from the valley on a Friday and likely arriving in TM sometime Saturday afternoon, so the post office will likely be closed. I think they close at noon saturday and are closed Sunday, so I'd have to wait until Monday if I didn't get there before noon on Saturday. When I start off in the Valley I'll have food that I got ahead of time and basically just wondering if I should start off with enough to get me to Reds or if I could get by with just enough to get me to TM then get resupply at the store there to get me to Reds. And while on the subject I'm also curious what the other stores and such have to offer at Reds, VVR and MTR.

Also, I think I read that all the locations mentioned above sell fuel canisters, but can someone confirm?

I easily resupplied at Tuolumne. Red's Meadow didn't have much as I recall, I went into Mammoth to resupply. I didn't go to the Muir Trail Ranch, but those that do ship supplies there. VVR has limited groceries but might be doable out of the store if they are stocked up and you're not picky. Speaking for myself only, I could have easily resupplied with a combination of store and "hiker box." Of course it's risky counting on a hiker box, especially early in the season.

At Tuolumne you'll certainly find enough food to supply yourself through to Red's Meadow, especially if you're not picky.

At Red's Meadow they do have a fairly well outfitted store. But it seemed like a lot of the backpacking food from either people who left it there or from buckets that people never picked up. There was only one or two of a lot of different things, chips, packs of cookies, Mountain House dinners, etc.. We planned to resupply on lunches and snacks to get through to Red's. In the end, we could have bought everything there, including dinners and breakfasts, but we just may have been there at a time when they had a lot to pick from. They even had "Packit Gourmet" dinners and lunches. This is why I think some of the food was from previous backpackers, I don't think they normally stock food from "Packit Gourmet." They had a selection of fuel, but since we were using Clean Strip Green Denatured Alcohol, and had all we would need until we got to Muir Trail Ranch, I didn't look at it very closely. They do have single, zip-lock filled detergent packets for sale and have a laundry machine available, which we took advantage of. They also have a lot of first aid supplies and camping gear. I would liken it to an RV campground store, with the addition of some backpacking food and gear.

At Muir Trail Ranch, you'll be depending only on food that was left by previous backpackers or from buckets that were never picked up. They had a ton of oatmeal and nuts. And a lot of candy and snack food. They had a fair amount of freeze dried dinners and a lot of home-packed meals of who-knows-what. I remember a lot of Asian packaged food and candy also, but I couldn't read it to figure out what it was. If you're not picky you could easily find enough food to last through the rest of the trip, but I'm not sure how sympathetic they are to people who plan it this way. Our bucket had not arrived when we did so they urged us to rummage through the buckets to supply ourselves. We were pretty disappointed at this prospect, especially after taking the time and expense of sending a bucket. But, by afternoon, our bucket arrived so we were ably to put back everything we scrounged. It was also very easy to send back home everything we weren't going to need for the rest of the trip. Their store is limited to MTR clothing, a selection of first aid items, and an assortment of camping/backpacking supplies. They also sell fuel, but it will be limited to what they have on hand, you can't count on them having what you need.