We’ve made it to San Diego, have been welcomed, feed and bedded by the lovely and talented Scout and Frodo, and are ready to start hiking!

Scout and Frodo thru hiked the PCT in 2007 and have been kind enough to host hikers at their home ever since. We are eternally grateful for their generosity. 

Our flights out west were pleasant enough and all our gear made it, which is the most important part. 

We decided to change out our stove at the last minute. According to Found, a former PCT and CDT thru hiker and current employee of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the PCTA is working to discourage alcohol stove use on the trail. The drought combined with many land management regulations means that alcohol stoves are banned for hundreds of miles of the trail. And knowing when you’re crossing the border from one agency that allows alcohol stoves to one that doesn’t is hard to keep track of. Found said that it’s only a matter of time before a PCTer starts a wildfire that destroys homes and maybe ends lives. That is a risk that Richard and I are willing and capable of avoiding. 

So, we did. By buying a canister stove. 

Other than that, everything has gone smoothly. We have a warm bed to sleep in, breakfast provided in the morning, as well as a ride to the trail head. 

So far, so good.