[pct-l] Visa & resupply

[Dave Potter]

Visa & resupplyDave

I feel more informed (and confident) now about the B-2 situation, thanks for the explanation. And nothing wrong with your memory if you listed your schedule in such detail so swiftly and from work; thanks a million, that is going to be a great help, you are a star!

Great idea about the hire-car, I realise it is impossible for me to envisage the start unless I get some time to reconnoitre....there's not much dessert in Southern England...

I am in touch with Matt too; what a hiker that man is and he has offered to help me prepare, which is really good of him. He has a young baby now.

Take it easy, and no doubt there will be follow-up questions.

Again thanks a million
Dave
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Toms 
  To: davepotter at webmail1.co.uk 
  Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 2:13 PM
  Subject: Visa & resupply


  Dave, 
  Bizarre this, checking a web interface then replying by email! 
  Anyway: 
  1) No, the B-2 is generally issued as a 10 year or lifetime-of-passport visa, even tho' they ask for dates.  Give them your best guess at dates, but explain the situation at interview and you should be ok. The 6month period actually starts when immigration stamp you into the US. Note that you cannot reset this by going to Canada or Mexico - if you're going over the 6month period, you need to get an extension. One hiker did this in 05 without any major problems. 

  2) It's not important to leave from Canada direct, its important -IF- you leave from Canada direct, that you tell the US you've left. If you don't, US immigration will never know you've gone. Next time you enter they'll assume you overstayed your previous visa, and you're in a small room with a large bloke.

  3) Resupply. We took the resupply-as-you go option: 
  Flew into San Diego, stayed with a Trail Angel (Thanks Bob!), hired a car and spent 3 days driving around looking at the kind of terrain and towns that the PCT went through - drove as far as Idyllwild. We also checked out what you could buy at Lake Morena, Mt Laguna, Warner Springs, etc. We found this invaluable - we really had no idea what to expect.

  During this we stopped in at Warner Springs, and dropped a resupply box & our bounce box off at the PO there (had to pay the lowest postage rate for the right to leave them there, which seemed like a good deal to me vs the normal cost of storage!).

  Thereafter, bought in town and mailed up the trail where necessary. If you're not too fussy, you can resupply almost anywhere.

  A tip - almost nobody does this, and I don't get why! There is a small store (the malt shop) near Lake Morena campground. We carried almost no food for our first day and resupplied at the end of day 1 at this store. Makes a pleasant 20 mile day with a really light pack to start off, and means we could carry plenty of water whilst we learnt how our bodies handled the desert. The next day we only had 1 night's food, since we'd hit Mt Laguna the following morning, so again had really light packs.

  So we resupplied at: 
  20 Lake Morena for that night and next night 
  42 Mt Laguna for that night (stayed at Laguna) and next 3 nights 
  110ish Warner Springs - ate/stayed at resort (don't miss it!), picked up box with food to mile 155 
  155 Got a ride back to kickoff (thanks James!) where after the festivities, we collected a box that we'd left with Bob Riess containing 2 days food, our ice axes and crampons, and carried on.

  178 Idyllwild - big store in town 
  By then you'll be into your own rhythm of what works for you. Almost everywhere after that we hitched/bought food (Big Bear, Cabazon/Banner (don't bother to hitch to Banner, it's a dive), Wrightwood, Tehachapi, VVR, Mammoth, .)

  Places we bought food and mailed are as follows (from memory - can't promise its exhaustive): 
  Bought at                       Mailed to 
  Agua Dulce (thanks Donna)       Kennedy Meadows - 11 days food. 1 Person I know of (fellow Brit Squeaky) hiked KM - VVR on what he bought in the KM store. Everybody else sent a box. Also sent our axes and crampons up here after Fuller Ridge/Baden Powell, bought bear canisters at REI and sent up to KM, and sent a propane canister.

  South Lake Tahoe                Home - bear canisters 
                                  Burney Falls State Park - food (4 days?) and more propane for our stove. 
  Sierra City                     To a mate in the US - Ice Axes and crampons (remember '05 had a lot of snow & we were early - I suspect in a normal year/normal timing you could send these back wayyyy earlier). We should have sent these home, but after 500 miles of snow, were worried we might need them back in a hurry, so sent them to a mate who then sent them on home 3 months later.

  Ashland                 Send c. 4days food to each of Crater Lake (could have resupplied here), Shelter Cove (Elk Lake is nicer), Ollalie Lake, Stablers country store (could have resupplied here as well), White Pass, Skykomish (?), Stehekin

  We met our bounce box at: 
  Warner Springs, Idyllwild, Agua Dulce, Kennedy Meadows, Mammoth, Sierra City, Chester, Etna, Ashland, Cascade Locks, Skykomish, Manning Park.

  We shopped at: 
  Idyllwild, Banner*, Big Bear, Wrightwood, Agua Dulce, Tehachapi (_much_ nicer than Mojave, I've been to both), Onyx*, VVR, Mammoth, Bridgeport, South Lake Tahoe, Sierra City, Chester, Old Station, Dunsmuir, Etna, Seiad Valley*, Ashland, Sisters, Timberline Lodge* + ate in restaurant, Cascade Locks, Snoqualmie Pass*.

  *= slim pickings but doable. 
  NB - in '05 Tuolumne Meadows & Reds Meadows were shut when we went through, so we didn't use them. Tioga pass was also shut, so we couldn't even hitch out. To get to Mammoth we took the side trail, c.4miles over Mammoth pass.

  Hope that helps, feel free to post as before. 
  Cheers 
  Dave 



  PCT Visa 
  Hi Dave Thanks for the information, really helpful 
  Questions 
  1.. What flexibility of dates did you get with the B-2, did you have to use in in a particular time frame, etc? 
  2.. Why is it "important to leave from Canada direct"? 
  3.. I How did you get on with the PCT? any tips concerning re-supply when you don't have a home in the US to get stuff sent from along the way etc? 

  Thanks again Dave P 



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All incoming and outgoing emails are recorded for an indefinite
period. The information contained in this message (and any 
accompanying attachments) may be legally privileged and 
confidential. The information is intended only for the recipient 
named in this message. If the reader of  this message is not the 
intended recipient you are notified that any use, disclosure, copying 
or distribution of the information is prohibited. If you receive this 
message in error please notify us immediately. Thank you.

Numis Securities Limited is authorised and regulated by the 
Financial Services Authority and is entered on the latter's Register, 
www.fsa.gov.uk/register, under number 144822.

Numis Securities Limited is incorporated in England & Wales, 
Company Registration No: 2285918 and has its registered office at 
10 Paternoster Square, London EC4M 7LT

A member of the London Stock Exchange.

Tel: (+44)2072601000

E-mail: mail at numiscorp.com
URL: www.numiscorp.com

VAT No: 243623281

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.