[pct-l] Canadian insurance (seriously); transport from LAX to San Diego

[Jon Smith]

In case anyone is seriously wondering, you have to reside in Canada for three months before becoming eligible for the healthcare system and getting your CareCard. (Some things vary from province to province, but that's the situation in British Columbia, anyway.) I'm an American working in BC, and when I arrived, my employer (a public university) had me get stopgap insurance for those three months from a private company, <www.david-cummings.com>. If you have private U.S. health insurance, you might want to see whether your coverage extends to Canada. If you're still concerned, try the David Cummings place. It was pretty cheap, and was equivalent to having a CareCard. 

On the transport front, I had a very pleasant ride on Amtrak from LAX to San Diego last December, when I did the first 151 miles of the trail as a kind of shakedown, and I had no problems buying my ticket an hour or so before departure. (It was midday, not rush hour.) I splurged the extra $14 for business class, which was almost empty and had better views because it was up top. (A good portion of the trip runs along the ocean.) Plus, the "snack" you get includes some trail mix, which will get you from the border to, uh, downtown Campo.... ;) 

I start back up from Pines to Palms two weeks from today. I'm looking forward to seeing many of y'all on the trail--not to mention NOT checking the San Jacinto weather forecasts three times a day.... 

Devil