[pct-l] Trailhead Travel, San Diego to Campo

[cdrriess1 at cox.net (Robert E. Riess)]

Greetings to the Class of 2004:

It will be my pleasure again this year to host hikers in San Diego and help them get a good start.  I can meet hikers at the airport, Amtrak and bus stations, and help with all kinds of Trailhead logistics.  Grocery store and post office runs are pretty routine. Sometimes we get out to REI or A-16.  Hikers usually spend a night or two at my house, and then we make a Trailhead run, often at 4:00am for a firstlight start.  I started in 1999 hosting 15 hikers in 9 groups.  Last year it was 31 hikers in 15 groups. Usually the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the ADZPCTKO we have a vanfull of 6 hikers going out to the monument to start at firstlight.  I am a school teacher, so the earliest I can meet you is 3:00pm on school days.  I am one of the unofficial organizers of ADZPCTKO, so I will be at Lake Morena that Saturday and Sunday.  

If you are looking for transporation from San Diego to the Trailhead between mid-Apr and mid-May, send me an email with your arrival information and I will make every effort to accomodate everybody.  I have a supply of white gas and alcohol, but if you need a particular fuel cannister, please let me know in your initial message. (I will not tell anybody you are using a store-bought stove.)  Please include your airline and flight numbers so I can coordinate pickups at the airport.  You are welcome to ship advance packages to me. Once initial contact is made by email, I will keep everybody informed by regular email updates, which do not go to the list. I have always been happy to host hikers without conditions, but due to a health consideration of a family member, I must regrettably host only nonsmokers.

Lastly, if you want to handle San Diego to Campo on your own, visit www.sdcommute.com and click on the online trip planner. From this resource you can determine that if you arrive after about 2:00pm, you cannot get to Campo that day on public transportation.

Whether I meet you or not, good luck to the Class of 2004.

Hike on !!  Bob Riess at the Trailhead in San Diego