Day 1

Day 1 of the hike! After a short delay getting to San Diego I got a hotel, bought some fuel for my stove and had a big dinner. The next morning I walked to a transit station where I could catch the bus to Campo. There were 5 other hikers there for the bus too. After about 2 hours on the bus we got off and hiked 1.5 miles to the start of the trail. I hung out at the trail's start for a little while with a couple other hikers.

After signing the trail roster we headed out. It was about 11:00 by then, clear, sunny and mid-80's. The trail goes back into Campo, where we stocked up on water. Two of the guys we rode in with were trying to mail a package at the post office and were only just heading to the trailhead. The two guys I started out with are Steve and Scarecrow. Archie was out in front a ways and we caught up later that afternoon. We went about 16 miles and camped at Hauser Creek. There were probably 8-10 other people camping there that night as well.

After a quick setup we had dinner and went to bed. A few boarder patrol vehicles drove past. They had been looking for an illegal immigrant who had fallen and broken his leg. So we're not the craziest people out here, this will be tough enough with proper gear.