Another week has gone by, and planning for the PCT is proceeding. I have now booked my flight down to San Diego, as well as a night at a hostel in town, and a shuttle to (and night at) CLEEF. And what is that? CLEEF is the Camp Lockett Event and Equestrian Facility. It is a non-profit corporation that provides event and equestrian facilities on a 167 acre property just outside of Campo, California. The important thing to PCT hikers is that the property is located about a half mile from the start point of the trail.
CLEEF offers inexpensive camping prior to beginning one’s hike, as well as a twice-daily shuttle from San Diego to the campground – including stops along the way at the San Diego REI (outdoors equipment store) and a grocery store. It is not cheap, but it is incredibly convenient!
I have been working on figuring out my pack contents for at least the first quarter of the trail, from the Mexican border to Kennedy Meadows South – a point 700 miles along the trail that is considered the start of the Sierras. So this will take me through the southern desert sections, as well as up a couple of tall mountains along the way (Mount Baden-Powell and Mount San Jacinto).
As I get my gear more finalized (Buy a new quilt? Take a tarp instead of a tent for this section? Am I really going to cold soak??) I will post my plans. For now, I’m excited about my new Montbell Versalite jacket, and trying out some new Injinji socks instead of my old reliable Darn Toughs…
I just realized that my passport will expire in late August, at which point I plan to still be a couple of weeks away from home. I’ve just printed up an application for a new one, so hopefully they aren’t as backlogged on renewals as they were a few months ago…
One more thing – I went in for a consultation on having my eyes laserized. I’m planning on having a Lasik procedure two days after my final day at work, a month before I fly down to San Diego! I look forward to not having to carry multiple pairs of glasses and/or contact lenses along with me.
In the meantime, it’s time to update my Fitbit stats from last week. Not pretty, but at least I’m keeping the steps up!
Stats for 15 January – 21 January, 2023
- Steps: 105201 (avg 15029) up 0.1% from last week
- Calories burned: 21901 (avg 3172) up 1% from last week
- Average resting heart rate: 55.9 (up from 54.6 the week before)