Hey guys Marmalade here, if you’re planning your thru hike of the PCT and would like to know how to get to the southern terminus from the San Diego International Airport you’ll want to watch this short video for a detailed outline of how to do it. Cheers...
Marmalade--this is so helpful for aspiring PCT hikers. I don't remember ever seeing what you present in terms of transportation to get to Campo. The Green Store--- the camping options, etc. Very helpful!
Thank you Tom yeah I thought it would help a lot of hikers not familiar with San Diego and no help getting to the terminus. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback on this video. Scout & Frodo even put it on their site for hikers who don’t stay with them
Hey Daniel that’s awesome! Make sure to stay tuned because I’ll be eventually posting detailed videos of the entire section A broken into smaller pieces and just what to expect, how to better plan it so your start will be smoother and successful. I feel once most hikers (who hate not attempted a thru hike yet) will have most of it figured out once they get the first section done so hopefully it will help a little with getting a great start! Cheers
Sure Ray glad it helped. Here’s the link for a shuttle service in my area that started right after I put this video out. They pick you up in San Diego, stop by REI is you need anything like fuel and take you to the terminus. Good luck! pctsouthernterminusshuttle.com/
@@rayalway9530 I started on march 26 and you should have excellent weather. How many miles do you plan on starting out per day for the first few weeks?
You’re very welcome, being a past thru hiker I know how tough it has to be to try and travel somewhere and not know where to go so I tried to make it as clear and helpful as possible
Hopefully one day i can start the PCT, but I'm afraid i'll be an old lady by then... On the other hand, who says an old lady can't walk the PCT! 😁👍 Have a great day!
Hey there and thanks for the message and what do you consider old? Lol stay tuned because the final video will have a lot of stats and information on the age groups and some of the secrets to hiking the whole trail. It might surprise you but over 25% of all the thru hikers are over 40 and about 15% of them are up and over 50 so start training now!
@@MarmaladeOutdoors I think I'll have to retire before I'll find 6 months to go on that adventure! 😁 Anyway I do hope to hike to Santiago de Compostela in Spain from my home in Belgium before I'm 60... 😁
@@StepsbyKaatje Hey, I‘m 61 and had have a permit for this year. I dreamed for more than 3 years to hike the PCT! But my dream goes on! Eventually it works when the new president will open the fences for Europeans, because I live in Germany.
Thank you so much for this! I couldn't find any really good solid information about how to get there and now I feel a lot more confident. I really appreciate it.
Wow! When I left Campo (1977) there were only 3 ways to get there from San Diego. Drive, hitchhike, or take a chance catching a freight car on the SD&AE railroad... when it was running. We held a sendoff dinner at the high school cafeteria (Go Mountain Empire Redskins!) for the first family unit to ride the PCT. BTW; none of the local American Indians had a problem with the school nickname - it was flatlanders coming up from San Diego that forced the name change.
Yeah and this year a great guy started an actual pct shuttle that pics up in San Diego, stops by REI and drops off at the terminus twice a day during the NOBO hiking season. Trail is much more crowded than when you did it. I have great respect for you!
Very well and detailed video. I've said before that if I arrived at campo with no water or food. I could supply to get to Mt. Laguna or further with the supplies at the "green store."
Yes or Lake Morena but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the green store shown in depth so I’m not sure most hikers know it’s there. I always like to support local stores on trail towns and it’s very convenient. If hikers are smart they could buy or bring food only for the first 20 miles to lake morena, resupply there for 23 more miles to mount laguna and significantly keep their pack weight down
Thanks and I felt the same way. I’m a local and been down there about ten times but for people not from here they always worry and wonder what to do to get started if they don’t know anyone who can help them in the area
Thank you much and glad you enjoyed it. Been asked so much on my channel about certain parts of getting there I thought why not just put one video together covering it all. Thanks again
Thank you Mark and yeah everyone always says “just catch a bud from the airport to campo but it’s more than that and nobody says how to actually do it... thanks!
Thank you so much Marmelade for this informative and great video. 👍 This video would be very helpful. Hope the new president allows us Europeans to come in 🤞
Thanks and I’m glad it helped. I live in San Diego and have been to the monument and done the section about 8-10 times including a thru hike attempt and have been asked a lot about certain parts of how to get there so I thought why not just do one video with everything in it. Glad you liked it and hope it helps a lot of future hikers
Thank you so much and yeah I don’t know that anyone has actually showed how to get there and what’s there when you do? Mostly people just say you can catch a bud there but that’s it... I hope it will help future hikers for sure !
Love the detailed info on getting to the trailhead. I didn't know about that night before start campsite. I know that Scout and Frodo aren't hosting hikers this year, so super helpful.
Thanks and yes that’s fairly new but important... people often get to campo to late to get many miles on trail so this way you can get a good nights sleep and get an early start the next day
Thanks Manny, of course you and I are locals so we know our way around the trail and terminus because we’re locals but hopefully this we’ll help future hikers assuming covid and the world ever goes back to normal some day lol
@@MarmaladeOutdoors Yes, Nevada is close enough, lol. But when I was there this year, the old wall was there. I see the new one looks much better! Anyway, check out my RU-vid Video (Campo to Paradise Cafe). I reented a car, dropped off in El Cajon and took a Lyft to terminus' 'ish! "PCT 2020 MannyOnTrail" Should come up. Need to get back out there and do it again in 2021!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WDK7I9SpAf0.html
No problem. I grabbed a Lyft from El Cajon. I preferred that over all the bus and trolley rides (triple the time). I also didn't want to call on Trail Angels due to Covid, so just wore a mask with open and operating Lyft driver. He was so sketched out about driving to the border area, lol. All good!
Lol well what I learned from my PCT thru HIKE and especially being anal about planning and being organized is that you end up worry about a lot of stuff that ALWAYS works out in the end. Because I’m that way I used the trail to help me to chill and trust that everything will work out and it always did on trail. Plus you have a lot of other hikers on trail that have info if you don’t know something. That helped me a lot! You must be getting excited now?
Thanks Marmalade. I was concerned about getting to the terminus from the airport and now I know I have nothing to worry about. I met you at Mt Laguna last year and hope to do so again sometime. Take Care!
So glad this video helped.. that’s what I was hoping for.. to simplify things.. you will be fine. So what were the circumstances of us meeting? I was there a few times last year
@@MarmaladeOutdoors I had started my 2020 hike and had made it to Mt Laguna and was hanging out in front of the store with some other hikers (I think on 3/10/20) when you and your hiking partner (can't remember his name) pulled up. I recognized you and said you were a celebrity and introduced myself. We had exchanged comments before using my other username (brasco96). I used to live in OC but we moved to Arkansas last May so I no longer have my wife there to drop me off like she's done in the past.
Great video Marmalade!! That exactly the info I been looking for. My PCT hike start date is 4-13. Hey, maybe a seasonal business opportunity for you ....running a shuttle ... SD airport to Campo. You might have 40+ customers per day. Get yourself an old school bus, paint it orange, of course!! Get Hammer to help you co drive, haha. Thanks SO much for all your very helpful videos. I seen most all of them. 👍🏻👍🏻
@@badderthanyou I hope so and hopefully the information I give will be pertinent for years to come. At least when I talk about the trail and mile markers and what to expect that shouldn’t change much
@@MarmaladeOutdoors getting my foot fixed. I’m planning on hiking at least a section hike. Though I am thinking they won’t give out permits again in 2021 I am plotting how to walk around those bad spots. Hope a few people will be out there.
@@cheryl_the_horsechick well as you probably know you won’t need a permit so just do the first section and there should be plenty of people out there during the season hiking out there. Wouldn’t worry about that
Mike, aka Marmalade, thank you so much for your series on Section A. I'll be starting in Mid-May, and your videos have given me more confidence even though I already did the AT. One question is how close to the Southern Terminus can one drive? My wife is going to drop me off and that is one thing I cannot get a fix on. Thanks in advance for your advice, and again, thank you for all your Section A insights. I really enjoyed your travels with Hammer.
Hey there and good luck on your thru hike attempt. You can literally drive up to and next to the terminus so she will be able to see you off. I’m glad my videos have helped you and again good luck! You’re going to love this trail!
Thank you Barth, I’d join the pct trail Angel groups on Facebook and ask if someone could help you out with a ride. You could take the trolly to that El Cajon train/bus station as I showed then Uber from there to save money as well? Hope that helps
That is at Lake Morena County Park area which is 20 miles from the start. That is the deli in that little small town there. One of the best burgers on the entire trail,.
I have suggested other hikers to watch this as a great reference, but I am hoping you can answer a question. I have time to kill since my flight arrives at 10:15 and the first bus I can catch is the 3:00. Any reason I shouldn't take the trolley to Adele Ave instead of EL Cajon TC? I can then walk to Walmart which is Parkway Plaza and get my fuel can and water bottles and lunch. That seems to be the origination point of the 894 bus to Campo. Seems like a great solution for someone with some time and needs supplies they can't fly with.
Great video. I'm planning on driving down a day ahead and camping with my husband in our campervan. Where do you recommend camping out the night before? Is the local farmer's campsite designed for walk up only? I was considering getting us a site at Lake Morena and perhaps after he drops me off at the terminus he can camp there another night or two and wait for me to come through. Any thoughts on that scenario?
Hey HC, thanks for the nice message. Yeah that campsite I showed is only designed for walk ups and only pct hikers because of the limited room they want the hikers in. Yeah I think you have a great idea. You could book a campsite at lake morena county park for like three nights. Camp there the first night then get dropped off the next morning to hike and he can come back for the next two or three nights if he wants? Not sure how far you want to go at the beginning but as you know it’s 20 miles to lake morena. I did the 15.4 miles to hauser creek the first night then the 5 left to lake morena the next morning.. hope that helps
Lol well I’ve been there once myself on my thru hike attempt last year when I flipped from the end of the desert up to the northern terminus to head south... probably not going to see it again unless I try thru hiking it again
Lol always a chance, just have to find a wealthy person or company to sponsor me so I can hike and film it for a living... not too much to ask right? Haha if I had that I’d start at Campo again and go for it!
Thx for the information my friend, looking forward to the rest of the story. Do you if frodo is still doing his pickup and staying at there house? Thx again, happy trails 🏕
@@MarmaladeOutdoors thx for getting back on that, question Mr Marmalade, I want to section hike from campo to hiker town around April. Will I need permits for those areas? I know probably a dumb question, they information would be appreciated thx my friend.
No you don’t, the PCTA says if you’re hiking any part of the trail 500 continuous miles or more that you do need one. Of course you need one for the Sierra mountains but for that section and really the whole desert portion of the trail you won’t need a permit. I hope that helps
@@MarmaladeOutdoors thank you for your help, sorry for bugging you about this stuff, just picking yours brain. So just to be clear no permits needed from campo to say Tehachapi in that designated section. Like day passes national parks etc. Again thx for your help 🏕🇺🇲
Hey Marmalade, Me and my son (17 y/o) are about to hike the Section A of the PCT this coming Monday 12/14. Even thought we're in purple tier, is there still camping overnight allowed? Just wanted to know if you been told by anyone you can't. I don't want to arrive in the South Terminus and be told I can't stay over night 😪. Hope all is well. Have a goodnight.
Greetings Marmalade appreciate all the valuable information.. was wondering if you could reccomend a hostel or hotel close to the bus line into campo. A friend and I will be thru hiking the PCT April 8th start date. We are considering getting there a few days early and doing a little site seeing.. appreciate your time and wisdom.. Feel free to look me up Underdog on the Appalachian Trail.. fellow RU-vidr.. thanks again.
The greyhound bus doesn’t go to camp but someone could take it from far away to get to that El Cajon Transit Center and then from there you take that regular but to campo and that bus that goes to campo doesn’t go on weekends. Didn’t even go on weekends before covid. I think that bud line is mostly for people that work or commute during the week
Does the road to the Southern Terminus require 4WD? I was hoping to drive my Honda Civic to drop my husband off since gas prices are so high and I live in Northern CA. Is your car safe to park at the terminus and walk to take pictures of your hiker and see them off?
Hi there, no you don’t need a 4wd, there’s a few ruts in the dirt road as you get really close so if you don’t like what you see you can stop about 100 years before the terminus and just walk up. There’s no actual park g around the terminus, you can drive up, take a bunch of pictures, hang there for a bit and maybe even film him walking off but you’re not supposed to leave your car there very long. Just long enough to see the hiker off. The trail recrosses the road about 1/2-1 mile down on the main road where the hikes walk on the road for a short while so you could see him off, drive down the road and look for the sign about a mile down (small sigh) that tells the hiker where to get back on trail and maybe take pictures there or even walk a little bit with them but they purposely don’t want anyone parking at the terminus. I hope that helps…
No.... they’ve never allowed it which makes it tough if you want to do an overnight hike from the terminus to lake morena (20 miles). What I’ve done many times is leave car at free parking at lake morena then get a friend or local to shuttle us down to the terminus then we hike back north to the cars.
