This morning I went for a mish a little bit north to the outdoors store, REI. I knew I needed gas for my cooker since it’s not possible to bring that on a plane, and I was hoping to replace my socks with something not made of cotton. I picked up a Pronto card at the station and rode the trolley, then a bus, and walked the final 20 minutes to the store. This store is huge, and they seem to stock everything which a hiker might need. I was able to size up an ice axe and micro spikes for later, and picked up some merino wool socks to replace my Kmart work socks. The cashier immediately noticed my kiwi accent and also clocked me as a PCT hiker, so we had a quick chat about that.

On the way back to the bus stop, a car pulled up next to me, windows down. “Hey! You’re doing the PCT right? Where are you headed? Hop in, we’ll give you a lift!”. These guys were also in the REI behind me and they heard me talking to the cashier, the driver had completed the PCT in 2022. Of course I jumped in without a second of hesitation, my first experience of trail magic and I’m not even on the trail yet.

Once I’d finished getting last minute supplies, I headed south to Chula Vista, I wanted to try a Mexican place for lunch. Chula Vista is halfway between San Diego and the Mexican border, and it definitely feels closer to the desert than Little Italy. The taco spot is hectic, a queue reaches out the door. Inside is packed and it takes a moment to work out that there’s about a half dozen different lines depending on what type of meat you want to order. I didn’t know what to get, or how the ordering thing worked, or even how to pay, amid all the chaos I could hardly even hear what anyone was saying. I ended up with adobada on fries, the flavor of the meat is fantastic, a little sweet, spicy, and smokey. I’m sure it would have been double as good in a taco, but I got lost in the chaos of ordering. We’ll get em next time Jim.

In the evening, there was a BBQ organized by the hostel. It was a pretty low key affair but I bought along a growler from the pub down the road, and a pound of Italian sausages from the same deli which sold me the sub yesterday. I had a good night talking and hanging out with a couple of the others staying at the hostel, and it’s good to know a few familiar faces around the place now.