Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day -2 to -1

Plane ride was about as enjoyable as you can get for a 13hr flight. Managed to get in 3 or 4 hours of chemically aided sleep waking up about 4am local time. Had an aisle seat and, after a move thanks to a faulty earphone jack, a spare beside me.

My bounce bucket got quite a few inquisitive looks through customs but as I had nothing untowards I passed through pretty easily. They did open it up to have a look though and seemed a lot less interested when they saw Vegemite on top. :p

Only person in the shuttle to the hostel, driver gets paid per person and didn't seem impressed. Too early to check in but I stowed my bags and headed off to explore LA... by getting a SIM card, doing some grocery shopping and hitting up a Post office... Everything looked so close on my Google maps print out... probably wasn't the best idea to walk around in thongs all day. First rub mark/potential blister of the trip! Luckily nothing that would affect my shoes.  


After getting the internet first and foremost I went to REI for some food and a gas canister and Vons (supermarket) for the rest of the food. Went to the end of Santa Monica pier, brilliant sandy beach but short waves. A few brave souls were in for a swim but given that seals were playing around the pier I decided against. Starting the hike with hypothermia didn't seem ideal.

Back to the hotel to have a lie down, was the only person in a 6 pax dorm at the start but more turned up later. 

Went out again to see the sun set over the ocean. Wind came up and with the sun going down the temp dropped pretty sharply. The bikinis quickly got replaced by jackets. Lots of homeless setting up camp for the night, weird seeing it as people with $3000 handbags walk by. The ocaisonal person dropped a few coins in a cup. 

Not the normal nocturnal activities you would expect at a hostel. Turns out I didn't read the fine print and it's a dry hostel... and there is 2 school groups staying here. I spent my last Aussie coin on a 200mil Wild Turkey at the duty free so after a long day I may have had a few anyway. 

Standard breakfast, cornflakes and toast, before checking out and heading off to see more sights. Hollywood sign looked a lot bigger in the movies but it does look pretty big in real life. Especially if you hike a bit closer.

Drove through Beverly Hill on the way there but didn't stop off to see any stars in the path, or stalk their houses. Hiked some of the paths around the Griffith Observatory, very dry ground and vegetation, a precursor to the first 700 or so miles? 

Next stop was the Amtrak station to take me to San Diego. I got there a bit early and just people watched to pass the time away. It wasn't too long before I caught my own train and made my way south.

I was picked up at the station by 'Buffalo' who took me to the house of Scout and Frodo who will put me up for he night. Every year they help hundreds of hikers start off on the right foot. Not only housing but a great dinner to go along with it as well as a cooked breakfast tomorrow!

I'll start hiking pretty early in the morning, tomorrow the real journey begins.