Hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail

I think it's fair to say that most Californians have never been to Campo. It's a small unincorporated town of 3,000+ population in San Diego County, California that is just inside the U.S. border. It does, however, appear in the news when tragic events occur there, such as occurred on July 23, 2009 when Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, 30-year-old father of two, was shot to death while pursuing suspected illegal immigrants or drug smugglers.

I'd never heard of Campo until we decided to hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Campo, which is the trail's southern terminus. From Campo the trail travels 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington until it reaches Manning Park, Canada, just inside our northern neighbor's border.

My husband and I are section-hikers of the PCT (we are completing it in stages). We chose to do the initial section of the trail, termed appropriately "Section A," in April of 2005. We wanted to avoid the triple digit temperatures that often come mid summer. We also wanted to hike while water — always a concern in the desert — was still flowing in the seasonal creeks.

Whenever we set out for a long distance hike, we do a lot of planning: reading guidebooks, websites, and following trail journals. We pack appropriately for the anticipated weather, and we send boxes of food ahead to post offices and other facilities along the way. In addition, just as most of the 300-400 thru-hikers (those who hope to complete the entire trail in one year), section hikers assess the risks — and there are many. Most years bring a fatality involving a long distance hiker because of the hazards — falls, getting lost, drowning, lightning, heat prostration, hypothermia, as well as animals.

Some hikers also worry about illegal immigrants, but even though illegals do cross the border at Campo, they don't appear to have had much impact of PCT hikers. When we were hiking in the vicinity, we occasionally saw clothing that had been left behind, and other hikers have reported hearing sounds at night, but the greatest reminder that there are illegals on the trail is that helicopters continually patrol the area.

When we originally left home for the border and our walk, I expected our hike to be through a barren land with little of interest. What I found was a beautiful section of the trail — particularly when the wildflowers are lining the trail and carpeting the nearby rolling hills. And 1,900 PCT miles later, it remains one of my favorite long-distance hikes.