Day 0: Denver to San Diego

Woke up at 6am with a bunch of to-do items going through my mind...  My flight leaves Denver at 2:45, so I have plenty of time find MORE gear to put in my pack.  This is not always the best idea, as some things are just luxury items that add weight.

   Finally out of the house, my mom and I pick up my dad from work.  It was really nice having them along for the send off. 

My flight from Denver to San Diego has a layover in Salt Lake City. I used my time at the airport to organize the trail maps and current water report (Campo to Idyllwild) on my phone.  That really ate up my phone battery. Fortunately I deemed a battery pack was necessary for 6 months on the trail. It ended up charging my phone pretty quick.  Arriving in San Diego was a relief. When I grabbed my checked lugguage I noticed one corner had been smashed in. Lucky for me it was $13 from the second hand store.  It's only purpose was to get my gear to California undamaged, success.  

    In San Diego, I am staying with Scout and Frodo. They are a couple of awesome trail Angels (Def. people who help hikers with a variety of needs). 

While waiting to be picked up at the airport I met Tim, a fellow hiker from Amsterdam. He is starting over the weekend as he needs to put together his food for the trail. International hikers are not allowed to ship food into the states. 

Arrived at Scout and Frodo's home and it was packed with lots of hikers. There are 5 or 6 of us here that will start tomorrow. 

Dinner was provided and after I was finished, I went and started to unpack/pack. Unpack my suit case and pack up the backpack. It took some time to get things organized, but after a while everything found its place. 

                Tomorrow is an early start, breakfast at 5:30am. Out the door at 6:00.  

Off to bed.