And so it begins, again, again!
The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail’s Southern Terminus is located between Campo, California, United States and Tecate, Baja California, Mexico.
It’s a tradition to walk a little south of the terminus and stick your hand (or your foot, if it’s not gigantic like mine which will likely get stuck) through the metal slats of the wall dividing the two countries.
I mean, if you don’t complete this initial task, did you really walk all the way from Mexico to Canada?
The defining wall along the Mexico/United States border has been rebuilt in many places, including at the Southern Terminus. The new wall, along the border for San Diego County, finished construction in 2020 and is made of lovely rusty (I mean rustic of course) slim vertical slats, perfect for PCTers looking to properly “start in Mexico”.
The wall that formerly stood at the border was made of even lovelier and rustier corrugated metal panels that appeared to be precariously attached. Luckily, the old wall did have a tetanus-shot-required hole through which the daring hiker could stick their hand if an official Mexico start was desired, and they were ready to risk the chance that nobody was waiting on the other side to grab any unsuspecting hands that came through. But, alas, progress.
I had the most wonderful company all the way to Mile 1, where I was then abandoned and utterly alone in the wilderness (other than the other hikers I passed).
This year water in the desert seems to be plentiful!
