On Thursday, December 18, I’ll start a self-supported FKT attempt on the 155mi San Diego Trans-County Trail (SDTCT). I figured one last adventure before the year ends would be fitting. Running from the sea (Pacific Ocean) to below sea level (Salton Sea) sounded like an easy downhill run. Turns out it’s not, as you can see below.
Yeah, not flat and not a downhill…
While the Salton Sea isn’t the most famous below-sea-level location in the US (that distinction belongs to Death Valley’s Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level), it comes in a close second at 236 feet below sea level. This large saline lake in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys was created accidentally in 1905 when Colorado River floodwaters breached an irrigation canal and flowed into the Salton Basin for two years.
This FKT attempt is also a bit of homecoming because the trail overlaps partially and intersects with the 210mi Anza-Borrego Loop that I managed to complete in 2013 on the 2nd attempt.
The trail
The San Diego Trans-County Trail (SDTCT), aka the Sea to Sea Trail or the TCT, is an 155-mile route from the eastern boundary of San Diego County near the Salton Sea (236ft below sea level) to the western edge of the county at the Pacific Ocean. The route connects Anza Borrego Desert State Park and Wilderness in the Colorado Desert (a part of the larger Sonoran Desert) to the world-famous Torrey Pines Natural Preserve. San Diego County is the most biologically rich county in the continental US.
The SDTCT uses a combo of existing trails, such as the California Riding and Hiking Trail. The character of the route changes from well-marked singletrack trails to bushwhacking to road walking to well-marked urban paths.
The eastern part of the SDTCT visits areas that are ancestral homes to bands of the Cahuilla people, also known as íviluqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem. The western part of the trail is the ancestral home to groups of the Kumeyaay people. Descendants and members of both groups are still active in San Diego and surrounding counties. The trail crosses Native American Reservations of the Iñaja and Cosmit and near reservations of other groups.
The route is best done between November and February. There is no permit required to hike the entire route.
The best resource for information is the SDTCT group on Facebook. The Facebook group provides maps, GPX tracks, and current route conditions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/542292329178926
Private road detour
There’s a 2.1mi private road section that I plan to detour to avoid trespassing and getting shot or something. The detour will be 0.7 mi longer than the original route.
Detour around a private route section.
Dot watching
If you enjoy watching adventures unfold in real-time, you can follow my progress on the embedded map below or at https://maps.findmespot.com/s/Z7JS.
Resources
- Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/542292329178926
- Maps and GPS files: https://www.facebook.com/groups/542292329178926/files/files
- San Diego Trans-County Trail: A Guide to Thru-hiking and Backpacking: https://www.treelinereview.com/where-to-go/san-diego-trans-county-trail
- Selected trip reports: