Troubled track? Tour groups on La Jolla Trail to Black’s Beach raise concern

A local guide’s offer of excursions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in La Jolla raised issues of safety, permitting, and trail maintenance.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail, also known as the Saigon Trail, begins opposite 9883 La Jolla Farms Road and descends to Black’s Beach at this hiking site. All trails calls a “difficult” route.

“Exercise extreme caution when on this trail,” reads the site description. “Many ledges are slippery and dangerous. This is a fairly technical trail that includes a lot of scrambling and maneuvering through rocky canyons.

“Amazing Slot Canyons to the Pacific” is a guided tour published on travel sites, including Airbnb, Tripadvisor, Travelocity and Marriott Bonvoy.

The tour, hosted by Victor Runco, is also offered through his website, Tours, Experiences and Adventures in San Diego.

The tour operates in the morning (it also has a currently full option sunset) and costs from $49 to $57. It’s described on Airbnb as a descent into “an incredible slot canyon with unique photo opportunities and breathtaking views of the sparkling Pacific Ocean.”

Travel sites have hundreds of positive reviews of the tour.

But the number of participants and the nature of the tour alarmed Emily Miller, a former La Jolla resident who recently moved to Oceanside but returns often to hike the trail.

Miller said she saw the “Incredible Slot Canyons” tour twice.

The first time she saw a woman leading a group of seven or eight people “who were decked out in some kind of grippy attire like mittens. She had a rope [and] she tied it around trees and helped people down canyon walls,” Miller said.

Another time, Miller said, the woman asked him to leave a particular vantage point so his clients could take pictures alone.

Miller said the woman identified herself as a guide for the “Incredible Slot Canyons to the Pacific” tour. The tour lists Runco and Shelley (last name not given) as guides.

Miller told the La Jolla Light that she is concerned about the effect on plants and other surroundings of large groups using the trail, adding that the groups she saw went off the trail both times.

“It’s the same sensitive ecosystem as Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, without the protection, maintenance and regulation,” she said.

Runco told the Light that “as someone who loves the outdoors and cares about the environment, the last thing I would do or see is someone littering or desecrating our open spaces.” He added that he often clears litter from the trail.

Miller also questioned the possible danger of the tour bringing newbies to the trail, given its challenges.

Monica Muñoz, media services manager for the San Diego Fire Department, said there were 57 cliffside rescues at Black’s Beach in 2021.

“Anecdotally, we estimate three-quarters of rescues at Black’s Beach as a whole are on the Ho Chi Minh Trail,” Muñoz said. “It’s a very dangerous trail, and most people are rescued because they had an injury where they had to be transported or helicoptered.”

Muñoz added that firefighters do not monitor trail visits and do not enforce related rules.

A sign posted at the trailhead lists San Diego city regulations for using the property, but city spokesman Tim Graham said the “Saigon Trail/Ho Chi Minh Trail does not is not an officially recognized or developed urban trail and we do not maintain or perform any maintenance.

Since it’s not an official trail, he added, “it wouldn’t be necessary to get a permit to use it.” However, he said a business tax certificate would be needed to collect royalties for services provided on the public domain.

Runco said he was “in compliance with all city and county rules and regulations and was fully insured.”

But city spokeswoman Racquel Vasquez said Runco “does not have an active business tax certificate with the city of San Diego” for itself, “Incredible Slot Canyons to the Pacific” or San Diego. Tours, Experiences & Adventures. His business tax accounts for previous businesses in San Diego were canceled in 2010, 2013 and 2018, Vasquez said.

Runco did not respond to questions about this.

Airbnb, which states that it does not “endorse or guarantee the existence, conduct, performance, safety, quality, legality or suitability” of any host or accommodation service, offers information on the use of public lands for visits.

“Airbnb encourages hosts to think carefully about their responsibilities and how to be a responsible host, including reviewing and complying with all local licensing requirements and rules,” said Liz DeBold Fusco, public policy representative. and communications. ◆