PCT Day 140-143 FINAL DAYS

9/15/22

I made it it to Canada!!! After 143 days I walked from Mexico to Canada on an (almost) continuous footpath. It all went smoothly until the final 48 hours...

Stehekin Bakery

4 days before the end we stopped in Stehekin to make a plan for the border. Many of the other side trails leading up to the border were closed due to fire activity so the options were limited. The PCTA had put out an alternate route the day before but it was a very convoluted route that didn't even lead all the way to the border. The other option was to go north on Ross Lake, getting us a mile from the border. There was no service at Stehekin so we managed to use a pay phone to make a reservation for a water taxi to bring us right up close to the border. We would take a side trail to the highway, hitch from the highway to Ross Lake, and then the end would be in sight.

We arrived to the junction for the side trail at about 7 PM after much rain. We looked up the trail and were in awe to see that it was completely overgrown and not maintained at all. We struggled even seeing a path. We hiked for about 30 minutes, only doing approximately 1/4 mile before deciding we would not make it to the highway in time. We were wading through rain soaked brush, fallen trees, and a dense wall of leaves in our face. We hiked back to the PCT and discussed our options. We either had to hike backwards 16 miles to the other highway crossing before 10 AM the next morning, or push what we thought was 27 miles to the next town and hitch from there. I was originally voting for hiking back as it would have been easier, but after more discussion I reluctantly agreed to hike straight through the night to the next town to make it in time. We ultimately chose this so that we could go right up to the closure at Harts Pass and hike all available miles in Washington.

Much of the night was a blur. We had already hiked 20 miles that day and were getting tired. During the night there was little conversation. The 3 other guys I was with all just shuffled along like zombies. Eventually the rain stopped but then the cold of the night truly set in. By 7 AM the next morning we had hiked 45 miles in 24 hours and would still have another 5 miles after that. We had a beautiful last sunrise as we hiked down from the trailhead to the town of Mazama. Once we got to the road we were lucky enough to get a hitch into town. Once we arrived however, we learned of the disastrous news. There had been a mudslide that morning on highway 20 in between us and Ross Lake. Immediately I began making calls to the water taxi service, the forest service, and our other group members also taking the water taxi but had taken a different route. The 4 of us at Mazama were the only ones not at Ross Lake and everyone we talked to said the road would never open in time. We did not stop trying. We finally received word that the workers would have the road open by noon, so we just needed to get a ride. After hitching for 2 hours we finally got a ride from a Prius, cramming all 4 of us in the back seat. We arrived at Ross Lake only to find out we had to hike another 2-3 miles around the south end of the lake to get to the resort that operated the water taxi. With less than 20 minutes to spare, we arrived and could finally breath. We did it, we were getting to Canada.

Birthday Boy, Hippiegirl, Shaggy, myself, Tallboy, Mastermind

After a 50 minute boat ride we were dropped off a mile from the border at the dock. We started taking our last steps on our almost 5 month journey. The feeling was surreal, knowing that for the last 143 days we hiked everyday and the next day that would all be over. I am incredibly happy to finish with 3 other guys I started with, Tallboy, Mastermind, and Birthday Boy, as well as others I met halfway through my trip.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the support I've had throughout my journey. My family was always there for me, ready to ship anything at a moments notice or listen to my wild adventures on the phone. My friends both new and old were always encouraging me through my blog or social media making me always feel like I could accomplish my goal. I will forever be grateful for what the trail has taught me and hold these memories close.

I am back in Iowa City now, recovering physically and mentally processing everything that happened. While this is the end of my journey on the PCT, I will continue to post on this blog regarding my outdoor adventures as well as start a newsletter/blog for my musical career so stay tuned! I will also make one or two more posts as I receive pictures from all my fellow hikers.

Until then, Pickle signing off. 9/26/22

4/26/22-9/15/22

143 Days

~2,340 Miles