All Good Things Come to an End… The PCT Northern Terminus! – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [51]

Previous Post:

Part 50 ‘Mica Lake, Suiattle River & the Final Push into Stehekin’

Day 159 (10/09) – Unexpected Friends

Today, we were leaving Stehekin. Most of us were seeking coffee to awaken us from our late evening of dancing away the night in the orchard. We planned to get back to the trail via shuttle early, with the good news was that the shuttle passes by, and stops at the bakery briefly! Hooray!

This time around, I quickly grabbed a ham and cheese croissant and a sticky bun to pack out for later. We then arrived at the trailhead and started the final stretch to the Canadian border.

Almost immediately during climbing the first hill, the older ladies in summer flower dresses (who bought us the free beers) stormed passed us as they were trail running to a road crossing several miles ahead. ‘Wow, they are really running!‘ Snakebite said out of disbelief, haha.

Towards the end of the day, I passed a girl (Fire Hazard) hiking southbound who suddenly went up in excitement after seeing the three sisters. It turns out she was a trail friend off another hiking trail they had all done together previously. She had intended to surprise the girls on the trail, and was staying in a nearby carpark with another friend the girls knew called Spicerack.

We ended up camping there with them in the trailhead carpark and combining a dinner. They had loads of snacks and beers too, and we had a merry old time! S

Spicerack showed us a song from a CD that he borrowed from a library with a weird ‘trap’ song. He explained how hilariously bad, but catchy it was. For the next three days, we were all repeating the lyrics: “from the back from the back from the back” (think of it as rap, electronic, dance music and a sexual theme all had a baby) – it was a horrible song, but stuck in our head.

Distance hiked: 19.5 miles

Total PCT hiked: 2589 miles

Day 160 (11/09) – Cutthroat and Glacier Pass

We all slept in somewhat, the cold firmly keeping us in our warm cocoons of comfort. I made breakfast in my tent to warm up and then started packing up. We didn’t end up leaving until around 9am – pretty late! Meh, we had time.

Spicerack and Fire Hazard hiked with us up until Cutthroat Pass, where we said farewell to them as they returned to their car. It was a beautiful view there, and seeing blue sky and not smoke haze for a change was great.

The hike continued to be gorgeous and relatively easy, as the trail in this stretch was well maintained. All the blow-downs (fallen trees) had been sawed and removed to the sides, which was much nicer than having to clamber over them all like in the past section.

We had a lunch break on Methow Pass, where I was being swarmed by meat-eating wasps who wanted my tuna. Then it was a final 10-mile push to camp just below Glacier Pass.

The campsite was pleasant, but we had to camp dry (no water). Rise, Shine, Snakebite, Mammal, Fat & Sassy and I all contributed to a conglomeration of noodles for dinner. We discussed various accents as they all enjoyed many of the different mannerisms and phrases I’d say, and whether I found American accents annoying. I told them theirs were all ‘normal’ sounding accents to me.

Distance hiked: 20.5 miles

Total PCT hiked: 2609.5 miles

Day 161 (12/09) – Hart’s Pass

We had a quick pack up and planned on having breakfast at the first water source down the trail 5 miles away. I still made breakfast in my tent anyway because I was fast – I’d have a second breakfast later, haha).

After a long section of uphill switchbacks, we had easy hiking conditions along the ridge. The views of the North Cascades National Park mountain range off to the west were majestic. Many of the mountain tops had huge glaciers.

The day was quite mild and for the second or third night in a row, the Washington cool air was noticeably more prominent. We were nearing Hart’s Pass, the last access point of the PCT before reaching the Canadian border.

By the time we got to camp, it was freezing! The camp was on the side of a mountain in a small cluster of trees, surrounded by meadows and a small spring. It was fairly windy, so we needed to stake our tents down and put on our outer tent flies for warmth.

The six of us made a communal dinner again – this time it was pasta based. Cooking like this was so much better than having my usual solo meals. We had a discussion over how we felt about entering Canada tomorrow and, for me, finishing my adventure (the others were heading back to the Sierras). It still hadn’t sunk in yet for me that my hiking adventures were coming to a close. This was the last night on the trail AND the last night in the USA for me. It was a very emotional night…

Distance hiked: 26 miles

Total PCT hiked: 2635.5 miles

Day 162 (13/09) – The Northern Terminus and Canada

The morning hike started cold, and as soon as I packed up my tent, it began to drizzle. It was actually going to rain on me in Washington – the section of the PCT you should actually expect rain on a normal year.

It was only light rain, and patchy as we entered high into the clouds, but reduced again as they started the descent to the border. The views were amazing, with clouds hovering above the trail. It briefly lightly snowed on us for about 15 minutes before getting back under the clouds again.

After 14 or so miles, we reached the northern terminus monument, and the borderline cut into the forest. The border between the USA and Canada was right in the middle of the forest. I made it! Alive and in one piece!

It was a mix of feeling victorious that I had hiked so far, despite the extra challenges this year – and the feeling of dread, knowing my journey had come to an end.

We hung out at the monument for at least an hour. The monument photos we took were fun. There was the final trail register we got to all sign and comment on – looking back to see who had previously finished before us.

When you arrive at the monument and border, you have two choices – hike back the way you came for 30 miles to hitch out of Harts Pass, or continue on a further 9 miles to reach Manning Park in Canada. Manning Park is a kind of resort, and friendly to PCT hikers. There’s nothing else in the area, and from there you need to catch a bus into the city of Vancouver.

We hiked the final taunting 9 miles into Canada and arrived at Manning Park. Here, we had free use of the spa and showers, and could sleep in the lower room until the bus at the awkward hour of 2am (which took over 3 hours to arrive in Vancouver). We ate at the restaurant, and then made use of the well-needed showers. The spa was AMAZING, and we all stayed there, soaking up the hot water for over an hour before relaxing and trying to get a few hour’s sleep.

Distance hiked: 23.5 miles

Total PCT hiked: 2650!!! (+ 9 into Manning Park)

This is the last post of my PCT adventure. I hope all who followed my journey enjoyed my journey as much as I did! Stay tuned for post-trail thoughts and section breakdowns when I get back home.

Next Post:

‘PCT Afterthoughts and Recap & Section Reviews’ 

In order to support the travelling and hiking community, I spend many hours per week or month to adequately document all information and advice for prospective visitors, accompanied by a (hopefully) entertaining insight into my personal experiences. This service is and will remain free. However, if you voluntarily want to make a contribution and support my travels and thus the creation of new stories and hiking information, here is the button you’re looking for:

Thank you for reading 🙂