Day 111 – 0 km – Thursday 15.08.2024
I actually wanted to sleep in today, but at 5:30 I’m awake. I spontaneously change my plan to take the bus at 1:30 p.m. Apparently a bus also runs earlier and so I set off at 7 a.m.
I walk from the motel to a stop and continue on a free bus to Chelan. After an hour I get off there because I have to change trains here. In a café I drink a coffee and eat a piece of quiche.
Then I go back to the bus stop. Unfortunately, only one other bus comes and when I ask, the bus driver says that the bus to Pateros no longer exists and that I either have to go back to Wenatchee or hitchhiking. Since I don’t see that I’m going back an hour, I stand on the street and try to get a ride.
After a while, a car takes me to the end of the village, from where I can hitchhike in the direction of Pateros. Since it only goes in this direction from here, it should be easier to get a car here. The nice man, who himself has already walked the PCT completely in both directions, gives me tips on where I can hitchhike best. Then he makes his way in the other direction and I’m standing on the road again.
This time, as is so often the case, hitchhiking. All the big and high quality cars drive past me and in the end a slightly battered car stops full of Mexican seasonal workers who don’t really speak English. So it’s really noticeable that it’s usually the simpler people who are willing to take others with them.
With beautiful Mexican music, it’s 20 minutes on the road to Pateros. There they let me out again and since I have to wait an hour for the next bus here, I go to a café around the corner and eat a burrito and drink a coke with them. Apparently a lot of hikers have been coming through here lately, because although I’m far from the trail, the waitress asks me directly how the trail is running, etc. After waiting a long time, I’m going back to the street and waiting for the bus there. Then it’s almost 40 minutes further in the direction of Twisp, where I have to change trains again to get to Mazama.
After another bus ride, I finally arrive in Mazama. Today it’s pretty hot again, so I’m going to buy an ice cream and a coke in the only store here. After that, I walk a few minutes to a donation-based hostel/camping site, where I will stay overnight. Not a lot of people here at the moment, but at least I can set up my tent to dry and I’ll be shown around briefly by a hiker. Since it’s already 4 p.m., not much happens a day.
Here is a picture of me in change of clothes that I borrowed as long as my clothes are in the lingerie:
I sit around the rest of the time, talk to other people and have dinner. After an entertaining evening, we go back to bed to be rested in the morning and get to the trail with the first shuttle at 6:30 a.m.
Day 112 – 39.1 km – Friday 16.08.2024
Shortly before 6 a.m. I get up and dismantle my tent straight away. In the hostel’s kitchen, I have a coffee and eat a few snacks from the hiker’s box as breakfast.
Punctually at 6:30 a.m. I drive with a few other hikers in a converted transporter to the Harts Pass, where we want to get back on the trail. After a somewhat bumpy drive, we arrive at the pass after an hour. Unlike below, it’s pretty cold up here and lots of clouds hang around.
I’m also running straight away to complete a few more miles today. In total, only 30 miles separate me from the border with Canada. Since I have to hike another 8 miles to Manning Park from there to get to Vancouver from there, I will only cover 20-25 miles today.
In the dense clouds it goes straight back uphill. Unfortunately, I can’t see too much of the landscape in the first hour, but the little that I can see still looks nice.
After some time, the clouds are moving up a bit and I can look further into the distance. Unfortunately, I’m already hearing thunder over me and the first raindrops are not long in coming. While the first rain shower only lasts a few minutes, the second part is pretty strong. It pours like a bucket and in between there is even hail. After just a few minutes I’m completely soaked and it doesn’t stop for a long time. Since the clouds above me practically don’t move, I have to keep walking in the heavy rain for some time.
Only after a long time does the rain stop again. Until then, I’m not only completely soaked, but also pretty cool due to the cold wind. When I no longer expect rain, I put on my warm flow sweater and look at the landscape for a while. Next to me are some beautiful mountains and for me from now on it will continue over rock through the impressive landscape.
Since I don’t have any time pressure today, I keep stopping and enjoy the final sights of the mountains, aware that my journey here will end for me tomorrow. Actually, I had planned to stay here on a mountain ridge to possibly watch a last sunset. Since I can’t find the planned stream to fill up my water (possibly dried up in the last few days), I descend to a lake on the other side.
Arriving at the lake, I set up my tent, get water from the lake and cook my dinner. Then I crawl into my tent and snuggle up in my warm sleeping bag to read a little more. Somehow it feels weird lying in the tent and knowing that it might be the last night in a small home before I will reach my destination in Canada and then start my return journey.
Day 113 – 24.2 km – Saturday 17.08.2024
Since I only have 6 miles to the border, sleeping in is on the program today. As usual, I still wake up shortly after 6 a.m. and still lie down a bit. Unfortunately, my tent is still wet, but when I leave it, I am greeted by bright sunshine and a blue sky. I cook my oats and drink a coffee. After that I slowly dismantle my tent and pack everything up. Then I set off to complete the remaining kilometers.
It’s a little downhill all the time and the path is pretty easy to walk. In between he is a bit overgrown, but still ok.
From time to time other hikers come towards me and we congratulate each other on achieving the goal. Since many don’t have a permit to enter Canada, they have to turn back at the border and walk back to Mazama on foot. I, on the other hand, continue to walk downhill. After one or two more curves, I suddenly stand right on the border. Out of nowhere, the monument of the Northern Terminus appears in front of me. So I actually managed to walk from the border with Mexico to Canada. In total I was on the road for 113 days, walked over 2300 miles (3700 km) on foot and was able to cross many beautiful landscapes.
Here is a picture of me at the northern terminus, which means the end of my journey on the PCT. In the forest behind me you can see the border between the USA and Canada, even if it is significantly less spectacular than you might expect.
Since nobody else is here, I’ll take a few pictures first and then unpack a bottle of Prosecco, which I took with me especially for this occasion. Although it’s only just before 10 a.m., I’m toasting on my own reaching the border with Canada.
It feels really good to finally arrive here in the north after 113 days. So I’ve experienced a lot in the last few months and in a way it fills me a little with pride to have made it from Mexico to Canada. I’ll review the last few months again and I’m almost a little wistful that my journey will officially end here.
After that I sit on a stone for a while and look at the surroundings before two other people come from the other direction. As it turns out, it’s the family of a hiker I stayed with at the lake tonight. A few minutes later he arrives and we take some more pictures and congratulate each other.
After that I’m on my way again, because I still have to walk about 12 kilometers to Manning Park to somehow get to Vancouver from there.
As I walk around the area, I am happy that I actually made it to Canada. So the longer climb is pretty easy for me.
After another 3 hours, I finally arrive at a resort in Manning Park. Since I’m already hungry again, I go to the restaurant and eat burgers for lunch. Meanwhile, I book a return flight to Germany, which will be on Monday. So I still have time today and tomorrow to get to Vancouver and maybe a little more to look at the city.
After the meal I start my return trip to Vancouver. Unfortunately, I can’t find a hiker who could have taken me with me and a bus doesn’t come today and apparently the next few days. So I’ll be back on the street soon and hope that someone will at least take me a little further to the west, from where I can possibly take a bus.
After a few cars have passed me, after about half an hour a car stops and the driver thinks that he can at least take me with him to a small town about 60 kilometers east of Vancouver. So I drive with him for over an hour through the beautiful landscape. The man has a lot to tell and that’s why time passes quickly. In Mission, he lets me out at the McDonalds, where I can use the WLAN to see how I can get on.
Unfortunately, it’s already 6 p.m. and the buses don’t seem to go that late in the evening anymore. So I book one of the last available rooms in a hotel in the neighboring town and hope that I can continue to Vancouver tomorrow.
With a bus where I don’t have to pay anything because the new payment system isn’t working properly yet, so I drive to the neighboring towns and walk to the hotel there. I take a pleasant shower, rest and go to bed early. Actually, I wanted to toast the goal today and go partying, but I don’t feel like it on my own and so it’s a quiet evening with water and chips.
Tomorrow I have to take the bus for a few hours to Vancouver. Let’s see how well this works.
P.S.: When I’m at home I’ll create another blog post with a retrospective. I will then also install some statistics etc. there. But now I’m resting for now 😉
Leave a Reply