2,000 miles into my hike, the last mile felt like any other. As I came down the trail, I saw the large sign for Manning Park Canada, stepped up onto the roadway, and that suddenly my PCT hike was finished for 2017. Probably it will take a few days to sink in.
This last 69 mile stretch was extremely scenic, with long open mountain vistas, a famous traverse showing off fall colors, beautiful streams, and low clouds in fascinating shapes.
After our friends Penelope and Monte generously ferried us to the trailhead we started our final section into Canada. The first day my hiking partner Robert and I staggered up into a mixture of smoke and clouds, but by mid-afternoon we were treated to blue sky in patches and clearing smoke due to a change in the wind. The second day we had good visibility, but also a light rain for five hours, which ended about six in the evening. We pitched our tents about 20 miles from Monument 78 at the border with Canada. Also at our campsite we met Jan and Nancy, two former NOLS instructors, who we enjoyed chatting with. The third day we had beautiful scenery, but might have been rushing through it just a little in our eagerness to reach the border. Finally at the monument we took pictures and then crossed over into Canada, setting up camp just over the border, just 8 miles from Manning Park. A few other hikers camped with us, including a semi-famous hiker named Optimistic Turtle, who writes a popular blog about her PCT hike.
At the Monument there is a book for comments, and I snapped pictures of my own comment and quite a few pages of comments from other hikers. You will see those in the album for this section.
The Manning Park Lodge gave us free showers and let us use their coin-operated guest laundry, so we were able to clean up. The Greyhound Bus left Manning Park at 2 am, bound for Vancouver. From there I will catch a flight onward to San Francisco. Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing my family after two and a half months away.
Thank you to all the people who have followed my blog, and especially those of you who have made comments. Connectivity has been pretty spotty, so I couldn't keep up a dialogue, but I did appreciate and enjoy the comments.
Sometime soon I will write a wrap-up post, for my hike, so if you have questions feel free to let me know. Otherwise you will just have my personal reflections.
Here is a link to the photos for this section:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nmYcYYvjnYu5xofD2
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