Completing the Trail

It feels crazy but I am now sitting in front of my computer back in Victoria, BC and have completed my journey. As you could probably tell my blog was not in real time and I crossed the border into Canada around 2 PM on Thursday Sept 27th. This trail has been everything I ever could have asked for and I think it will take a while before I fully digest everything from this experience. Best of all I know that backpacking truly is my passion because after 138 days on trail, hiking over 2,668 miles, I can proudly say that I'm ready for more hiking. I also wanted to let my readers know not to fear because there will be plenty more posts to come. Washington truly was one of the most beautiful states so I have to post those photos and I hope to provide future hikers with some gear reviews of the equipment I used on my trip and other advise I wish I had known beforehand. I know my last post left a cliffhanger of what the end might be like so I thought I owed it to everyone to share my last day with everyone.

I woke up after one final night sleeping in the hammock and was very glad we camped where we did. One of my bigger fears, that I would wake up in some crazy Groundhogs Day like situation back in San Diego waiting to head to the Mexican border, luckily did not happen. I had hiked the last section from Stehekin to the border with another awesome hiker, Jack Flash, who I hadn't met until the end but got along really well with. We were hoping to get closer to the border and make camp but ran into one of my other good friends, Mad Dog and two cousins hiking together, Bacon Bit and Gumby, who I only recently began to cross paths with after not seeing those two since Walker Pass around mile 650. It was great to spend that final night with fellow hikers even if that meant we had 19 miles to the border and 27 to Manning Park.

Jack Flash and I headed out after everyone else but still earlier than normal around 6:45 AM (it has been really hard convincing myself to get out of bed when the sun has yet to rise). Right from the start I was already feeling the excitement build knowing I was now less than 20 miles from the border. I had been playing the game of saying "this is the last..." mostly to help try to convince myself that this 5 month trip was actually about to come to a close. I felt that my body could sense we were at the end but my mind was largely still in denial so this was a good exercise to keep the end from being too overwhelming. We headed up a large climb and passed some horse people who told us we still had some spectacular views ahead of us and it almost looked like Middle Earth after the next pass. Jack and I stopped to fill up our water and I knew this would likely be the last time in the US I'd be filtering water because I'd be too anxious to stop the closer I got. I apologized to Jack beforehand that I knew I wouldn't be stopping for lunch before we got to the border even if it was 19 miles from camp which would mean we'd be lucky to get there by 2:30 PM.

We got to Rocky Pass where there was a very sketchy trail that skirted along a steep mountainside/cliffside of rock scree that you could take to cut over to Woody Pass but we opted for the much safer switchback route that went down to come back up. At this point I was a bit more risk adverse especially after hearing about the thru-hiker who had to get helicoptered out just 6 miles from the Canadian border. Climbing up Woody Pass I just felt like I was soaring up the trail and at the top I started screaming knowing that this was my final big climb. I was only slightly embarrassed when I met two other hikers out doing a round trip through the North Cascades coming back on the PCT who heard me. Soon after passing them I ran into two thru-hikers who finished yesterday and it was so cool getting to congratulate them knowing I was just hours away from getting there myself. At this point we were getting down to the final 10 miles and again I just started shouting out "WE'RE DOWN TO SINGLE DIGITS!". I was most surprised how the scenery around us was still phenomenal and we were still seeing new views we hadn't gotten before out to the west of the hundreds of snowcapped peaks in North Cascades National Park and the monumental Mt Baker. The PCT has truly delivered incredible views all the way to the border. However we started dropping and I knew that meant it actually was all downhill from here. We went by a beautiful clear lake and Jack suggested we go swim for a bit but I couldn't even conceive of taking a long break like that at this point. We passed the 6 mile mark and I could see how that guy injured himself because I was so excited practically running down the switchbacks and would stumble more often then normal. Those next three miles I hiked with Jack still jogging behind me at full stride. He tried to keep up conversation but talking about anything besides the border at this point simply seemed mundane and all that was racing through my head was Canada. We dropped down into Castle Pass, the final pass of the PCT, where the Pacific Northwest Trail apparently intersects the PCT just 3 miles from the border. Now I was really moving and saw an old guy heading back who I later learned was a thru hiker that just finished who I never met but I just blazed passed. I got to a water source knowing Jack still had to fill up but looked back and he wasn't there. I waited for what was probably just five seconds but it felt like forever and I clearly had no patience so turned north and took off on the final two miles.


These two miles were some of the most intense miles of the whole trail. It was just a simple downhill through forested trail at this point but I could just feel the border pulling me closer. It was like I had some sort of giant magnet in my heart tugging me towards the finish line. I had adrenaline coursing through my veins and must admit that is one of the best highs I have ever felt in my life. I doubt there is nothing more pure, more of a rush, or more rewarding than that sensation I felt for those final two miles, which no drug could ever match. While the rest of the day had flown by, these final two miles seemed to last forever but it was such an incredible experience as my body was no longer in my control and was just racing towards the end. I kept thinking back to all the memories along the trail, all the places I visited, the people I met and everything I had experienced in those past four and a half months. While I still was unable to conceptualize the trail as a whole this was everything I could have hoped for at the finish where it wasn't just another part of the trail but such a rewarding end. I remember having to pass through a few brushy areas which were frustrating because I had to slow down a bit so I didn't trip over the roots. I was coming to yet another brushy patch still waiting for the final four switchbacks when I suddenly realized this wasn't just a brushy patch but the clearcut they maintain to demarcate the border. Then the trail turned back to lead me down those final switchbacks. Once again I just started yelling, "CANADA! CANADA!" as I flew down that final stretch of trail. I turned the final corner and saw some fellow hikers up ahead. Then there it was, Monument 78, marking the end of the PCT. I ran up yelling and touched the monument completing my continuous set of footprints from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. It's really hard to describe all the emotions going through me at that moment but it was primarily a sense of satisfaction beyond anything I had ever experienced. I was able to realize one of the biggest dreams of my life and was fortunate to have been able to finish the whole trail without anything beyond my control keeping me from doing it in a single season. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world and now was time to celebrate.

Pictured here are Dyno, Busted Magic, Zumi, Jack Flash and Nino

I remember looking around seeing everyone else there and the others who came in shortly after me. It was amazing how everyone dealt with it in different ways. One of the girls I hiked with off and on towards the end of the trip, Busted Magic, had gotten there just before me and was so overwhelmed. She had actually hiked the trail last year but had to get off because of the conditions at the end. Instead of just finishing off that final section she felt she needed to hike it all in one season and started from the Mexican border again and now after two summers and over 5,000 miles on the PCT was finally at the end. Then there were other hikers like Mad Dog who crossed without loud celebration but just this look of disbelief that it was all over now and much more withdrawn trying to process the amazing accomplishment we had all achieved. There ended up being ten of us who finished that afternoon (Dyno, Zumi, Busted Magic, High Life, Nino, Jack Flash, Mad Dog, Bacon Bit, Gumby and I) and by the end it felt quite crowded there at such a significant location. While I loved finishing with friends it also felt a little strange like we all kinda just wanted our own privacy to sit at the monument and reflect on our trip. I finally grabbed some food and just hung out there celebrating with everyone else and staring at Canada in disbelief. As I said before though we still had another 8 miles to travel into Canada to reach Manning Park. Manning Park had a nice lodge with a warm bed and showers which I really wanted to get to. Jack Flash and I were the only ones able to rally and press on leaving the rest still sitting there meditating on the end of the trek. That last stretch surprisingly flew by. The whole way I just felt like my body was glowing in this wonderful, zen-like state. It was very evident the disconnect between my mind and body. My mind was still in disbelief trying to process what the end meant (and even now is still trying to realize it is done) while my body almost had sensed the end for a long time and made that final push and now was celebrating and knew it would finally be given a break. Then I remember finally getting to that paved road in Canada know that was the end of the this journey. However I know there will be plenty more to come.

"Life is never more fulfilling then when you can live out your dreams. 

Guess its time to keep dreaming" 

-Stryder, PCT '12-