PCT- NORTHERN WASHINGTON AND REACHING CANADA!
We made it to the Northern Terminus in Canada and will travel back to Lone Pine, California to finish the 550 mile section we skipped in June due to the record snowfall last winter. I'm a little behind on my blog post because of the lack of internet connectivity, but I promise to make more entries soon.
Even though we have 550 miles until we officially complete the trail, the highlight has been reaching the Northern Terminus in Canada, and celebrating with Jack and so many other trail buddies we've met and befriended along the way.
Northern Washington was wet and we were so glad to have the sun come out and dry our feet and warm our bodies up after five days of soaking wet shoes and socks. The Northern Cascades are beautiful with the abundant evergreens and mountains, but I especially enjoyed the people on this section of the PCT. We are all in it together, through the weather, fires, blisters, cuts and bruises, and lack of showers, we have one thing in common, which is that we are long distance hikers. The far and few between towns we stopped in to rest and resupply were highlights as well. They are towns where we usually get a hot meal, a shower, visit, and maybe even get a warm bed to sleep in. They are high on our list for pleasure and rewards, and it's what we look forward to.
The Northern Terminus on the border of Washington and Canada. More NT photos below.
Very wet and cold weather compared to the summer in California and Oregon
Stevens Pass area in Washington.
One of the hiker's dad came in from Seattle to serve us hungry hikers breakfast burritos in the parking lot of the Stevens Pass Ski Resort. They open their arms to hikers . The bottom right corner photo is my camping spot for an evening, which was on the patio and under a large overhang. Their only requirement is to pack up by 9am. So many people are kind and happy to help hikers out. It's a wonderful experience of the trail.
Coming into the small town of Snoqualmie, we picked up a resupply box that family sent, then we headed to the Washington Alpine Club and caught up with friends.
Yes, hikers are dirty. It's difficult to keep clean in the wilderness, even at that, these feet deserve a special award for dirt collecting.
The rustic mountain WAC lodge off I-90 was especially enjoyable to take a break with hearty meals and friends to spend time with, including Slim Jim from Michigan, The Old Codgers from
Atlanta, Hazel from Taiwan, Graham from South Africa, and others.
We only saw one bear in Washington, but lots of evidence of many roaming around.
Below is the small town of Stehekin on Lake Chelan. It was thick with hikers because places to resupply and freshen up are far and few between in Northern Washington. Check out the salmon in the river picture below!
Some nature photos of Northern Washington.
Several fires threatening us hiking north, but the wet week before we arrived suppressed the bulk of the fires and we were able to make it through.
Some Trail Family below, before the last push to the boarder, and hanging out at the Hiker's Hut on the way back. Many hikers did not have passports to cross over the boarder into Canada and take transportation back, so we had to backtrack to the nearest road which was 30 miles south of Canada.
Although we knew we had another 550 miles back in California, it was monumental to reach the Northern Terminus and celebrate with others. Below is a 23 second video of me approaching Canada.
It was magical. So much fun... Then off to finish the remaining 550 miles of the most spectacular scenery of the Pacific Crest Trail.
