We're Finished

At mile: 2652-Canada!

That's right, we're finally done. We are so so happy to be done hiking. It was a bit of a grind and frankly, the last few days were all around miserable.

Let's look at the last leg of our trip by the numbers:

150.9 Trail miles traveled since our last update. The fall colors have been amazing.

37.5 Trail miles closed due to wildfires

32.4 Miles hiked along detour routes

2 Shuttle buses taken to and from detour trailheads

1 Lake Chelan ferry boat between shuttle buses

6 plates of food total consumed at an all you can eat supper at Holden village church resort

1 Black eye for David courtesy of a slippery log on the trail

1 young moose spotted meandering along the path

4 days of great weather to savor 

5000 feet elevation is where the overnight rain turned to snow

1 full day hiked in a snowstorm

1 full day hiked in a rainstorm

3 full days without seeing the sun or any blue sky

1 pot of hot cocoa shared while huddled beneath the awning of a pit toilet

10 straight hours of rain needed to fully saturate the fabric of our tent and begin pooling inside

21 miles hiked yesterday, October 1st, without stopping to reach the Northern Terminus and complete our PCT thru hike

5 quick minutes spent at the Northern Terminus monument taking a few pictures. We didn't even take off our backpacks. It was too cold and wet for sentiment. And also, there were still:

8.4 Miles hiked into Canada to reach civilization

We actually didn't intend to finish yesterday. We were going to take our time and enjoy the last of the trail and cruise into Canada today. But then the weather turned horrible and since the best way to stay warm is to stay moving, we ended up walking further per day than we intended.

But that is okay, because yesterday, October 1st, has a special meaning to me and David:

5 years ago, on October 1st, we climbed Mt. Katahdin to finish our Appalachian Trail thru hike

3 hours waiting by the side of the road and a few hours smashed into the backseat of a Subaru and we are on our way back to the US to catch our flight

2200 mile flight back to Michigan and it kind of stings to know it will only take 5 hours to cover that distance...

Thanks everyone for following along with me and David on our adventure. Thinking of what to write in these posts occupied many hours of otherwise boring days hiking.