Trail Day 130: Boundary Trail Junction (mile 2646.4) to Monument 76/Canadian Border!!! (mile 2650.1) and Manning Park, BC

3.7 PCT miles, plus approx 8 miles to Manning Park

I attempted to sleep in. It was cold, wet, and I didn't have much to do besides get up and hike, so that is what I decided to do.

It was still cold this morning with the cloud layer hanging low. The vegetation had a lot of water on it, so I dressed in full rain gear and headed down the trail. At one point it started to sprinkle, so I pulled out the protective cover for my camera. I happened to check where I was on the trail and it was only 0.2 mile to the Canadian border.

A wet, fall morning on the PCT.

I walked a little further and came upon Bam Bam staring at the monument. I walked up to it and we both talked about how we couldn't believe that we had finally made it. We then sat down in front of the monument, had a snack and exchanged stories about our experiences in the Sierra.

Monument 76.

The PCT Northern Terminus.

The Us-Canadian Border.

Soon after Taylor and the Swiss (loudly) came down the mountain and reached the monument,  followed by 50 Shades of Grey and Walnut. We proceeded to take lots of photos of each other at the monument. I was going to wait for others to get there, but I was getting cold and it sounded like those who had camped at the lake were getting a late start.  

My photoshoot at the border.

Honestly, it was probably a good thing that it was cold and wet. Otherwise it would have been very difficult for me to move forward today.  It is really hard to believe that I was done, just like that.  My body, especially my feet was ready for a break, but the rest of me was having mixed feelings about today.

I continued hiking. It was still over 8 miles until I officially exited the trail at Manning Park. The trail went uphill and wasn't very well maintained. It took a while to make sure I was hiking it safely. A lot of it was muddy as well. Sometimes there were logs or boards,  but those were slick as well.

Welcome to Canada. You are very far from parking.

Canadian scenery.

Is is nice not to sink into the mud, but this is still a slippery obstacle course.

About half way to Manning Park,  the trail went downhill and became more manageable. It followed a gravel road for a while before splitting off to a nice, well maintained trail. This was a nice section as well with lots of beautiful fall colors. The sun even came out for a couple of minutes.

Fall colors.

The trail to Manning Park.

I knew I had reached civilization when I heard some music playing.  I exited the trail to a park (Manning Park) where a party was going on. Several cars were there, including one that had pulled over to take a picture of the creek nearby.  The man taking the pic let me cross by before he took the picture acknowledging that I ha walked “much further than him.”  I walked about a mile on the shoulder of a road until I reached the Manning Park Resort.  My Trail Angel pulled up just as I had gotten there and drove me through the parking lot to the main lodge.

The main lodge at Manning Park Resort.

At the lodge we checked in at the reception desk to inquire about laundry and showers. With the shower, I had access to the pool area which included a hot tub. I had been looking forward to the hot tub for days.  At the monument, the other hikers seemed excited about it as well.  My Trail Angel offered to take care of my laundry while I soaked in the hot tub.  

Pool area.

The pool area was very nice.  I ended up hanging in the hot tub with fellow hikers Walnut, 50 Shades of Grey, and Flame (the female Flame who I had never met before).  My legs were so sore and my feet were so tender that I couldn’t really walk into the hot tub. I made my way to the edge and had to slide in.  Also, my heat tolerance is definitely not what it used to be.  My body must have acclimated to being outside all day in Washington in September.  It didn’t seem that hot, but I was overheating quite a bit and had to sit out of the water to try to cool down.

After I had soaked in the hot tub and my laundry had finished, my Trail Angel and I went to eat at the restaurant.  Already seated there were several of my fellow hikers including Taylor and the Swiss, Hey Girl, and Snow White.  I got my own table, but went over to say Hello.  My Trail Angel had offered them all a ride if they were headed to Seattle (where we would be catching a flight). They all needed to go to Vancouver and seemed pretty bummed that they couldn’t take advantage of a ride offer.

My Trail Angel and I ordered food (one of us ordering way more than the other) and Hey Girl came to sit next to us.  Apparently all the hostel rooms at the resort were full and they were now looking for cheap accommodation in the next town over, about 40 minutes away.  My Trail angel agreed to give them a ride Even though it meant he would have to drive them, then come back to get me.

The word must have gotten out that my Trail Angel was offering rides because as we were eating, SoSo, a hiker I had only met for a couple seconds earlier in the day came to our table and asked for a ride to Seattle.  I thought he needed to go to Vancouver, but he claimed his connecting flight was in Seattle, so that was where he needed to be.

After we ate we went down to the basement of the main lodge, where the resort wanted us to hang out.  When I entered I immediately knew why. That room was RIPE. It was full of hiker gear that had been used daily for several months.  Most of that gear was wet from the day as well. As a result the room was fully “fragrant.” In that room Papa Oats asked if he could have a ride to Seattle.  He had planned to stay with friends there, and was worried he would have to wait several days to be picked up. My Trail Angel agreed to take him as well.

My Trail Angel took the first load of hikers to the nearby town.  In the meantime the rest of the thru-hiker bubble came in.  They decided to not worry about getting a ride into town, but take the resort up on their free camping area.  It meant another cold, wet night for those guys even though they were technically done with the trail. Zorro and Little Engine planned to stay in the PCT hiker room while it was open (to 2 am), then spend the rest of the night outside.

Eventually, my Trail Angel came back to take the rest of us to Seattle. It took a couple hours to get to the border checkpoint.  I was a little worried about crossing the border with a car full of disheveled people with lots of gear who did not enter Canada at a manned checkpoint (though we did get entry permits). Soso complicated things by being a French national currently residing in Columbia.  Luckily, the border agent was familiar with the trail, excited to hear we were thru-hikers, and congratulated us on finishing. He asked Soso some additional questions before letting us pass.  It ended up being one of the easiest border crossings I have done.

Soon after the border, my Trail Angel was caught in a speed trap and pulled over.  When the officer asked what we were doing, he was surprised and excited to hear we were thru-hikers, as he was an avid hiker himself. Papa Oats (being a good “bro”) rolled down his window and chatted with the officer about the trail while my Trail Angel looked for his rental agreement. After a while, the officer told my Trail Angel not to worry about the agreement, ran his ID, then sent us on our way. Phew! The trail still provides.

Close to midnight we reached the Seattle area.  We dropped Papa Oats off at his friends’ house, who were really excited to see him.  Soso, on the other hand, couldn’t get ahold of his “friends” from the area, and asked to be dropped off at a nearby park.  My Trail Angel and I checked into our hotel way after midnight. It was unfortunate since we had a very early flight the next day.  The silver lining was that I got to sleep in a comfortable bed for the first time in a long time. Tomorrow I officially return to civilization.