Walks A Ways: PCT Day 107

PCT Day 107, 27 August 2022 (Saturday)

"On The Doorstep"

Start Location:	Methow River	Destination:	Holman Creek Trail Junction
PCT Miles Day 107:	29.0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,990.4
Non-PCT Miles Day 107:	0.6	Cum All Miles:	2104.4
PCT Miles Remaining:	662.4
Elevation Gain Day 107:	5,384	Cum Elevation Gain:	350,961

I was a little bit worried about the trail today. The first two miles were back to the same old bushwhacking. But then, the trail improved and got much faster. My goal today was to get in as many miles as possible so that there would be little doubt of reaching the Canadian border tomorrow. At the end of today, I am now 17 miles away. So unless something weird happens, that should be no problem.

Although Washington has already used a lot of tools to slow hikers down, it still has some powerful tools in the toolbox. Today, it tried using cold weather. It was quite cold all day long. But in the middle of the day it got very cold, to the point where I thought it might cause me to stop earlier than I wanted just so I could set up camp before it got too late in the day and even colder. However, as the trail dropped in elevation and entered denser forest, it did actually get warmer. So, the cold did not keep me from getting to my target stopping point.

There was also a lot of smoke in the sky today, though, visually, it was hard to distinguish from all the clouds. However, there was a distinct smell of smoke most of the day. There must be a fire somewhere in the area. There have been afternoon thunderstorms for the last several days, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if there were some lightning-caused fires.

I actually came up with what I hope is one of my better ideas this hike. I am camped 17 miles from the border. So, what I am planning on doing is leaving my camp set up, hiking to the border, then hiking back to camp where I will spend another night. This will mean a long 34 mile day tomorrow, but because I will not be carrying my sleeping gear and some other items, like extra food, my pack will be much lighter, and I should be able to travel much faster. Also, because my camp will already be set up, I won’t care if I get back to camp in the evening.

Since Canada has not fully reopened its borders, PCT hikers are not allowed to enter Canada via the trail as they were in the past. It would be easier to exit the trail by going through Canada, but now hikers have to have a different strategy. There are various different options, but the most common one would have been to hike back to Harts Pass, which is only 30 miles from the border, and then get a ride into a town from there. However, there was a large mudslide about a week ago which closed the road to Harts Pass. Hikers can still walk an additional 10 miles down Harts Pass Road, and then try to catch a ride from there. Or they can continue back down the PCT to Rainy Pass, a popular trail head, and then try to catch a ride from there.

The problem with Harts Pass or Rainy Pass is that after you get a ride to a nearby small town, you still have to make your way to a larger town that has public transportation connections. So, I am thinking about hiking all the way back to Stehekin, and then taking the ferry boat to the other side of the lake to the town of Chelan. Chelan is a somewhat larger town, and getting from there to Seattle should be easier than some other options. Then from Seattle, I’ll make my way to Portland, and then back to Cascade Locks.

For today, I’m just glad that I am now close to touching the Canadian border.