Last Night on the PCT… or is it?

Tonight was supposed to be my last night on trail… or so I thought. I started the morning hiking alone, reflecting on the journey so far. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately. I’ve been thinking about what this journey means to me, how I’m feeling about going home early, how heartbroken I am not being able to tag the terminus…

I joined Drom, Radio, Rolodex, Little Wagon, and Geezer for a break up on the ridgeline. We all had a little cell service, so took the time to coordinate with our rides from Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle, and do a little scrolling before pressing on for the day. As we were all sitting there in the sun together with the most stunning view, we get a text in our big group chat from Refill, our South African friend a few days behind us. He sent a screenshot of the PCT closures page highlighting the closure from Hart’s Pass to the Terminus.

The photo said “Great news! The Pacific Crest Trail has been reopened between Hart’s Pass and Canada!”. I shrieked. Everyone looked at me and asked what was wrong. Through tears, all I could say was that the terminus was open. No one believed me. We checked the closures page to confirm ourselves, and sure enough, last stretch of trail the terminus was open.

The rest of the day was a blur. There were multiple conversations and ideas on how we could approach tagging the terminus. We all had set plans to go our separate ways, end our hike early, travel back home, flights and trains booked, accept our fate that we’d have to come back to finish those last few hundred miles and touch Canada at another time, then in an instant everything changed. With so many ideas floating around, and all of us scattered up and down a 5 mile stretch, I didn’t want to make any decisions without meeting up and talking as a group. But I knew one thing was certain. I was going to Canada.

That evening, all 12 of us camped at the same site. We pitched our tents, and sat in a circle to hold council. We all took turns talking about our thoughts, feelings, and ideas for a plan moving forward. I never imagined we would get a group of this size to agree on a plan. I thought we’d be saying goodbye to a few people at Snoqualmie, and finishing the trail with a few others. I had my non-refundable flight booked for a few days out, others had weddings, and birthday dinners to attend, some had flights just a couple of days later. But in some sort of miracle, all 12 of us were in.

We all had a 3 day window we could make work.
I decided to miss my flight and rebook a later date to make it happen. Someone else decided to miss their train ride up to Vancouver. Those who were going to continue on alternates are skipping up first, then heading southbound to fill in the gap through reroutes. Some will be cutting it close to their flights, but all of these are minor sacrifices to accomplish what we’ve all been working towards over the last 145 days and 2,400 miles.

Over the next few days we will all go back to Seattle, rest, resupply, and road trip to skip up past the remaining closures to Hart’s Pass to touch the terminus together. After weeks of thinking it wouldn’t be possible this year, the tides have shifted just in time. The PCT always has a way of keeping us on our toes. I can’t believe it. I’m going to Canada.