Pacific Crest Trail - Von Mexiko nach Kanada, zu Fuss

Montag, den 3. September
September 3rd we were most rudely awoken by raindrops pattering on our sleeping bags and heads at about 6am. We quickly packed up and hit the trail and as we did so, the weather appeared to be clearing up. The mountains on the opposite side of the valley were coloured pastel pink by the rising sun and even the dark clouds that had appeared so threatening a few minutes ago took on a soft pink hue.
We continued our ascent up to an alpine-garden pass above South Fork Trout Creek at 6750ft. As we ascended the pass, the clouds rolled in again along with patches of sunshine and rain. A rainbow appeared against the mountains across from us and we could see both ends of it as it reached across our view -- a beautiful sight.
We reached the pass and began our day of traversing along exposed ridgelines, first in light rain and a chilly wind and then in bright sunshine. The scenery, as you may have already guessed, was gorgeous. It was similar to yesterday, although the valleys appeared more broad and the mountain peaks more smooth as opposed to jagged. We enjoyed one of our last bags of trailmix on the side of Slate Peak and then continued on, entering into Paysayten Wilderness. We dined on our very last package of Lipton's Noodles and Sauce with dehydrated veggies at the headwaters of Shaw Creek at 5980ft. Although you may think it would have been a sad, sentimental moment, we devoured the dinner as we always do and felt elated with the fact the we were no longer subjected to Lipton's Noodles and Sauce but rather were now food consumers of our own free will ... ah, the freedom and the possibilities!
We trekked 26 miles for the day and set up camp at 6200ft with two resident deer that kept us company all night, bouncing around in the meadow just beyond us and munching on the grass. We jumped into the sleeping bags early and bundled up because the evening was a chilly one. We fell asleep dreaming of our last 23 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail tomorrow ... the home stretch to Canada ... ah, sweet dreams indeed!

Dienstag, den 4. September
September 4th we were once again greeted in the early hours of the morning by rain pattering on our sleeping bags and heads, so we quickly set up the tarp (which took less than five minutes) and then cuddled up and fell back asleep. We were on the trail by 6:45am with overcast skies above us, but seeing today was our last day of trekking, it could have been snowing and it would have been a great day!

We trekked up to a saddle and as we were gazing upon the switchbacks of the trail below us, we spotted a large black bear enjoying some of the berries and plants approximately 250ft below us. As we began our traverse, the bear spotted us and darted off into the forest. Both Tom and I had a bird's eye view of the bear and we were both amazed at how fast he moved. Although he was a huge animal, when need be, he was incredibly fast and mobile. What a great treat for our last day on the trail!

We enjoyed breakfast along an open ridgeline with a panoramic view of the North Cascades with the top of Mount Baker in the distance. We continued on to the highest point along the Pacific Crest Trail in the state of Washington at 7126ft and sat and savoured the sensation of feeling on top of the world. It was an impressive scenery day, which seems to have been the standard for the last few days.
We began a long, gradual descent into the forest to reach the Pacific Crest Trail monument at 4240ft along the border of the United States and Canada. I presented Tom with a small bottle of Canadian whiskey as a celebration present on the terms that he shared it with me. We both enjoyed sipping the whiskey and taking photographs of ourselves beside the monument. I did a boisterous version of "Oh Canada" and Tom attempted to sing all of the words to the American national anthem. We sat along the border, me on the American side and Tom sitting with one butt cheek in Canada and one in the United States. We pondered our accomplishment for awhile and then headed to Manning Park Lodge 8 miles away. As we were trekking along, a couple from Twisp, Washington, John and Nula, came by on their bicycles and began asking questions about the trail as well as how we managed to keep our pack weights down. Nula had dreams of trekking the Pacific Crest trail herself so they both took alot of interest in our journey. John and Nula drove us the last 2 miles into the Manning Park Lodge where Tom and I headed directly towards the cafe and oinked out.
We celebrated the end of our long journey on the Pacific Crest Trail by signing into a room in the luxurious Manning Park Lodge using forty dollars that Jean had gifted to us to treat ourselves nice with (thanks Jean!). We purchased some Froot Loops and M and M's to munch on, and we were lounged on the beds watching "The Lion King" when the phone rang and Tom's older brother Mark was down in the lobby. Mark had driven up from Seattle to meet and congratulate us on completing our epic adventure as well as to chauffeur us home. He had brought along a banner from Tom's family along with two T-shirts imprinted with, "I took a long (2700 miles) walk on the wild side ... Tom and Marnie's PCT Adventure ... April 24th - September 5th 2001". The shirts and banner were a wonderful surprise, and so was seeing Mark.

We visited and ate and ate and ate and then settled down in comfortable beds for the night with thermostat controlled temperature, no threat of raindrops landing on our heads, and the satisfying feeling of completing the dream that we had pursued for over four incredible months.