Canada Baby!

W00t!  Made it to Canada in one piece.  I can't believe I walked 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada.  Well actually I walked more than that given side trips to town, but it just seems so surreal that I'm done with my thru-hike.  Definitely a mixture of emotions.  I'm definitely proud.  After all, I just accomplished something that officially anyway, fewer than 3,000 people have done.  More people have summitted Everest than successfully thru-hiked the PCT, and it's not because people aren't trying.  I met another hiker in Stehekin named Gourmet.  He left town for the border with my friends while I went to Chelan by boat to get Gretchen.  Apparently, this was Gourmet's third attempt to thru-hike the trail.  By reading the trail register entries at the Canadian Border it became apparent that Gourmet broke his ankle 4 miles from the border and did not finish his hike.  I'm sure he was choppered out.  Talk about bad luck!  Typical success rates on the PCT are actually quite high (maybe about 50%), but that's normally because only experienced backpackers and thru-hikers attempt it.  This year was a huge year in terms of the number attempting the hike (~740), and I bet the success rate for a full thru-hike will be significantly lower, I'd guess about 25%.  Even with 2012 probably being one of the best years ever in terms of Sierra Nevada snow (almost non-existant), more thru-hikers is just going to mean more quitters.  That's why the Appalachian Trail success rate is so low.  Too many non-experienced people decide they're going to attempt it without knowing what they're getting themselves into.

Even knowing that I accomplished something this grand, I can tell I'm going to have to go through some mental readjustments to return to "normal" life.  I'm gonna miss the simplicity of life on the trail and moving towards a clear and single goal.  I will definitely miss the hiker trash lifestyle.  But such is life.  And while I will miss it, I did miss Gretchen and not having to get up and hike everyday.  I did miss "normal" life.  The grass is always greener I guess.  And I do have my complaints against the idea of a thru-hike itself.  Don't get me wrong.  It was awesome, and I enjoyed it.  But a thru-hike isn't really about the wilderness and enjoying it.  It's more the equivalent of a marathon for backpackers, and I appreciated the thru-hike for what it was.  I just recognize what it isn't at the same time.  I'm sure I'll have more to write about it in the coming days and weeks.  In the next week, I'll write a few more posts recapping Oregon and Washington and post photos from the last 830 miles.  If I had to pick a state, Washington was my favorite by far.  The scenery was amazingly rugged, we hit peak wildflower season, the berries alongside the trail(huckleberry, blueberry) were awesome, and it was all just so new to me since I'd been to WA only once before.

So Gretchen and I are in Manning Park, British Columbia.  Gretchen did really well.  We had planned for and carried 7 days of supplies, but she ended up wanting to go faster so we did it in 4.5 from Stehekin.  She got to do a 21.4 mile day in Washington terrain no less.  So I was impressed.  The weather got sour for a few days.  A cold front came in and it got very chilly for about two days.  We got snowed on one night, a dusting of snow only although areas a few miles to the north got about an inch.  Then two days later the sun came out and it warmed up significantly and most of the snow melted.

We'll be taking a bus to Vancouver today and then hopping on a train/bus to Seattle.  We're gonna get a one way rental car and roadtrip back to Phoenix.  I've never seen Yellowstone and the Tetons so we'll swing through there and then go to Salt Lake to see some of Gretchen's family.  I wanted to go see Glacier National Park in northern Montana, but I think it's just too far out of the way and will have to wait till another time.  And then shortly after we'll be back in the desert where it's still well over 100 I'm sure.