Day 151 - CANADA!

After 151 days on the trail, beginning May 5, I have finally arrived in Canada the evening of Friday, October 2. The sense of accomplishment is unreal and in some ways, I can't believe I'm here!

My final day of hiking began at about 7:50 am. The terrible weather from the night before continued into the following morning. I awoke to ice and snow all over my tent and serious condensation issues inside my tent. Everything was damp. When I had everything to the point that I could get out of my tent, I put my shoes on and discovered that they were literally frozen solid. This came after I put my already wet socks on in order to keep my last pair of socks dry for emergency purposes. So you can imagine how great that felt!

Even though it turned out to be my last day on the trail, I didn't know it yet. I hadn't been able to make a decision yet because I really didn't want to put in a 34-mile day in less-than-ideal conditions. Regardless, I wanted to put myself in a position to be able to finish in case I needed to. So, because of the shorter days and the disappearing trail due to the increasing snow showers, I started before 8. Because my feet were so cold and completely soaked, I didn't stop hiking all day except for very brief 5-minute breaks occasionally. I didn't even stop for lunch.

About mid-morning, I still had 5 miles to go to get up and over the highest point left on the trail--which also happened to be the highest point in Washington on the PCT--when conditions significantly worsened. I could see very little because of all the snow coming down made it nearly a whiteout. Fortunately, two other hikers had gone before me about two hours prior so I could follow their tracks. The only problem was that they were filling up fast because it was snowing so hard. By the time 2 pm had come, I was hiking in 8-12 inches of fresh powder but had made it to the highest point. With about 15 miles to go to Manning Park, I kept moving as fast as I could in the conditions, but began to feel the fatigue of non-stop hiking catch up to me. Luckily, it was nearly all downhill to the border. At 4:45 pm, I arrived at the border and what a beautiful sight it was--not in terms of scenery, but just because it was such a huge milestone. (My previous post has a photo of me at the border monument.) After signing the register, I kept moving right away because my feet were so cold. Despite finally being in Canada, I still had 8 miles to go to arrive in Manning Park where my family was expecting me the following day. I wasn't expecting the trail to be as difficult as it was from that point forward, and my worsening fatigue only complicated matters. Nevertheless, I trudged on, hiked the last hour by headlamp, and arrived at my family's cabin at about 8:10 pm, thoroughly exhausted. Nobody was there when I arrived because they were all at the pool or still driving. Fortunately, my sister Kristin was just coming back to grab something from the cabin and so I was able to get in nearly right away. Over the course of the next hour, I got one excited and surprised reaction after another, which made my day. First Kristin, then Adrienne, then Andrea...Mom and Dad were in there somewhere. It was all a lot of fun. Then they all surprised me with matching orange shirts (true to my trail name: Orange-Shirted Guy, or OSG) which was a classy and fun touch to the whole evening.

There is so much more to share, and I will over the coming days. However, for now I'm content with being finished and allowing my legs and feet to enjoy their first time off in a month. It has been a long journey that I will never forget. Making it even more rewarding is the fact that more than $10,000 were raised for the benefit of the Lance Armstrong Foundation before I reached Canada. A total which I'm still trying to increase before this whole experience winds down. No matter how much ends up being raised, I'm so thankful to everyone for your support!