PCT Day 135: Terminus

Date: September 2nd 2023

Miles Hiked: 19

Today I woke up with a 7 mile, 3,000 foot descent to the Northern PCT Terminus at the Canadian border. I packed up my gear at our epic campsite and bantered with Midnight and Trail Diva all morning. I miss this life and the people I get to share it with immensely. As we headed towards the terminus, I inquired of my partners how they were feeling about finally getting to finish. We all related that this was probably a much more fun way to walk to a finish line than in the broken state we were in last year. It’s wild how easy it is to forget how badly I was feeling during some of those last days on trail but Trail Diva was quick to remind me of the times I would fantasize about waking up in a bed and getting to make pancakes for breakfast. I swore I would never take some simple things like that for granted again. We shared the trail with about eight other hikers who were in the class of 2023. Most of them all skipped the High Sierra due to a year of record snow fall and told us that this wasn’t the end for them. It seems increasingly rare that anyone has the opportunity to hike the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail in one year. I was jealous of all their trail hardened bodies and that they were still in the belly of the beast of their thru hike. My absolute favorite part of a 2,000 + mile thru hike is the very middle right as the body starts peaking. When you’ve spent about 50+ days on trail and still have equally as long to go. For me that part of the PCT was in Nor Cal when I pushed my biggest days ever hiking solo to catch up to Midnight and Trail Diva at the halfway mark. I’ve never worked harder to catch anyone but that was just a sign that they hiked the same pace as me. I was finally ready to end my free agent status and share the trail with friends on a deeper level. Whenever I think back to some of the most powerful moments I’ve had on trail in recent years it’s always NorCal. While I was going for my longest day of hiking on the Kettle Crest Trail earlier this week I kept telling Galileo we had to bring back the “NorCal energy” ( NorCal is where Galileo and I spent the most time together) . During that time I hiked an extra 150 miles to add the Tahoe Rim Trail thru hike to my resume while essentially lapping a few people I had passed in days prior, bagged Shasta like no big deal on a zero day, and held my highest five day average while getting to cowboy camp alone in epic spots. It wasn’t until this past month that I felt I had finally been able to tap back into the person I was during that stretch of trail. It feels good to know that I haven’t lost that version of me, a big fear I had about ending my triple crown last year.

The miles were fast and easy as I let my legs carry me down the hill. Trail Diva saw the terminus first and exclaimed how underwhelmed she was “This is it!?”. I walked up and gave it a kiss. I have waited so long to be here. We all threw our packs on the ground and sat around with the other hikers finishing. Everyone was having such a good time just hanging out and sharing the moment. We chatted with everyone about their hikes this year. One guy about my age named “Karate Kid” was the only person who walked straight Northbound thru the High Sierra and all the way to the terminus. Diva and I grilled him with questions about it. He told us that he had only gotten to share about it with less than ten other people. Wild. I was so impressed. Midnight busted out the mini American and Canadian flags she brought with her as well as a crown for me to celebrate my Triple Crown. When I saw it yesterday I felt a little bit embarrassed but sitting at that monument I didn’t care at all. The two of them crowned me in front of the iconic wooden posts tapping me on either shoulder with their trekking poles. It was a funny celebration. We took so many pictures while we were there. Standing on top of the monument was way more difficult that I had expected. The posts were quite tall for someone with shorter legs and there was just enough space for two feet to be on the post at once. There was a big clear cut border line in the forest just like there was at the Northern CDT Terminus. Getting to sign the log book was my favorite part of the whole day. I wrote an entry in for Trail Diva as she never signs anything herself and she was making me laugh so hard I was crying a bit. My favorite quotes from her entry were “hiking isn’t about the beginning or the end, those are actually the worst parts!” and ” I hope everyone had a good time”. There was also a note for me left by my friend Ellie who had tagged the terminus about a month earlier and is finishing up her hike right now in the Sierra. After just over two hours, we packed up and headed uphill Southbound. That was cathartic.

The miles back to camp flew by for me. I listened to music and really enjoyed the ease of the trail. Getting to hike around steep parts of Montana all summer really made the PCT feel like the red carpet cake walk that it is once again. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t thru hiking, I was still going about the same pace I always did, although I have at least done a fair amount of work to keep my trail legs. We passed the campsite we stayed at last night and continued on to Woody Pass. Once again I had a stunning view right outside my tent door and I drank some tea before bed as we all watched the sunset. I felt beyond grateful that I could come back and close this chapter with two of my best friends and hiking partners I’ll ever share the trail with. I have never flowed so well in any other 3+ person hiking partnership than I did with those two ladies.

The Early Bird finally got the worm.

Happy Trails!

-E. Bird