Day 97Canadian terminus (Okanogan County, Washington)

Last morning to Canada. The 2 feet are painful, in the same place, but after more than 2,600 miles it almost looks like a confirmation that it’s time to arrive. A part of the Aurélien Sanchez team is also on the section, it must reach the terminus on the same day.

I go down to the border monument and first stay a little lost. After 96 days of walking, there are suddenly more miles to travel. I take pictures, eat something and chat with the people here but I don’t really know what to do when I get there.

Aurélien Sanchez arrives shortly after, about 2 hours and finishes his PCT record, the famous FKT (First Known Time). We exchange a few words about the condition of the trail. He beats the record in 45 days, I finish my thru-hike in 96.

I’m not trying to reach Seattle immediately. I prefer to go back through Mazama, eat, do a laundry, land at Lions Den and organize the suite quietly. So I take back the PCT in the opposite direction: almost 30 miles separate me from Harts Pass.

On the return, I met several northbounders who would finish the next day, including Rocket, Cujo, and a couple of Frenchmen who had already had to give up this section because of the fires. In the evening, the scenery is beautiful. I walk in music, soothed, then lay down my tent after about 17 miles: my last night in the mountains.