Final Days

Three days to the Canadian border, and two days trying to find a way out of the woods, BoogieMan juggled the stunning Washington and British Columbian wilderness, unmaintained trails, trail magic, rain/snow, and immigration issues. The end had come. The town of Stehekin, a tiny little resort town accessible only by boat or by hiking, sent BoogieMan back to the trail with his best resupply yet: fresh fruit and vegetables (and goat cheese) from an organic garden, and sticky buns plus a cinnamon roll from the famous Stehekin bakery. If only Boogie had figured out this recipe for resupply sooner.

With 90 miles to hike to the border, Boogie planned for four days, hiking day one out of Stehekin up a river gorge in the blazing hot sun. The change was nice but presented new challenges. Like water--in the weeks prior, Boogie seemed to absorb water through his skin from all the rain. He drank maybe two liters a day, peeing as often as normal. With the heat and sun, he drank approximately a liter per hour. At the end of the day, although Boogie accidentally took the wrong trail, he stumbled upon a moose (a happy accident, but do they exist in Washington?), which convinced him that he actually chose the right trail (but not the PCT). He arrived to Rainy Pass at dusk and camped at the trailhead. 70 miles to go.

Day two Boogie planned to hike all day without pushing himself too much. Some gorgeous views, yellow larch, red huckleberry, and evergreens painted the Washington landscape, and Boogie enjoyed the blue sky and cooler weather as he climbed in elevation. Then around lunchtime, a southbound hiker mentioned trailmagic ahead, 35 miles from where Boogie awoke. Well heck, Boogie thought, what better reason could there be for pushing oneself? So push he did.

What did he find? The best trail magic yet, perhaps ever. Serpent Slayer, an experienced PCT hiker through Oregon and Washington, and his son Pyro were stationed at Hart's Pass serving magic to any hikers making their way to Canada. On this particular day we were four: Pacer, an older gentleman who Boogie had been running into since Etna, CA; JackRabbit and Hooker, section hikers who planned to finish the PCT this year; and BoogieMan. And the feast began: salad, chips and salsa, pickles, olives, potato chips, brats, burgers, whiskey, wine, beer, soda, oreos, M&Ms, s'mores (thanks Pyro), and in the morning, smoked summer sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast and jam, cereal, apples, more oreos, and the list goes on. All were stuffed, and all were grateful. This was all they needed for the last 35 miles. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Serpent Slayer.

With clouds coming from the southwest, Boogie fled the incoming storm on a full stomach. The thrill of the finish, along with the storm, kept Boogie moving, and by noon he had 15 miles done. He pushed for the last 20, meeting up with Freebird just south of the border. They congratulated one another and headed in opposite directions. Boogie arrived just before dusk, camped near the border, and woke up to realize he wasn't yet finished. Now he had to escape from the wilderness as his immigration papers were improper and he couldn't leave through Canada. Instead, he decided to yo-yo the PCT (for a whole 16 miles!) and then take what he thought would be a shortcut to highway 20--the closest exit point according to his perception of the maps. Fortunately (and sort of unfortunately) Hooker, another hiker to complete the PCT, decided to join him. The benefit: a buddy system for what they discovered on the "short-cut." The cost: stress for BoogieMan worrying whether he was leading another hiker to his doom, lost in the vast Washington wilderness. But all worked out in the end, after one bear encounter, the trail disappearing and reappearing in strange places, straight bushwhacking down 6,000 ft. mountains, dozens of fallen trees blocking unmaintained switchbacks, getting lost in the woods, stumbling upon squatters/homeless(?) in an old mining town, wading down the Canyon river because the trail was nowhere to be found, scrambling along scree cliffs by a jimmy-rigged safety rope, getting lost again, and finally, oh finally, Boogie and Hooker arrived to highway 20. Only 20 miles after hiking for 10 hours. As luck had it, a writer for NPR picked them up and was headed for Seattle, just what they had hoped for.

The wilderness adventure had come to an end, but with the writer dropping the two hikers off at Safeway to await Paul's (Hamburguesa, the Wave, stupid Paul, etc.) rescue, Boogie's Seattle adventure began--a full week of Seattle madness. And Seattle does it right. Homecooked food, breakfast feasts, Ballard locks, tons of salmon taking the fish ladder to Lake Washington, late night conversations with Paul and Melissa, dinner with Ali, Emily, Molly, Melissa, and Paul, boce ball with Jamie, John, Ryan, Chelsea, and Kyle, pick-up soccer, and a long-distance bicycle trip to Bellingham to visit Shannon left an exhausted BoogieMan comatose. But he wouldn't have changed a thing. It was a fine end to a fine trip.