PCT 2018 Day 109, August 9, Thursday Start campsite near Rock Pass, mile 2635.4 End Manning Park resort, mile 2658.9
Miles walked: 23.5
The trail goes to Rocky Pass, but with more switchbacks than appears here.
Haze obscures some views.
We have not shown a lake in a blog post for a while, so here you go.
Bible, the young guy and not the older gentleman already mentioned in this blog, was returning from the monument. He refers to the older Bible as the Old Testament.
Later I meet Goofy, who is flipping. I meet Brazil Nut. When I gave her my trail name, she remembered where in Montana we met before, what color shirt I was wearing, the fact that I was recording trail names of all southbounders, and that I told her about a water source. What a memory!
She reached the border, with a very fast hike, 66 days, not quite the women’s record, and has now completed a triple crown. She is hiking back to Harts Pass to find a ride, instead of continuing on to Canada this year.
I reach the monument at the border with Canada around noon.
Finally…
Strider and NotYetNamed also show up, also headed for Manning Park.
I meet several trail runners, at Manning Park for a (now cancelled) event, and ask them many questions about running gear.
At Manning Park Lodge I am able to get a hostel room at a good rate.
I meet the runners there, and we even have dinner together.
They will not let me pay. These are good people, excited as I am about finishing the PCT, and make me feel welcome at their table.
A family I met on the trail, who just hiked Washington together, offers to take me to the Greyhound station tomorrow.
I do not see the other hikers like Hollywood today, and need to ask their advice about transportation.
Congratulations. I calculate that you averaged about 24.3 miles a day for 109 days. If you kept that pace for a year that would be 8869.5 miles in a year. If you had done that every year since you were 30 (30 years + 109 days) you would have hiked 268735 (266,085 + another 2650 miles) miles by now. The circumference of the earth is about 24901 miles. You should realize that even if you slowed down a little going through the oceans and ice caps etc you could have hiked around the world 10 times by now. I guess now is not the time to ask why has it taken you 60 years and 109 days to get this short stretch of the earth done?
You could also have hiked to the moon by now, 238,900 miles, but I guess that would have been a bit steeper climb and the ride home might have been harder to catch.
Congratulations on completing the triple crown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Hiking
I’d say outstanding but out-hiking is a better fit.
Thanks!!!
Jim,
Congratulations!!!! You look like you had a fabulous hike!
Definitely awesome! More comments soon