Got to Canada!

I finished my hike- I walked every step of the way from California to Canada! I made it to the border late on the 31st of August. When I arrived, I was ecstatic! I took some pictures, found the trail register and set up my tent exactly on the border. I drank a celebratory Pinot and read every entry in the register before leaving my own. That night, I slept with my feet in Canada and the rest of me in the US.

The penultimate section of the trail, by Glacier Peak, had wonderful scenery but the hiking was challenging. I struggled to keep up my pace because of the rough trail and giant climbs and descents. The amazing vistas kept me going and I got to Stehekin, Washington successfully.

Stehekin is a small town in a valley on the north end of Lake Chelan. Formerly connected to Highway 2, the road into town was washed out by the Stehekin River and never repaired. The town is now only reachable by hiking through the mountains, flying in by plane, or arriving by boat. This isolation makes Stehekin mellow and unique.
After loading up on pastries at the bakery in town, I began my last leg- 80 miles to the border. I walked high mileage days- a twenty mile day followed by two thirty mile days to reach the border before September. This section was east of the divide so the climate was much drier- like Bend, Oregon.

The trip was one of the most daunting I have faced. From being lost in seemingly endless snowfields to accidentally ̶f̶̶a̶̶l̶̶l̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶ ̶i̶̶n̶ fording a river, I was challenged continuously. Over the seven-week trip, I walked 1000 miles and climbed over 170,000 feet- the equivalent of going from sea level to the top of Mt. Everest six times. I met lots of interesting people and got to see a neat part of the country.

I plan to stay active by pursuing another one of my dreams in the next chapter of my sabbatical- a transcontinental bicycle trip with my dad.