Pacman Hikes Hawaii After PCT!!!

Big Island October 2013

 

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September 13, 2013: End of PCT in Canada!!!

9-13-13
Canada!!!
It was an easy wake up for my last full day on the PCT. I got up, put my food bag in my pack, and got going leaving my tent and everything behind. All the miles were downhill and with about 3 miles left, I started to get pretty excited. I hit the last turns and there it was. 2700 miles of walking from Mexico to Canada. It was a very great moment knowing that I had what it took to make it happen. What a journey it was, too. I took my 30 minutes to soak it in and sign the register, then turned around and headed back to pick up my stuff. I got to see all the people who were right behind me. They warned me that Meander wants to leave ASAP since all the hunters are coming out for the first weekend of hunting. So, I actually ended up doing a pretty big day for my last full day. 30-35 miles or thereabouts. I'm within 10 miles of Harts Pass, so I'll wake up early and be done hiking for a bit tomorrow morning. So what now. First thing first: Make arrangements for getting to the Bay Area where I will take a good relax and eating session for a day or two at my parent's house, then I'll be off on more journeys. I have some cash stowed away and hiking is cheap. And yes, I am addicted so I have plans of hiking all over the southwest (Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Sedona, and numerous other places around there along with, hopefully, Utah), and maybe a month or two in Hawaii if the budget fits it in. Then, next March 2014, I will be departing to the east coast to make my way on the Appalachian Trail. I figure why not, live life to the fullest and soak it all in. One might say this was the trip of a lifetime, but I plan on living a life where this is just another trip in a lifetime of trips of a lifetime. Also, this was not my last meeting with the PCT. I will be back to do sections, day hikes, and if my body permits, another thru hike a few years down the road. For everyone out there that is reading this and enjoying it, go out and hike, anywhere. Hiking is amazing and I'm glad I'm addicted. And for all the people who say I'm young and can do things like this, hiking is for anyone. I met people of all ages out here. The youngest thru hiker was 12. I personally hiked with an incredible man, Opa, who was 73. My advice to future PCT thru hikers: Be careful with that metal monument at the end. It's pretty heavy and after 2700 miles of walking your upper body gets a little weak. The thing almost took me out and I could barely get it back on. And last but not least, thanks to everyone on the trail, people I hiked with, trail angels, and of course my family and friends for being such a great support all the way, from my brother aiding me in the desert, to Pacmom and all her great visits, and to Pops and Uncle Mark for logging some hard miles with me.
Peace out.
Pacman aka Doug Murray.

9 Miles From Canada!

9-12

9 miles from Canada!

It was about 6 miles of hiking to Harts Pass where I saw signs saying trail magic. I wandered around looking for a bit then saw Meander! What a great surprise. He had goodies so I stuck around catching up and chit chatting. He is going to take me to Bellingham in three days. First it's 30 to the border then 30 miles back to here. I got going and since there would be more catching up and stories to be told when I return to Harts Pass in three days, I will be done hiking then. I did some fast hiking, as the earlier I get to the monument the longer I can hang out tomorrow. That's if anyone is there. And then the quicker I can get back to Harts Pass, the more hang out time I can have while watching hikers roll through in their efforts to get finished. The views were amazing again and all I saw were a few day hikers until Operator, Moses, and Band Leader came by when I was in my tent. They and a big group finished today and said they were at the monument for a couple hours. I'm excited for tomorrow.
Canada and a finished PCT thru hike tomorrow!!! 

North Cascade Ridge, WA

    Up on the ridge all day with amazing views

9-11
40 miles to Canada!
The morning climb up the hill wasn't all that bad. And good thing Back Up and I stopped early last night because the campsite we were planning on going to was jam packed with local hikers. Maybe 30 people. The views are amazing as we get up on the high ridges of the North Cascades. The miles seem to be easy to count down from here on out. I saw Super, who owns a hiker store in Mt. Laguna (40 miles from the Mexican border). He confirmed that Meander is doing trail magic at Harts Pass, so it should be nice to see him tomorrow. We wound up at a great campsite at about 6:30pm, so I had some time to soak it all in. What a journey. It's starting to hit me about the last 5 months I have been on this amazing journey! Good times.

Rainy Pass, WA

I believe this is an old growth cedar. I could be wrong though. It sure is big.

9-10
Rainy Pass, Hwy 20, WA
The bus took off at 8am and made a necessary stop at the bakery where I loaded up on supplies. I got a sticky bun, cinnamon roll, mushroom pesto bake, and a bacon wrap. Those lasted me just about all day. I got hungry for a dinner but that was about it. Delicious! It was just Back Up and me that left today, compared to the 20 or so hikers that left yesterday. So, we don't have to compete for the good campsites. It got pretty hot going through North Cascades National Park. There was one apple left in a magic box at Rainy Pass. Just my luck. 60 miles to the border from here!

Stehekin, WA and North Cascades National Park

Last NP which should be about all of tomorrow
9-9
Stehekin WA
I had about 3 or so miles of downhill to the bus stop that takes me into Stehekin which went by in a flash. I didn't notice the old growth cedars, I think, that seemed to be just larger than normal trees in the area. First thing was first though, and I hit up the bakery that had some amazing stuff. When I got into town I decided might as well go back to the bakery for lunch since it was so good. It seems like all the hikers were in town waiting for the post office to open to get their packages. Then it was just me, Back Up, and another guy who was section hiking after all 20 or so of the other hikers left to get back on trail. What a great spot, too. It turned out to be a very clear and relaxing day sitting on the porch drinking beers and BS'ing. Next thing I knew there was an amazing sunset over the lake. Last town stop! I'm going to be getting to the border monument and instead of going 10 miles past into Canada, I'll turn around and go back to Harts Pass since word on the street is that there is trail magic going on there all of September, so I should be able to get a ride to the coast where I can get on the bus from there. All in all, it sounds like it'll be a hundred dollars of so cheaper to do that, so I'll take it. It adds on a day but I scrounged enough food to make it happen. Great last town stop!!!

100 Miles To Go

9-8

100 miles to Canada!
No rain last night and no rain today! Awesome. I got up on the later side again and got going up the hill with a full stomach. That made the 3000 foot climb over 9 miles seem not so bad. I got to the top and dried out my stuff. Another day of mushrooms all over the place. I found out one of them is one that is in Alice and Wonderland. It's the red one with white dots on it. It's a crazy beautiful mushroom that just looks mystical. It turns out that it is a mystical mushroom and is in all sorts of legends since it ranges all over the northern part of the world. Flyagarics, or something like that. It's a psychedelic but certain individual ones have more poison in them than others so they are still dangerous to eat! Not that I'd eat any of these mushrooms out here anyways. There's way too many to take chances eating any of them even though some look delicious. I think the magical red one is in one of my pictures from aboot a week earlier. Less than 100 miles to Canada!!!