Days 148-158: 2396-2655

And it's done!!! I tagged the border on September 4th, Day 157 of the PCT. Then we did one more day, going SOBO, hiking the 'victory lap' and exiting at Hart's Pass. From there, Shade, Cheers, and I got a ride to Seattle and enjoyed an airbnb in Fremont for two days, reintegrating into society. I said goodbye to them on the 9th, and a friend picked me up to stay with them in Bellingham for a bit, where I am now, enjoying a hot chai latte in a gloriously warm cafe. I'll then stay with my sister in Tacoma for a few days before heading back to the Bay Area, where my adventure will be well and truly done. Thanks so much for following along, and until next time!

Day 148: miles 2396-2403

I slept in today and enjoyed the warmth of the hotel at Snoqualmie Pass. Then we packed everything up, luckily all dried, and headed to breakfast, which was amazing. I relaxed while Cheers and Shade resupplied, then we headed back to the trail! It's still quite cold today, but luckily not rainy. We're only doing 7 miles or so up a massive hill to camp. We set out around one, with the trail going immediately upwards. It wasn't too bad though – nicely graded, and with great views the whole way. But there were so many day hikers and weekenders out that by the time we got to camp I counted over 180 people! Most days we only pass 5 to 10 people, so this was quite an increase. I passed mile 2400 on the way up, and saw Turkey Vulture there too – it was nice to catch up since I hadn't seen her since Burney. I took a snack break with Cheers at a nice view spot, then headed onwards. Lots and lots of little pika chirps, though I didn't actually spot any. They sound exactly like dog squeaky toys! I almost lost my poles down the mountain getting around boulder, but was able to climb down and retrieve them without too much trouble. I got some more fantastic views, then joined Cheers and Shade at camp. We dried out our tents as we relaxed – mine was soaked and very dirty. Then we set up camp, got water from Ridge Lake, and chilled a bit more. Then had dinner – I had a butternut dahl, which is probably my favorite premade meal. I'm really excited for the next section – it's got a lot of elevation, but should be truly gorgeous!

Day 149: miles 2403-2425.3

I woke up to lots of condensation on my tent and stayed in my quilt, a little longer than usual, so we left camp around 7:20. We had an immediate up, then down, then up, then down, then up. Lots and lots of PUDs (pointless ups-and-downs) this morning. But we had absolutely breathtaking views of Mount Rainier with a completely clear sky near the top of one of the bumps. I also saw so many pikas on the rocks around us - every couple of minutes you could hear a little meep which was incredibly cute. After all the PUDs, we had one more up before a long downhill on the side of the Three Queens mountains, with great views of Spectacle Lakes. Had lunch at the bottom and got to dry out my tent a little bit. We carried on, getting water at a creek, then heading uphill for about 6 miles – oof! It was slow, but we had absolutely amazing views of Lemah mountain and Chimney Rock during it – very epic! Finally got to the top and filled up at a lake, then went another 2 miles to camp. We got a little bit of rain in the last mile, saw a chilling marmot, and managed to find some room to camp. We're definitely back in a bubble because the campsite was much more crowded than I expected, but we got a little corner to ourselves. My Garmin weather says it will rain tonight, but shouldn't be too bad.

Day 150: miles 2425.3-2449.2

It did indeed rain through the night, but I stayed nice and cozy in my quilt. We left camp around 7:20, with a long, solid downhill to Waptus Lake. It was foggy and drizzling but not too horrid. After crossing Waptus River, we began a long, steady uphill to Deep Lake. It started raining more heavily on the way, but I had to stop to filter water and dig a cathole, so I got even wetter. Shade caught up to me there, and then we had one more big push up to Cathedral Pass. On the way up, it got even colder and started hailing and sleeting. I was quite cold but equally hungry, so decided to try to find a spot for lunch. When I got down to tree line again, I found a miraculously dry spot and waited for Cheers and Shade to catch up as I made some ramen. The hot lunch helped and we got a tiny spot of sun before it disappeared and started full-on snowing. Crazy! After a short lunch, we had a long downhill, enjoying views of Hyas Lake and trying to stay warm despite the snow and sleet. We crossed a tricky river - our phones/hands were all too wet to be able to pull up our maps and look at comments, so we spent a couple minutes trying to find a safe route over. It felt a bit like being back in the Sierra! Luckily(?) everything was already pretty wet, so it didn't matter much if our shoes got soaked. After, we had some ups and downs, though mostly ups, through Deception Pass and to Deception Lake. It was clear it had snowed for even longer here, since there were large spots of white powder on the ground. There were tons of regular backpackers here, so we had to poke around a bit before finding a good camp spot. But we found some space and set up next to a dad and his two sons, who reminded me a lot of dad, Marissa, and I on some of our camping trips. I was incredibly thankful to have dry sleep clothes to change into, and once I entered my tent, I had no intentions of leaving. I got nice and cozy, though I took a while to warm up, and had a beautifully hot dinner while wrapped in my quilt. Then I filled the backpacker meal with boiling water and put it down by my feet as a hot water bottle, which worked shockingly well. My Garmin weather says it's going to get down to 34 tonight, but should hopefully warm up again tomorrow.

Day 151: miles 2449.2-2468.2

It was an incredibly cold night, and I woke up to my tent covered in frost. As I was packing it, with numb hands, I could tell it would never fit in my tent bag, so I just rolled it up and plopped it on top of my backpack. Crude but effective. We had an immediate uphill to Piper Pass, but were rewarded with some very gorgeous views. At the top, we met Boss Lady, Turkey Vulture, and Chris. Boss Lady had camped up there last night and was apparently near hypothermic and in bad shape this morning when Turkey Vulture and Chris found her, but after a few hours they were able to warm her up and get her looking much better. She was 83 with severe arthritis - pretty impressive! I'm really happy the other two were there to help her, or else it could have been a potentially bad situation. We talked about a shortcut she could take into Skykomish, so she only needs to do 5 miles or so before getting to a warm bed, instead of the 14 we'll be doing.

We headed down the mountain, with plenty of pikas eeping at us the whole time, then had another up and down. I went past some lovely lakes and meadows, and stopped at Mig Lake for lunch and to dry out our soaked tents. We took a nice long break, then carried on with another big uphill with a bunch of ski lifts which was cool to see. Also so many mushrooms in this section! Not too many that I recognize, but they're fun to see. I had a nice downhill to Steven's Pass, where I met back up with Shade and Cheers soon after. We took a brief break there, then headed on to some nice flat trail. About a mile and a half later, we took a rugged trail back down to the road, where we were expecting to find the Skykomish Outfitters so we could resupply for the next section. Instead, we found an abandoned shack. We called the owner, who said it had been closed all season - even though there had been a fairly recent comment on FarOut about it. He had a location about 20 miles away, but we decided that trying to hitch into Leavenworth was our best bet, since it had a Safeway and KOA, and we could have a very quick, unplanned town day. We ended up getting a hitch almost immediately from Christie, who was coming back from working at the Steven's Pass ski lift. She was incredibly kind and told us all about the history of Leavenworth, which is a Bavarian-themed town. She dropped us off at the KOA around 6, and offered to give us a ride back to the trail tomorrow morning on her way to work! We set up at the KOA, then walked to downtown to get dinner at the amazing restaurant called Prusik. I got a honey-glazed mushroom pizza with thyme sauce and balsamic vinegar. Holy shit. It was the best thing I've eaten for $20 in my entire life. We greatly enjoyed dinner, then headed to the Safeway to resupply. It was about 9 by then and I was so incredibly exhausted, I'm shocked I had anything close to a coherent resupply. We also got word that Boss Lady was happily relaxing at a hotel on Skykomish - really glad she made it to town alright. We trudged back to the KOA, where our previously empty campground was completely full, and tiptoed into our tents before passing out.

Day 152: miles 2467-2485.3

Woke up at 5:30 this morning to get packed up and deal with my food before our ride came. I had a nice breakfast of Safeway muffins and a smoothie, then we headed back to the trail, arriving around 7:30. Pretty good town experience despite being there less than 12 hours! The trail this morning was really gorgeous - a wide path, beautiful views, few people, and lots of meeping pikas. Cheers and I stopped on a rock for a snack, overlooking a valley. Then I headed on, with a solid uphill to Union Pass and Lake Janus. I stopped for lunch with a breathtaking view of Glacier Peak and Glassy Lake below, and chatted with a local day hiker for a bit. Then Cheers and Shade joined me and we had a lovely lunch. We headed on for Grizzly Peak, one of the few peaks that the actual PCT summits. At the top, I had great views of Glacier Peak, plus the tip of Mt Baker in the distance. I headed down, going pretty slow, with hundreds of grasshoppers jumping all over the path. Then a final arduous uphill to Pear Lake! I was eager to arrive, since I had run out of water, and the campsite looked gorgeous. We set up, then relaxed by the lake for a while, just listening to the meeps of the pikas as they ran around and greeted each other. It was a little too cold to swim, but I enjoyed soaking my feet and seeing the trout and frogs.

Day 153: miles 2485.3-2504.3, 7 miles out-and-back

I left camp around 7:30 with a brief uphill, then a nice down for a bit before more up. Lots of pikas in this area too! So many little meeps as I walked by. They really do sound exactly like a dog squeaky toy. I went up to Saddle Gap, then down, then up again to Cady Pass. Then some lovely ridge sections where I could see the top of Mt Rainier, before heaving lunch at Lake SallyAnn, where we could hear the occasional splash of trout jumping out of the water. I'm on my period right now, and was feeling pretty icky and sluggish, but felt a bit better after lunch. We went up to Wards Pass, then down a bit to Dishpan Gap, then up to Sauk Pass - lots of elevation in this section! I got some water at Indian Pass to carry to camp, since the pond right before didn't seem great from FarOut comments. I headed on right as Cheers and Shade got to water. I was feeling really good in this section, and enjoying the views all around me. Glacier Peak rose up out of the mountains - really just gorgeous!. I got to camp at White Pass around 4:30 and set up my tent on the ridge, then waited a bit for Cheers and Shade to get to camp. With them watching my food, I decided to slackpack on a bit. This next section is inaccessible for thruhiking since there's a fire about 30 miles north. We've had remarkably clear skies in this section, but have to get off on a side-trail tomorrow to jump around the fire closures. However, with time left in the day, I really wanted to try to go a bit further and see if there were any good views of Glacier Peak around the next hill - the section we're missing is supposed to be absolutely beautiful. Cheers and Shade stayed behind to relax, and I set off around 5 with an immediate 1.5 mi uphill, during which I saw so many marmots, hearing their high screams echoing across the valley - its clear not many people have been through to disturb them in a while. At Red Pass, I got another great view of Glacier Peak and continued on down the hill. It opened into a gorgeous meadow with lots of streams and peat-like grass. Around 3 mi in, I went off-trail for a bit to get a better view of the peak, climbing around White Chuck Cinder Cone and got the most amazing view yet - the whle mountain lay in front of me. I definitely got a bit emotional, sitting on a rock overlooking a breathtaking mountain, in a section that has seen little travel this month. I'm just really happy to be out here and have the chance to see all of this. There's something really special about experiencing the simple joys and simple sufferings of the trail - life can be really simple when you get down to it. It's easy to get distracted and weighed down in normal life, when you have important responsibilities to yourself and society around you in the busy day-to-day. But its also nice to remember that it doesn't take much to strip those complications away, at least for a little while, and remember the more base necessities of life. The trail has also been a good lesson in nuance - nothing is ever all-good or all-bad. There's always something small that will make the day worth it, but even the most idyllic place will have factors that you can't control. You can only ever make the most of what you're given, no matter where you are. I turned around from the magnificent view and headed back, getting a beautiful glimpse of Mt Rainier on the way, with the soft coos of pheasants running through the high grasses. I got back to camp and said hi to Cheers and Shade, who were just finishing up their dinner. I made some soup, enjoyed the sunset, and headed to bed! I'm really glad I'm out here.

Day 153: 8 miles off-PCT, 2593.8-2599.2

I woke up to an amazing sunrise on the mountains around us, then we packed up and headed out by 6:30. There was a brief uphill to the turnoff for North Fork Sauk Trailhead, where we were leaving this section to jump around the fire closures. We headed down, with lots of switchbacks before it flattened out a bit. I was feeling really icky on my period, and going absurdly slow. I ran into a ton of weekenders going up to summit Glacier Peak - lots of heavy gear like rope, ice axes, helmets, and crampons. Made it to the trailhead around 10 and got some water, then waited for my sister who came around 10:45. Marissa is being absolutely amazing and giving us a ride around this next closure - she'll be driving about 10 hours by the time the day is done! It was incredibly nice yo see her, and she was loaded with treats for us, including gatorade and fresh watermelon! We loaded into the car and headed off on the super mangled dirt road. We stopped at Rockport for lunch, then headed on again, getting to Rainy Pass around 3. It was sad to say goodbye to Marissa again - it was really, really nice to spend time with her. I got my food together and we headed off, going all uphill up Cutthroat Mountain. A couple day hikers, and very pretty views! We got water a bit before camp - this section has just opened back up from a fire closure, so no one has been through in a while. That means that there are few to no comments on FarOut about the state of water, which is a little nervewracking. We had to backtrack a bit because one of the streams we thought was reliable was dry, and of course the last FarOut comment was from early July. But we soon ran into a SOBO hiker who assured us that the larger rivers in this section were all flowing well, which was comforting to hear. He also told us that part of the most recent closure had opened back up, which I'm not sure what to think about. We didn't have service to confirm anything, but we also didn't really have the food to do any longer sections either. Ah well, you can only take the punches as they come. Hopefully we'll get service at some point and can see what the current closure is. At the top of Cutthroat Pass, we went off-trail a bit to a clearing further up, and set up to cowboy camp at the top. It was a gorgeous area, with 360 degree views as the mountains rose up on all sides. We enjoyed dinner, then headed to bed, admiring the sunset behind us and the stars blinking into existence above us.

Day 154: 2599.2-2619

Had a great night's sleep and a fantastic sunrise - it was so incredibly vibrant! I had a mouse/chipmunk visit me in the night, leaving lots of poop all over my stuff. Ah well, at least it couldn't get into my food. We headed out around 7:30, with a bit of a hill to start, then a downhill with great views, then another uphill to Methow Pass. I took a nice snack break at the top, then enjoyed a long downhill to Methow River. It was nice to be back in a forest, with lots of water too. Right before a likely lunch spot, I ran into a group of horseback riders who were working hard to saw through a massive blowdown. They paused their efforts to say hi and give me an apple and some carrots - though I couldn't help but think I was stealing the horses' snacks. I caught up to Shade and Cheers, who had indeed taken lunch where I thought they might, and we enjoyed the extra treats the riders had passed on. We also chatted with another hiker, Buttbee, who was the first other NOBO hiker we'd seen in this section. We discussed Swedish politics and good scifi recs before heading on, tackling the massive hill ahead of us - a solid 6 miles of very steep switchbacks up to Grasshopper Pass. I took a break halfway up and watched some mice run up and down an old log, before carrying on to a spring where I filled up and waited for Shade and Cheers. Then we went another 1.8 mi uphill to a fantastic, unmarked spot on the saddle between passes. We cowboy camped, enjoyed dinner, and admired the fantastic sunset as we snuggled into our quilts. The sky was such a vibrant, deep orange as I fell asleep. Excited to get to Mazama tomorrow and go to the bakery there!

Day 155: 2619-2624.7

I had a lovely sleep in and woke up to a gorgeous sunrise over the mountains. We all sat in our quilts for a while, just watching the sun rise, before we packed up and headed out around 7:30. We had a bit of a down, then up, then down. It was remarkably hot this morning, and my underwear was giving me an annoying wedgie so I was lagging behind. When I arrived at Hart's Pass around 9, it was to find a massive trail magic setup, complete with huge fluffy pancakes, nutella, homemade jam and applesauce, and ice cream! Plus hot cocoa and watermelon. We relaxed for a while and chatted with the ranger, Mike, who had come to join the party. After a bit, a guy came up and said he was headed back to town, did any hikers need a ride? Yes! We were very grateful since the road was not at all what we had expected - instead of a paved highway like the last couple passes, it was a rugged, dusty dirt road with very little traffic in the morning. It took a while to get down the mountain in this guy's old, banged up truck, but we got dropped off at the hostel, Lion's Den, around 10. We got a tour from Groceries and met Mary, aka Lion, before getting situated. We managed to snag a bed upstairs, and took an absolutely fantastic shower - it had been about 11 days since my last one. We got to wear the trademark Hawaiian shirts and shorts while our laundry was done, then relaxed for a bit. I painted a rock with a little pika, and we headed to town on the bikes the hostel provided. The general store/gas station had an amazing selection of baked good, baguettes, and sandwiches! We enjoyed our spoils for a bit, checked out the little outfitters there, and resupplied back at the general store. I was glad Marissa had dropped off my food when she gave us a ride, since it was really pricey there. Back at the Lion's Den, we sorted our laundry and organized food, then I called home. We also nailed down our plans for after the trail. Neither Shade nor I had secured our Canadian Entry Permits, so we couldn't actually legally go into Canada. It was a little frustrating, since we gave almost 8 weeks for it to go through, but had heard from tons of hikers who also hadn't had theirs approved yet. There seemed to be a huge backlog this year, maybe from people jumping around fires? Regardless, it meant we had to do the Victory Lap, where you hike the 30 mi from Hart's Pass to Canada, then head around and hike SOBO back to Hart's Pass. Quite a few people actually plan on doing this regardless of their Entry Permit - it became a big thing after COVID, when Canada stopped approving permits altogether for a while - and hikers realized it was pretty fun to walk the 30 miles back and say congrats to all the hikers who were just in front/behind them. So we'll be doing that, and then Shade, Cheers and I will rent an airbnb for a few days to decompress from the trail and prepare to reenter society again. Then I'll stay with a friend in Bellingham, visit my sister in Tacoma for a bit, then head back to the Bay Area.

We found a cute airbnb in Fremont, then headed back to town for dinner, where I got an overpriced but decent sandwich and a cider - good to know I'm now a massive lightweight. We relaxed a bit more back at the hostel, chatted with some other hikers, and headed to bed. We're in the end game now - only 30 miles to the border, and 60 left in my hike!

Day 156: 2624.7-2644

Last bit of trail left! We got a ride back to Hart's Pass at 7 and got back on the trail around 7:40ish. It was some decent up and down, with heavy fog covering the landscape. The fog started to clear around 10 and we got some good views of the mountains around us. Got up to Buffalo Pass, Windy Pass, Foggy Pass, and Jim Pass in quick succession, taking a short break at a nice view spot. We passed Booster and her parents heading SOBO and exchanged congrats, then also ran into a Forest Service guy who asked us a few questions about our permits and food security methods, and confirmed that this year there were way more hikers who had a delayed Entry Permit - so at least its not just us! We filled up on water, then had a bit of a downhill to our lunch spot, where I finished off my baguette and relaxed a bit. Then onwards! We went way down to Holman Pass before starting a big climb up to Rock Pass. We saw Juicy and Agent 37 on the way, going SOBO, and exchanged high-fives and congrats. The views here were really gorgeous - I was listening to a podcast for some of the climb, but turned it off to enjoy the great views of Shull Mountain, Powder Mountain, and Holman Peak, rising craggly out of the landscape, still snow-capped. After the grueling uphill, we had a bit of a downhill on the side of Powder Mountain with lots of slate and loose rocks. Passed a few other Forest Service guys who were working on a section of loose slate that had been damaged in a land slide. We filled up on water, then had one last climb up to Woody Pass, where we found a beautiful campsite right before the Pass. We set up to see the sunrise in the morning and relaxed, taking in the views around us. It's been very quiet on trail today, which has been lovely. It was a lot of fun to see people heading SOBO and congratulate each other. We're only 11.2 miles to Canada!! Crazy!! Since we first started hiking together, Shade, Cheers and I have been saying "to Canada" anytime we start walking. We all chuckle and laugh, since its so far away. But in the last week, it's stopped feeling like a joke - we really are walking to Canada. I'm sad that I've missed a big chunk of the trail to fire, but that's just how it goes. Nothing is ever supposed to go completely to plan - that's just a guarantee for a boring-ass life. It wouldn't be real if everything happened how you want it. So while I'm disappointed that I'll hit the terminus without having walked every step from Mexico to Canada, its still a hell of a lot of steps, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished. It's going to be weird returning to real-life, but I think I've learned a lot out here that I'll hopefully be able to take with me. Tomorrow will be bittersweet and strange, but isn't every ending? I'm happy to be out here and proud of how far I've come. But hiking sometimes feels like a little bubble, isolated and protected from the real world. I'll be sad to leave it and the unreality of thruhiking, but there are still good things to be found out of the bubble, and there's a lot in the real world that I'm excited to get back to. Plus, this adventure has to end for the next one to start!

Day 157: 2644-2655 (NOBO), 2655-2647 (going SOBO)

Last morning hiking NOBO on the PCT!! We slept in a bit and I watched the sunrise from my tent. Then we packed up and headed out around 7:20, finishing the brief climb up to Woody Pass, then continuing uphill for a bit longer until a nice lookout where we all took a break and admired the Canadian mountains in front of us. Another few minutes pf up and then down the Devil's Stairway, with a bunch of switchbacks overlooking Hopkins Lake. Lots of huckleberries here - I paused to pick a few. The trail split off from the Pacific Northwest Trail here, which travels West-East on the border. I met back up with Shade and Cheers at a little campsite, and we had a snack before I took the lead for the last 3.5 miles until the border!! We saw One Gear heading back, and he gave us trail magic of M&M packets! The trail went in and out of the trees for a bit, with occasional glimpses of mountains off in the distance. We filled up on water 0.2 away from the border, and continued down the last switchbacks, finally getting a glimpse of the clearcut line of trees that demarked the border. We took our last turn, and the terminus rose up in front of us. We each touched the marker, and said hi to Pickles and Snakebait, who were hanging out a bit. We took some pictures, then made lunch as the other group headed out. It was nice to get some time with just us at the terminus - made it feel a little more weighty. We took a few more pictures, wrote in the final logbook, and said our last goodbye to the marker. It was a little emotional but also felt a bit underwhelming. I'm not sure what I expected, I guess it was all just a little surreal and hasn't really sunk in yet. We took our time at the marker, then packed up and headed out - gotta get back to Hart's Pass! It was strange to be going SOBO again, and of course we were rewarded with a nice 3,000 ft climb. It was a few hours before we passed any other hikers, and I just enjoyed the walking, thinking back to my favorite moments of the trail. Each section was so unique, and there's so much I want to remember. We took another brief break at Castle Pass, then continued on. I was in front after passing Shade at water and headed up the switchbacks near Hopkins Lake, listening to the second half of a podcast. I took a few breaks on the way up to enjoy the scenery, then waited at the top of Devil's Stairway for Shade and Cheers. We found a great unmarked campsite about 0.5 past the pass, up on a ridge with fantastic views. It's interesting how different the mountains are in either direction. To the northeast, they're all more rounded and rolling, whereas to the southwest they're snow-capped and craggy. As we set up, Avocado and Wild Card passed by - I had summited Whitney with them, and it was really cool to see them again!! We lay in the sun and relaxed for a bit, then had dinner, and I passed around my celebratory chocolate cheesecake with huckleberries - it was divine! Then we watched the sunset in silence together and headed to bed.

Day 158: 2647-2624.7 (going SOBO) Last day on the trail! It feels incredibly surreal to be finally finishing. We left camp around 7:30 and enjoyed a nice downhill. We ran into Lizard and then Turkey Vulture, who were headed NOBO, and it was so fun to catch up! I thought for sure Lizard was in front of us - we hadn't seen her since Shasta. We went downhill until Woody Pass, where I filled up on water, then an intense uphill to Rocky Pass, then another lovely downhill. I passed Jumper and Saira on the way, and we said hi. I stopped to filter my water, dig a cathole, and have some snacks, then carried on. I listened to an episode of the Dollop about some baseball guy, which was entertaining for the climb up. I caught up to Cheers at a stream and carried on, planning to filter at lunch. Then I ran into Bossbae and Birdcall!! I hadn't seen them since we did Mather and Bishop Pass together, but had thought about them often, and it was so nice to hear how they'd been. I also passed Wiza on the way up, and we exchanged fist bumps and congrats. Then we had lunch at the top, where I enjoyed some crackers, cheese, and olives, plus my Snapple drink mix I'd gotten in Tehachapi. We enjoyed a break, then carried on. I was feeling a little melancholy about finishing the trail, but it was also so pretty and peaceful. Lots of uphill though! Funny how the trail really does feel uphill both ways haha. But near Slate Peak, I looked out at the view and saw a massive mushroom cloud of smoke - a fire had just broken out. There was also increased haze at the horizon to the south, indicating an increase of fire activity. I carried on, planning to talk to the ranger in the morning, though I was pretty sure they'd already be informed. I also saw Tdubs and Sniper heading SOBO as well - they were gonna camp at Hart's Pass and catch our same shuttle down to Mazama in the morning. As I enjoyed the last couple miles, I reflected on how much the trail meant to me, and how special its been to feel so self-sufficient and capable these last few months. On the trail, it feels so much easier to be satisfied and fulfilled, to be kind to your fellow hiker, and appreciative of the beauty around you. I'm so thankful I had this opportunity to experience it all. Real-life makes things a lot more complicated, and it can be harder to remember the contentedness and happiness you can find. Everything in life is a balance of your responsibility to society and fellow man versus your own state of mind and sense of fulfillment. I've definitely met some hikers out here who have abandoned the former in search of the latter, and I'm not convinced its the better choice - everything is a lesson in moderation. Anyways, I got water just before a camp I'd remembered seeing on the hike in, and set up and waited for Cheers and Shade, who arrived about 20 minutes after. We set up, sat in silence for a while, then made dinner and reminisced about our time on the trail. I'm sad that this journey is over, but am so happy with how it ended. It took 158 days, but I walked from Mexico to Canada, completing about 2,415 miles in total!

Epilogue: Shade, Cheers, and I enjoyed a fantastic two days in Fremont, exploring the district and making a brief foray into Seattle to see Pike Place Market. We said goodbye as they left to road trip down to San Diego, where Cheers will return to the UK and Shade will hop onto the AT for a bit before going back to Florida. My friend picked me up and we headed to Bellingham, where I got a nice haircut, vastly increased my wardrobe, and got back to the joys of cooking and cuddling cats. My return to society was easier than I thought, though it took a couple days of being overly grateful for indoor heating, a big puffy jacket, and the ability to charge my phone whenever I wanted. I'll probably put up a couple more posts about total mileage calculations, gear reviews, and favorite sections once I get back to the Bay Area. Thanks for following along on this crazy journey - it meant a lot to know people were interested in my adventures! I'll be staying in the Bay Area until January or so, when I'll return to Boston and get a real job and everything. Until next time, and happy trails to all!