Oh it was cold.
The fact that it was a perfectly clear night didn’t help us much I think. My gear was barely up to par, and if it were to get any colder I think it would not suffice. But we’re so close now, nothing to do but stick it out. We were treated with a glorious sun-rise and got ready to hike out a little after 0700. Onward to Harts Pass, the last spot of infrastructure along the PCT before the border. There would be parking lots, and access to a dirt-road. It would also be the place that I would try to hitch out from after hiking back (my Canada-entry-permit application was rejected for reasons I long ago gave up on trying to understand).
The 6 miles to Harts Pass were beautiful, and we crossed through pines which were shedding their needles, which had turned a vibrant yellow during the fall. After passing an encouraging sign, stating we were only 35 miles from the border, we reached Harts Pass. With it being overcast but not snowing at least, we quickly pulled out our tents and lay them out to dry. Since both the inside as well as the outside of my tent had been covered in frost, it took both Double-D and I some serious shaking out to get rid of the caked-on layer. When I opened up my tent-zipper to release the frost from the inside, I was baffled by the sheer amount of snow that had accumulated.
A tiny mountain of snow whirled out of it. 
Even though it was cold, our spirits were high, with only a day and a half separating us from the border. We joked and laughed and had some snacks.
Camped with us last night was hiker Balloons, a guy who we’d been leapfrogging with the last couple days. He was surprisingly quiet, and I knew he had had a rough couple of nights, with his gear barely sufficing in keeping him warm when he was trying to get to sleep. I asked him if he was doing all-right, and he told me he was going to get a ride out from Harts Pass to leave the trail.
Being so very close to the end-point of the PCT I thought about this for a minute. Then I told him that it had been a rough stretch for sure, and that I by no means wanted to tell him what to do, but that I felt that all of us were truly really so very close to finishing now. The monument was within arms-reach. And that I really wanted for him to make it there. Worse-case scenario, he would have to endure just one more miserable night.
I invited him to hike with us, really with us, because some human interaction might be just what he needed. So often along the trail has that proven to be a significant pick-me-up for me, completely turning my day around. When we packed up our stuff and I asked him how he felt he said: “I’m coming with you guys”.
And so now there were 5 of us.
After leaving Harts Pass, we came across a signage with a map, which depicted the trails in the vicinity. We were faced with the final reroute of the trail, due to another small fire-closure just North of us. There was a suggested alternate, which would add about 4 more miles compared to the chunk of PCT which we would miss out on. The reroute would take us down into a valley, and would remain there for quite a few miles. The terrain of the valley was pretty much flat, until the reroute would take a turn and climb back onto the ridge, to rejoin the PCT at Woody Pass. 
As we approached the junction that would lead back to the PCT, Team Canada and Balloons had hiked ahead of me. They had ran into other hikers who had suggested them an alternative to the reroute. There was the possibility of taking another trail, the Boundary trail, which rejoined the PCT only 3.6 miles South of the Canadian border. It would be an easier trail, with less elevation gain, and less miles too.
It would however bypass more miles of the PCT which were accessible. Wanting to hike as much PCT miles as I could, this was not an option for me. The others however would gladly take it. So just before hitting the border, it looks like we would be separated again. Around 1800 I said goodbye to Arms, Double-D, Gourmet and Balloons. Not before agreeing on a time and place to meet up tomorrow on the PCT, such that we could hit the Northern Terminus together.
I had 7 miles left and would climb up to Woody Pass tonight, where there’d be several campsites. Time to crank up the hiking-machine one last time and crush the final miles as fast I could, trying to limit the night-hiking to minimum.
Slowly but steadily the trail wound up, and soon I found myself above the snow-line again. I passed Red, Chrome and Bard along the way, camped at a sheltered spot in the woods. Briefly I contemplated making camp early and joining them, but I knew that would make it next to impossible to rejoin the others tomorrow before 1100 as we’d agreed on. I needed to get those miles in tonight.
And so I pushed on, through the dark, and through the cold. The trail was covered in snow, but fortunately the footsteps of hikers that had preceded me made for safe going. Around 2030 I made it up the Woody Pass. It was covered in at least a feet of snow, and I looked for possible tent-sites. Calling out in the dark towards the two tents that were set up, I asked who were there. It was Cookie and Dirt, and on a small flat below them were Stuff-Sack and Apollo. There was a little bit of space next to Dirt and Cookies tent, but not a whole lot. I decided to try my luck a little further up the pass, a quarter mile up trail, where supposedly there would be some more sites. If not, Dirt and Cookie said it wouldn’t be a problem to pitch my tent close to theirs. I ventured out for another 10 minutes, but when I reached the spot, one close look told me I’d been better off staying down. There was no way I’d make camp here, there simply was no room. I sighed and hiked down.
“I’m back”, I told them as I approached their tent. Dirt and Cookie, angels that they are, offered me a pair of water resistant gloves, and their cooking pot to use as a shovel. I started digging out a snow-free patch for my tent, almost touching theirs.
Very grateful for their cooperation, I was finally able to get into my sleeping bag, after about 20 minutes of added labor. Quickly I ate some snacks, and got ready for another cold night.
We were camped on the pass after all.
Here’s a night, and it shines.
And it calls us on and on.
So be here by my side, and watch the stars.
They’re ours.
Make a wish or just take charge.
The moment comes get lost and go far.
I think that we’ve got what it takes
to get this heart start beating again.
So take it all the way.
Whoa, whoa
And our hearts are on The Everglow.
Deep inside, we both know it,
Everything’s hanging on this moment
Whoa, whoa
And our hearts are on The Everglow.
So just let go and fall into it.
The Everglow – Mae
