Northern Terminus

As expected it had been another very cold night indeed. I didn’t sleep very well.
It didn’t matter.
Putting on cold trousers, frozen at the bottom from being wet last night;
It didn’t matter.
Putting on icy cold socks and damp shoes;
It didn’t matter.
Today was the day. The day we would reach the elusive Monument. The Northern Terminus. The border between US and Canada.
The day that 5 months ago seemed unattainable.
Unreachable.
Unbelievable.
Giddy with excitement we broke camp, and Dirt and Cookie were stating too that they did not mind getting out in the cold at all today either. It was quite early too, I believe we left before 0700. It was overcast, cold, and our surroundings were shrouded in the morning fog, everything covered with a blanket of snow.
It was absolutely gorgeous, and felt like we were truly in the beating heart of the Cascades.
We talked about the how PCT ended up giving us the entire spectrum of weather scenario’s, and that we were actually happy that we’ve encountered snow in Washington. It seemed right. As if we’ve hiked through every season. We maneuvered through a winter landscape as if through a fairy-tale, expressing our awe for its beauty during this final day. Also we voiced our concerns for people who would be finishing later than us. Any day now, we expected the trail and the passes could receive such amounts of snow that the area would become impassable.
Pretty soon it would be hit or miss.
This only contributed to our gratitude, because for now the trail was still visible and accessible.

The three of us reminisced on the very start of the hike. A day that seemed forever ago. We talked about how much we’ve seen and how unbelievable it was that it was now finally getting to an end. I felt a shared sense of mixed feelings.
Excitement and melancholy.
My mind went out to what I wanted to write into the hiker-log which I knew was kept at the Terminus. Words, sentences, phrases rushed through my head, but I could not tie them together into a congruent piece. I let it go. Deciding to wait and see when I was there.
Dirt and Cookie hiked out ahead of me. It was 1030 right now, and I checked my interactive maps. As has happened before, my GPS proved to be faulty again today. There was no way of checking where I was on trail in relation to the junction where I’d agreed to meet the others before 1100. There was the one option of a side-trail I passed, but it was barred with a bunch of logs and sticks, making it appear as if it was a closed off section. Later I would learn that that in fact had been the spot where we should have met up. As I pressed on and looked around for the junction, it became 1100…
Even if they had waited for me now, being in front or behind me, it didn’t matter, the time had passed.
And so in the end I found myself hiking towards the border alone.
In my thoughts I journeyed back to the first hour of hiking, on day 1 at the Southern Terminus. I had hiked the very first miles by myself, and so in a way it seemed fitting to finish the last miles by myself too. I quickly made peace with it. Every now and again I’d been welling up throughout the day, the reality of what was ahead of me hitting me in little bursts. Then, nearing midday I came to a clearing in the woods. That’s when I saw it.
The perfect strip of cut down trees, running all the way along the hillside to the East and West.
The border.

I knew I was really very close now. Standing still for a moment I caught my breath. Then I knew it was time. Time to bring it home!
As I made my way down the trail I started to hear the voices of other hikers who were definitely nearby. I turned a corner and looked upon the monument for the very first time. I felt a spring in my step and increased my pace.
I saw Dirt, Cookie and Big-Bro in the clearing next to the monument, cheering me on. Now cheering loudly too myself, I raised both my arms towards the skies and passed the monument across the border into Canada.

I took off my glove and touched the monument. To feel it. To have the reality sink in. 2650 miles across US soil. From Mexico to Canada.
Mind over matter.
Earning the title of thru-hiker. Almost 5 months of travel, working towards a seemingly unreachable goal.
One foot in front of the other.
One mile at a time.
Completed.

Stuff-Sack and Apollo where there too and soon Red and Bard hiked in. There were hugs all around and the air was thick with euphoria. Big smiles from ear to ear on everyone’s faces. I had Big-Bro take my photographs at the monument. Then I walked over to the post which held the hiker-log.
I still didn’t know what to write down.
I didn’t need to.
The words magically seemed to flow from my fingers.
And then the tears came. Completely immersed in the moment, I embraced the wave of emotion that surged through me. It was a divine moment in which time stood still, as I overflowed with the strongest feeling of gratitude.
Gratitude for everything I have learned and experienced on this trail.
Gratitude for my loved ones.
Gratitude for life.
It was exactly how I hoped and wanted to feel since starting out at the Southern Terminus 5 months ago. A powerful, beautifully profound experience. The perfect ending to the story about a journey. A life changing journey that has now come to an end.

And what an amazing journey it was.

Bard took out his guitar and we joined him around the Monument. Rebel, Apollo, Twenty-Prime, Big-Bro, Stuff-Sack, Flat-Earth, Dirt, Cookie, Shaman, R-Kelly, Red and Bard shared another special moment which tied the entire experience of finishing the Pacific Crest Trail together beautifully. Check out the two-part video!

Good Riddance at the Northern Terminus (Pt. 1 & 2)

Slowly people were leaving the terminus and I gave myself until 1400 to wait. And sure enough, 15 minutes before that I heard a song approaching from the South. In single file, with music playing on the speakers of a phone, came marching down the trail Balloons, Double-D, Arms and Gourmet. I cheered along with the others and after everybody had made it, crushed them with big hugs. Their hike back to the PCT had taken them a lot longer than expected, so fortunately nobody had been waiting on anyone. I thanked them for their friendship and time spend together, and started packing up my stuff. Just before I hiked out, Balloons called me out: “Flat Earth, wait! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now. Thank you.” He gave me a big hug, and I like to think that it was not only me, but simply ‘the trail that provides’.
As it has done on so many occasions.

I would hike another ten miles back that day, and another twenty the day after. During my hike out I ran into Turtle, Rocket, Peach-man, Freewheel, Jukebox, Pops and Photo-Op. Friends with whom I shared a significant part of the journey. Meeting them once more before leaving the trail was nothing short of wonderful.
Arriving at Harts Pass later the afternoon of the seventh, I got a hitch into the nearby town of Winthrop. Just before I walked down the last steps of the trail though, I stopped. Standing on the ridge, I took a final glance over the Cascades of Washington and said out loud to the skies:

“Thank you for everything”

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs, and still-frames in your mind
Hang them on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoo’s of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life

Good Riddance (Time of your life) – Greenday