[pct-l] PCT Numbers & Stehekin P. O.

[Brian Lewis]

Jason wrote:
"I don't have any definitive answer to the question of how many start/finish
each year. I think that someone counts the entries at both borders but that
number is imprecise since not everyone signs in and out."


One factor here is that there's a trick to signing the register at the
Canadian border.  This is something that I hadn't heard of beforehand ---
the register is in the miniature Washington Monument.  The top comes off and
it's inside.    So while I was there, I didn't see the register and thus
didn't sign it (I wasn't going to walk back the 9 miles just to sign ...).

Something to keep in mind for anyone that (however long or short their trip)
gets to the northern monument.


W.r.t. the Stehekin P.O., I happened to be there when some folks were
looking for their packages.   Because it's a tiny P.O., there were actually
packages stacked up outside the little P.O. office, though my vague
recollection is that packages didn't go missing during office hours (?).
The person running the post office gave the impression that this was
definitely unusual.   I think the big concern due to it being that
particular post office is that a lot of people mail their passport there.
I have no idea if it will be well secured for 2009, but this years class
might want to consider getting their passports at an earlier stop.   Or
perhaps call the Stehekin P.O. and ask if they ever figured out how the
packages were being taken in 2008 --- or if I remember correctly, sometimes
just opened, pilfered for obvious valuables, and taped shut.


Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle