[pct-l] Pacific Northwest Trail backtrack permits

[dnlcyclone at aol.com]

You don't have to backtrack all the way back to Holman Pass and take the PNT, but it's a nice hike.  The PNT joins the PCT at Castle Pass, then merges with the PCT until Holman Pass, where the PNT then heads west through Sky Pilot Pass, Devil's Dome and finally to Ross Lake.  When my wife, my friend and I thru-hiked the PNT in 2009, we did run in North Cascades National Park about ten miles west of Whatcom Pass on our last day in the park.  She did ask for our permits, but we explained to her that we were PNT thru-hikers, and she was very understanding.  Now, that's no guarantee that you won't get a ticket, but I would just hold on to your PCT permit, and I'm sure that there's a relatively high likelihood that an inquisitive ranger will be fair, seeing as how you've just got done hiking over 2700 miles.  We encountered the same dilemma that you did, and you're right:  there is no remotely practical way to obtain a permit unless you travel by car...which no thru-hikers are.  If anything, you will be fine legally hiking through Ross Lake Recreation Area to Ross Lake, where the unbelievably awesome Ross Lake Resort is.  Rent out a tent site or fork over some cash for a floating cabin and mull over whether or not you want to go bandit or not.  We plan on taking Trail 749 (Three Fools Creek Trail/Castle Pass Trail/Boundary Trail) west of Castle Pass as our backtrack route to Ross Lake instead of going to Manning Park.  



Cheers, and have fun.


David






Re:

"The Pacific Northwest Trail intersects the PCT close to the Canadian border. I 
was wondering about the practicality of backtracking from the border at the end 
of a NOBO PCT thru hike and continuing to hike on the Pacific Northwest Trail 
through Ross Lake National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park. It 
looks like getting backcountry permits to follow the PNT west from the PCT along 
Ross Lake is impractical because the park website indicates that these permits 
are only available on a first-come, first served basis, with no reservations, 
from a ranger station. Of course, there is no ranger station along the route. 
Can the PNT route from Holman Pass over Devils Dome and then south along the 
East Bank Trail of Ross Lake be hiked legally? An alternate route would be to 
hike southwest down Ruby Creek Trail to Hwy. 20 and then hitch to the park 
headquarters in Newhalem to get backcountry permits for the North Cascades.

Cheers,

Gary"