[pct-l] Immigration and Customs at the Border of Canada

[pmags@yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

re: the fearsome Canadian border patrol

I wonder if patrolling the last 12km stretch (darn
that metric system. "Look we have 8 km to go until
route 3!". "How many miles is that?"
"Um, isn't it 60% and multiply it?" "ER, I
thought it was 40% and multiply it?" "Hell
with it, we are at the road already...") is simply
a random event that the border officials like to do
every so often to get the word out that this border
crossing will be patrolled. I did not see any
officials in Manning when I was there (though I
finished 3 days ahead of my date).

Most thru-hikers had the proper paperwork. But the
piece of paper is a bit of a joke. It is a standard
letter sized paper that can easily be done up on a
home computer with a scanner and any printer.  Not to
mention I met many people out for a  hike at the
border area who were not aware they needed paperwork
to cross into Canada or the US. They were not about to
turn around when they found out they needed the
letter.

Having said all that, seems a waste of resources to
have custom officials patrol the border for what
amounts to approx. 80 thru-hikers a year (and however
many section hikers). Camping out in the woods and
getting paid for it? I want that job! :-)

As Brett said, what happens if the border officials do
"catch a person"? Do they have to hike back to
the road near the ranger station in Washington? Do
they get a ride to the border crossing in Washington?
The fact that they told Rachel and Scott that they
were there on a date different from their paperwork
(and not seeming to like it) shows that the officials,
for the most part, do not seem to be overly familiar
with the trail or backpacking in general.


On a side note, how the heck is a person who walked to
Manning Park supposed to report to Hope, BC if they do
not have a ride meeting them ?!?!

I thought that the paperwork was just a formality.
Apparently not in some cases. Be interesting to see
what happends to those who do not have a paper. (After
all, they do legally have 24hrs to report themselves.)




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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau

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