[pct-l] Re: South-bound questions

[griffin at u.washington.edu (Tom Griffin)]

I'm going to offer a contrary option. Last year the same question came up
from David Booth from Australia (David, are you out there?). After a long
discussion, David decided to enter the U.S. in Seattle last August. When he
crossed the border into Canada at Blaine, he did NOT tell U.S. immigration
that he had left the country. This is easy to do since the U.S. does not
check cars as they leave the country.

He then took the Greyhound from Vancouver to Manning Park, started his hike
at the north terminus and crossed the border into the U.S. He then traveled
the length of  the PCT in Washington and Oregon. I actually bumped into him
while I was doing a northbound section hike near the Goat Rocks. (See
http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/day11.html)

As far as U.S. immigration is concerned, he was always in the U.S. from the
moment he arrived and he had no trouble when he left the States in
September. I realize that this option is probably illegal under the Patriot
Act, so it is up to Adrian to decide if he wants to risk the wrath of John
Ashcroft. 

By the way, I agree that the section from Harts Pass to the border is one of
the most gorgeous sections of the PCT in the state of Washington. However,
getting to the trailhead at Harts Pass is difficult if you don't have a car
(since the road is very narrow and curvy, it's difficult even if you do have
one). Getting to Manning Park on public transportation is so much easier.

Tom

Tom Griffin
Seattle, Washington
griffin@u.washington.edu
http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/pct.html



> From: adrian.borner@ch.abb.com
> Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 10:15:17 +0100
> To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] South-bound questions
> 
> 
> Slowly I start with my planning for this years section hike from the
> Canadian border to Oregon. I was thinking of flying into Seattle early
> August where I would prepare and send off my mail-drops. One possibility
> then would be to take Greyhound and travel to Manning Park via Vancouver.
> Since with my Swiss passport I am a bit worried about the border sitation,
> i.e. re-entering the US via the Green Border, I wonder if there is a
> possibility accessing the northern terminus of the PCT from the South, i.e.
> without leaving the States?
> The other questions is how many miles per day can I expect to make during
> this August-September hike, taking into account the shorter days. I am in
> reasonable good shape and averaged 20 miles on the AT (including days off)?
> Thanks
> Adrian alias Matterhorn AT01