[pct-l] US - Canada Border

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

You will see a clear cut and a "Welcome to Canada
Sign" on the Manning Park side of the PCT. All
distance mysteriously become kilometers, too. :-)

Some pics at the border area:

http://gallery.backcountry.net/pmagspct02/amx
--The monument

http://gallery.backcountry.net/pmagspct02/amy
--Welcome to Canada sign

http://gallery.backcountry.net/pmagspct02/amz
--Good view of both monuments and the clear-cut

And an excerpt from my journal upon reaching this
border:

Thu Sept 12 Castle Creek 2651.7 miles

My last night on the trail is being spent in Canada. 
At 5:25 PM, reached the Canadian border. Did not
expect to be in Canada today, but with less than four
miles to go until the border when it was only 4:30 PM,
decided to make ?a run for the border?.  At a pace of
four MPH, almost literally!  Getting to the border was
a bit of a surprise. Due to our pace, we arrived at
the monument much earlier than expected.  My words
upon reaching the monument? ?Oh sh*t. We?re here?.  I
was dumbfounded that my goal of the past 139 days was
reached.  I was speechless.  After hiking for so long,
the goal I had striven for literally appeared out of
nowhere in the middle of the woods.

My trek on the PCT is essentially over.  Tomorrow it
is a short walk to a trail head parking lot in Manning
Park.  No more starchy meals to cook, no more wearing
of ?poly-pue? underwear, no more duct tape repairs to
equipment.  Another long walk is over.

As I look back on this journey, I can?t help but think
of the walk I took four years ago. The Appalachian
Trail was a watershed moment in my life. The hike
re-defined would could be done with my life.  The trek
on the PCT was more of an affirmation of the lifestyle
I have chosen for myself.  When am I getting back to
the real word? For me these long treks ARE the real
world.  Mountains, rivers, deserts and snow are more
real to me after two extended treks in the mountains
than a world consisting of six years of car payments,
rising to the top of the business ladder and whatever
else is generally defined as being successful.

The journey on the crest was amazing. Pushing myself
through painful blisters, seeing the High Sierras and
the Cascades in all its raw beauty, the camaraderie
with my fellow hikers. The Pacific Crest Trail is not
just 2650 miles of hiking, it is 2650 miles of
memories that will last a lifetime.
***********

If you want to read the whole thing (if you are really
bored and having nothing better to do. :-D ), you can
read it at:
http://www.magnanti.com/mags_pct02.htm


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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
http://www.magnanti.com