One Last Yogi and We're Home!

9/3/13

Manning Park to Abbotsford and over the border.

After breakfasting at 8am we purchased a sandwich to go & a drink from the cafe that would be our lunch on the bus.

TareBare met us out in front of the Lodge at 9:45 where the bus would arrive at 10:10.  Also waiting was another couple we'd last seen on Tamarack Peak who were going home to the Seattle area and two other section hikers.  Stowing the packs and poles under the bus we climbed aboard looking for a seat. We all split up to sit with folks that had boarded in other towns.

I sat with a delightful lady going to Vancouver who shared of her interesting life teaching agriculture through the Canadian Gov't programs in The Gambia.  She was very interested in my trek and scrolled through my iPhone photos asking questions as we segued through many other subjects. The skies turned dark and rain poured down as we drove by the Frasier River Valley, pretty farming countryside.  Meanwhile, Peggy was enjoying conversation with her own seat mate and at one of our stops the lady made a call to her husband.  She'd asked him to bring their larger car to come pick her up in Abbotsford because she wanted to give 3 hikers a ride to the border!

This was Peggy's seat mate, I never got their names, a very nice couple! 

Peggy's, TareBare's and my packs stuffed into the back along with our poles, they pulled into traffic zooming to the border and after a couple of miles we were stopped in a long line.  We told them to pull over so they could easily get back on the road and we would walk the remaining distance, shaving 2 miles off our 3 mile walk was great and by that time the rain was breaking up. 

We got our packs on, ponchos too and waving our trail angels goodbye we set off on the shoulder of the highway for the border which we could see was not far away. Arriving among the lines of cars we followed signs for pedestrians to go inside and present documents. 

It was a quick glance at passports and PCT paperwork both US and Canadian and we were through. There was Robin waiting by the door, my own personal trail angel, providing support and transportation to and from the trail. 

With Peggy just outside US Customs.

With TareBare and Peggy ready for the ride home.

Robin had packed a cooler with every possible goody in it for our trip home. He drove the entire way back to Medford arriving at  midnight. Peggy drove south the next day, dropping TareBare at his home to prepare for the last leg of his thru hike, Echo Lake (by Lake Tahoe) to Ashland, Oregon.

So this year's PCT hike is finished, lessons learned are tucked away, I'm grateful for the teamwork and commitment of Peggy and the love, support and understanding of my husband, Robin.

 I'm also grateful for the existence of the marvelous Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail that takes enormous effort to maintain and keep open for those who seek the solitude and wild beauty that is found there. 

Without committing myself to anything yet, the California section of the PCT still has not been finished. It could be that next year this blog will feature another distance hike from the Peggy/Jane team!