Canada O Canada The end of the trail. CDT miles 2914.9 to 3014.5 plus 4 miles to Waterton

The 5th of September was a day of rest. I woke up late, for me, and didn’t leave my room until after 7. I walked from my humble hostel behind the local Mexican eatery over to the where the other side stays while in East Glacier: The East Glacier Lodge. A massive log resort that sold me a breakfast buffet for 20 bucks. It was expensive but it was plentiful. I ate a ridiculous amount of food filling three plates on my first trip to the bar. After breakfast I walked over to the post office just as it opened at 8:30 am. I picked up my resupply box and carried it back to my room, I laid around for a while and relaxed before going out and doing some souvenir shopping. I checked out what was maybe the world’s largest wooden spoon store where all the spoons are hand made right there on site. On my way back to the room I mailed some stuff home and picked up some snacks. The rest of the day was spent resting and reading.

The sixth I awoke to rain. I slowly packed up anyway and left my bunkroom a little after 9. I was planning on hiking at least as far as Two Medicine which was where the Ranger Station  was located that I needed to visit to get my backcountry permit for Glacier National Park. it was around ten miles away over a mountain. I stopped by the Many Glacier Motel on my way out to see what everyone else was doing. When I arrived I was told that Fruit Salad and Hawaii had arranged a ride to the ranger station and were going to get our permits for us and then come back to the hotel and tell us our schedule. It would be easier to put us on one permit so we could share tent sites instead of having nine different individual permits with nine different sites booked every night. It made sense to me so I settled in to wait. The rain was still falling as they returned a little after noon and gave us our itinerary. We were all 9 on the same permit and we weren’t hiking out of town until the next day. We would spend 4 nights in Glacier and finish on the 11th. Worked for me. They offered to let me stay with them but with 4 people per room and all their gear the rooms were already pretty crowded. I walked next door to the Sears Motel and talked to the  desk guy who I had actually met while walking around town the day before. He gave me a room for 40 bucks which was an amazing hookup as it was usually over 100 dollars a night. I picked up my pizza and retired to my room. I read a book and relaxed before crashing early, anxious to start hiking on the morrow.

The 7th I got a bit of a late start hiking out a little before 9. I knew I only had to do 22 miles to the lake campground that was my permitted camping spot for the night. A few miles out of town I officially entered Glacier National park. It was a long climb up to the first peak in the park but the weather had turned nice and I enjoyed the climb. When I reached the top I started to run into dayhikers which there hadn’t been any of in quite a while. Of course they all wanted to talk and ask me why I was toting such a  large pack around. I politely answered all the questions as I stopped to let hiker after hiker after hiker by. It made for slow progress down the mountain but I didn’t mind and they were so happy to share their adventure with someone. I reached the road to Two Medicine and followed it through the campground where the trail led by Pray Lake. I stopped for a quick lunch. Once I ate and chatted with a park ranger for a few minutes I crossed a bridge and followed the trail back into the woods as it led up to a ridgeline near Mount Morgan and Oldman lake. As I climbed the beauty of the park really began to reveal itself with sweeping mountain vistas, and gorgeous lakes. It was magnificent as I topped the ridge and sat on a rock for a break just staring off into the distance trying to take it all in. I ate a bag of peanut M and Ms.

I resumed hiking, slowly making my  way down into the valley and passed several more lakes before reaching Morning Star lake where I was to camp for the night. Lieutenant Dan was already set up having walked a road around the first mountain and getting in front of me. I set up my tent on one of the designated sites and the rest of the group soon arrived. We all gathered for supper and ate and hung out for a while but hiker midnight comes early and we were all soon asleep in our tents. CDT Mile 2936.6 a 22 mile day.

The 8th I was up early and hiking. It was going to be a short day since our permit for the night had us camping at Red Eagle Lake campground only 15 miles away; but it was also supposed to start raining again that afternoon and I figured I could get there and get set up before it started. No-one else was stirring as I hiked out into the morning. It was a foggy morning and I began to climb above the clouds as I ascended a pass. The views were magnificent with huge rock monoliths jutting up from the dense fog on all sides. As I was looking down into the valley below wondering what was under the fog, it lifted for just a bit and revealed a mother Grizzly and 2 cubs. I sat on a rock just above and watched them for an hour or so before the fog again claimed them as its on. I got to my feet and continued up walking in awe of  my surroundings. I made it to the top of the Triple Divide pass and it was windy but temporarily clear of fog. I stood there for a while taking in the view and  watched the clouds blow in as I was enveloped. I was suddenly in a cloud, in a world of my own. It felt like a landscape straight out of a fairy tale as I started down the other side. I could make out hazy shapes of huge cliffs in the fog. The further I descended the more it cleared. I made my way down to the valley floor and crossed several streams and rivers on actual bridges before reaching the lake and the campsite a little before 1 in the afternoon. I made lunch and it started to rain so I set up my tent and climbed in and read for a while. The rest of my crew showed up a little while later and the rain let up so we gathered wood and built a fire. We sat around it and talked about the trail and whatever else came to mind. In the early evening the rain returned and we headed to our tents for the night. There were 4 tentsites there and we were all set up with 2 to 3 tents per site. A little before dark a few dayhikers came in and threw a fit because they wanted their own site and didn’t want to share. I just told them we had a permit and weren’t moving so they went to the others tents and whined and moaned until Hawaii, Stretch, and LT Dan acquiesced and packed up their stuff and left leaving the site free. They said they were going to hike 8 miles off trail to the tiny town of Saint Mary’s and then hitch back to the trail the next day. I went back to my tent and went to sleep. CDT mile 2951.1 a 14.5 mile day.

It rained heavily all night and didn’t stop in the morning. I managed to make it out of my tent a little after 7 and got packed up in the downpour. It was gong to be a long cold wet day. I knew my next spot was 26 to 27 miles away with a big climb in the middle. It was also at a small town in the park where there was a cafe and a camp store so once I got there at least I would have hot food. I had my rain coat on and that kept my top half dry as I slogged through the day. The first 13 miles or so weren’t bad as they followed the shore of a lake on the Saint Mary river. Around noon I made it around the end of the lake and up to the Going to the Sun Road which is the main East/West road through the park. I was looking for anything dryish to stand under and eat a bite when I saw Lumber quickly scurry across the road and climb aboard a shuttle. I laughed, and not seeing any dry spots turned back to the trail to start the climbing portion of the day. As always the trail provided and not far up a huge evergreen granted me shelter as I quickly downed a candy bar and some peanuts for lunch. The rain persisted and the temperature dropped as I gained elevation. It was cold. I climbed up to Piegan Pass and as I shivered I marveled at my surroundings. My hands were so cold and numb I could barely grasp my tracking poles but I couldn’t help but slowly walk in wonder of the huge cliffs and dozens of waterfalls; even a glacier barely visible way up in the fog. The rain was relentless and I couldn’t stay long so I made my way back down the other side. It was a long descent down to the town. At some point I realized my raincoat had begun to disintegrate.The whole left arm fell off while I was walking. I put it in my cargo pocket and carried on figuring at least my right arm was still warm and dry. A while later I took my pack off to grab a snack and as I did the whole bottom half of the rain coat from just below my chest somehow separated and fell to the ground. “What is happening,” I asked the wilderness around me. Receiving no answer I picked up the tattered remnants of my rain gear shouldered my pack and continued my journey. I was soaked, and cold, but not miserable. I was still backpacking through Glacier National Park (a lifelong dream) and nearing the end of the trail, I could feel it getting ever closer.

Through the fog I made it down and around SwiftCurrent Lake to the Many Glacier Town site. It actually quit raining for a few minutes so I located the campsite set up my tent (still soaked from the night before) and tossed my pack in. Then I went looking for food. I found the nearby store and restaurant and walked in. FruitSalad was there and she told me to come to the restaurant part. I got there and everyone but Dosu and Lumber was already there but only Redfish had hiked, everyone else had gotten tired of the rain and hitch-hiked in. Redfish had had a rough go of it getting over the mountains in the cold and was feeling like he was going to pass out. A doctor that was there on vacation took a look at him and just told him to rest and eat and he’d be fine. I ordered a burger and joined the rest eating, and discussing our Individual plans (or lack of plans) for after the trail. After I ate I went and dismantled my tent because FruitSalad had gotten a room and Dosu, Hobo Max, and a hiker in the park for a weekend of backpacking we met, were all going to share it with her. We were less than 50 miles from the end, warm. dry, well fed, and among friends life was kinda perfect there for a little while. CDT mile 2980 a 28.9 mile day.

After a good nights rest we awoke on the 10th to more rain. Only Redfish, Dosu, Hobo Max, FruitSalad and I had deemed to continue north to the official Waterton Lake Finish at the Canadian border. There was an alternate finish (Chief Joseph Trailhead) that was only about 20 miles from where we were at Many Glacier; and Stretch, Lumber, Hawaii, and Lieutenant Dan had decided to go there instead and finish that afternoon.

After breakfast I went to the camp store/gift shop and tried to figure out a way to stay somewhat warm and dry. My raincoat was unfixable. I had gotten some strange looks when I walked into town the day before in my chest length one armed rain jacket. I picked up a Glacier NP poncho, a Glacier National Park Umbrella and a Ladies XL Windbreaker ( they didn’t carry men’s) that looked kinda water resistant. It also said Glacier National Park on the front I was definitely looking the tourist. So with my new attire and umbrella I strode out into the rain. The others weren’t ready to leave yet but said they would follow. I had never hiked with an umbrella before but found that it worked really well at least while there was no wind. I had to climb way up to swift current pass in the rain. As I neared the top the rain changed to snow. I walked on through the storm it was cold wet and beautiful.

Once up high I had to stay at altitude for a while as the trail wound around the sides of the mountains. Huge rocks and ledges ruled the day as I strode on. The snow persisted for a while but stopped a little afternoon and I was able to put away my poncho and umbrella. I found a mountain goat serenely lying on the edge of a cliff surveying his domain and I sat down for lunch a few hundred yards away enjoy the company. After lunch I climbed on ledges up over another pass. Several waterfalls crossed the trail and streams ran down the path. I crested with some playful Marmots scurrying along beside me. I walked through the fog bound rocky world as I descended into a small saddle at Fifty Mountain. I crossed the saddle and began what was to be the last climb of my CDT adventure. Just before the top I hit the official 3000 mile mark. I took a break at the top, sat on a rock and thought about that insane number, all the individual steps it had taken to add up to such a huge distance. And only 14 miles to the finish. I carried on as it was getting late in the day and I still had 7 more miles to camp. I made it down and walked on to Kootenai Lake where I sat up camp and ate dinner. I was in my tent when Dosu and Redfish hiked in a little after nine. They said Hobo Max had been getting sick all day so he and FruitSalad had stopped about 8 miles back. We talked awhile mostly about how we couldn’t believe we were only about 7 miles from the border: the finish line of the CDT and we’d be there in the morning. Then we all slipped off to sleep reflecting on what it meant: the end of the trail. CDT Mile 3007.5 a 27.5 mile day.

We all slept late on the 11th and the rain stopped before we left camp.We were hiking around 9 and making good time as it was flat. We reached Waterton Lake and started our journey alongside, knowing the border was on the lake and we were close. We crossed a bridge and then as we rounded a corner and came out of the trees there it was. We could see the monument just ahead Then we were there. We all grabbed the monument at the same time and we had officially made it. They had both walked a continuous footpath from Mexico as well. It was a bit overwhelming, a lot to take in. We sat down in the grass and looked at the monument, the lake, and the mountains for a while. We had decided to wait there for Fruit Salad and Hobo Max to catch up and finish. I guess we just weren’t in a hurry to leave the trail. For me it had been 5 months and 15 days since I first stepped on the trail at the Mexico border. 169 days full of adventure. We waited for several hours, the sun came out and we dried out our gear. Around 2 Hobo Max arrived with Fruit Salad close behind. We celebrated and took pictures and congratulated each other. Then it was time to go. We walked the 4 miles to the Waterton Lake trailhead in Waterton Canada and FruitSalad’s Mom and Aunt met us there. They took us to the post office/ visitor center and we all called border patrol and told them we had crossed into Canada. The CDT was done. CDT Mile 3,014.5 a 7 mile day plus 4 miles to Waterton Canada.

The CDT is over and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about that. The adventure continues; I am currently in Calgary and there will be at least one more post in the coming weeks about my after trail adventures. Thank you to everyone that made this trip so wonderful. PCT 2020 ( The Pacific Crest Trail) begins in April if all goes well. I hope y’all have all enjoyed this journey as I truly enjoyed having you along. Whatever your dreams, however impossible they seem, get out there and give them a go, you will surprise yourself! I promise.