TRAIL JOURNAL
/ September 10, 2022
On September 9, the PCT Association posted an update on the Kid, Parks, Shull and Three Fools fires. They had worsened. Access to the northern terminus remained closed. The fires had closed the PCT first on 9/3 at Holman Pass (mile 2636.5), and then at Windy Pass (mile 2628.2) by 9/9 as the fires worsened. We had been hoping they would quickly abate. But the fires were feeding off the dry conditions, and tagging the terminus in 2022 was looking increasingly unlikely.
In its update on 9/9, the PTC Association acknowledged how important tagging the border is for through-hikers. They provided an ‘official’ alternate route. Hikers could leave the PCT at Harts Pass and head over to the Billy Goat trailhead, some 19 miles due east of Harts Pass. The Billy Goat trail runs north and terminates at Park Pass near the U.S./Canada border. A forty mile round-trip. Perfect!
Dad didn’t see the post until the next morning, a Saturday. Perfect again – I wouldn’t have to miss school. Support Team A helped us pack our gear, and by early afternoon we were steaming toward Billy Goat trailhead.
We started hiking at about 7pm. The trail was beautiful despite the burnt trees. It opened our view, and we could see Birch Mountain as we wound up the spine of Billy Goat Mountain. The trail then dropped down to Drake Creek and the remote Pasayten Wilderness. It felt great to be there. Dad grew up hiking the Pasayten.
Our last view of the day was the smoke. It was in the distance when we started, but it seemed to roll in and settle on us as it got darker. We continued hiking with the help of our head-lamps and masks. Just before midnight, we rolled out our sleeping mats for our last sleep before the border. If I wasn’t so tired, I might have been a bit sad. This hike has been so awesome!
- Magnus!