OUR REINTRODUCTION INTO THE WILD

I have to say I have been procrastinating on writing this last blog about our PCT hike ever since we finished the trail. There seems to be an air of finality in typing out the words and hitting the send button that I have just not been able to make myself do until now. Don't get me wrong I am so happy to be finished with the trail and to be able to wake up in the morning and know that today I don't have to walk 30 miles, but I would be an absolute liar if I said that I didn't miss the absolute simplicity of waking up in the morning surrounded by untouched beauty that cannot be seen without venturing into the wilderness and knowing that for that day all we have to day is head North.
We are sitting in Kristi's favorite place in Downtown Portland, Powell's bookstore, watching the world go by on this busy street corner. The scenery and people are quite a bit different here than on the trail, but I am lucky in that it does not seem that difficult for a long haired dirty male with a scraggly beard to blend in here in Portland. This is our 5th major stop since finishing the trail 11 days ago. I give huge thanks to Kristi's parents Bill "Eagle Eye" Kose (the man can spot a moose from 500yds while driving at 100 kph) and Kay "The Blonde Brownie" (taste one of her delicious desserts and you will understand the trail name) for not just taking us to see Banff, Lake Louise, and Vancouver but also for feeding us (this was no small feat), clothing us which allowed us to burn our soiled hiker clothes, and giving us shelter that we did not have to stake down. You guys are amazing and no doubt the most generous loving trail angels on the PCT.
Kristi and I left Canada a few days ago to head to Seattle for the night and dodge thrown fish at Pike's place and then boarded the longest train ride possible to Portland to reunite with our first trail angel Juli who has taken us for the week.
I am still wandering along shrouded in disbelief that our journey of 160 days and 2,670 miles is now over. We skipped into the scene that is pictured over a week ago to the sound of yells of fellow thru hikers and the worst rendition of the Rocky theme song that I have ever heard as we crossed from the US through the massive clear cut that marks the border into Canada. I think that the elation that encapsulated us at the end of our journey was equal to the feelings of joy that were felt at the beginning. Ever since that moment I have been trying my hardest to look back at the naive person who started walking from CA months ago, and I am in awe at all of the vistas we experienced, all of the truly amazing people we met, and the changes that have taken place in both Kristi and I.  I am sure that some of these changes are realized now and some will take a significant amount of time to surface at least to our eyes. So many lessons have been learned from the trail and my main hope is that they don't fade away into the noise as we are released back into the wild of society.
When we started out walking down that dusty desert path over 5 months ago my main aspiration was that a light that once burned passionately in me would be rekindled as we broke away from the norm and did something that so few wanted to do or thought could be done. Sitting here today I cannot say that a drastic change has swept over me, but I know that I am not the same person that started out walking down that trail. My worries are different and at this point almost non existent, my hopes don't seem to be bridled by any set of rules anymore, and I now have a new place that I know I can go whenever I need to get away from it all.  Believe it or not I think it was an 8 year old who summed up the best reason for doing the trail. He said the reason he liked hiking the PCT was for the freedom. I have to say that I agree with him. The freedom that you feel walking through lands that few have seen with everything you need sitting snuggly on your back looking out at sights that will forever be burned into your mind is something that I believe I will take with me forever. I honestly believe that after that much time in the woods we are now connected. We are one. A part of me longs to be back there, but I am so happy to be able to see our family and friends.
I know that I am going to do a poor job of answering a question we have received several times since coming back to civilization and that is What's next? For now Turtle and I are trying to figure out where to land and I am sure that soon some other adventure will take us away. There is still the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, The Arizona Trail, The Colorado Trail, all of Alaska, and that's only the US. Who knows where it will be. Hopefully it won't be that long until we find out. Anyway thanks for reading, thanks for writing us, and thank you for all the hope you sent our way. Until the next adventure.

Finally, here is the best reason to be off the trail. This is a picture from Rainy Pass which is about 80 miles from the end of the trail. Believe it or not this picture was taken almost a week ago by some friends of ours who are still out there. They had a foot of snow fall in almost a day and another foot is still on the way. Believe it or not there are still about 20 more crazy hikers still out there. There is a saying on the PCT that the last Thru Hiker Wins. I will leave that one up for debate. We are both pretty happy with almost winning.

Thank you all so much for coming with us on this journey. Your support and encouragement was much needed and appreciated. I guess it's time to say goodbye to this adventure. Though needed, closure isn't always easy and going from the trail to civilized life certainly has its challenges....and perks as well. Hot showers, beds, and food that I do not have to carry on my back are my favorite things now. But I will miss our solitude, the amazing scenery, those incredibly generous people called angels, and our new "family" of fellow hikers. Mostly, though, I'll miss what hiking the PCT has come to mean to me- doing and believing something much larger than myself. So.... I guess it really isn't just walking after all. Love and gratitude,
Kristi aka Snow Turtle

The view from our last lunch spot on the trail. Hell yes that was Canada we were looking at.

One of our water sources in the last couple weeks. Everything began freezing as the temps started dropping to the 20s at night in Northern Washington.

Hart's Pass

Turtle leaving Glacier Pass. She is the small do in the left hand corner of the picture.

The Northern Cascades after Rainy Pass.

Stehekin was the only possible town stop for the last couple hundred miles in Washington. The only way to get to Stehekin was by foot, horse, boat, or Sea Plane. Even though it was truly in the middle of nowhere it had everything a growing hiker needs.

Turtle with Glacier Peak in the distance.

Surrounded by the blood red leaves of huckleberry bushes in Glacier Peak Wilderness.

One of my favorite pictures from the trail. This is sunrise with the full moon in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Walking through a boulder field in Washington.

So what did it look like whenever we started hiking in the morning? This is a picture of Turtle behind me. What you can't see her. That white light is her headlamp on the side of the mountain we were climbing.

Leaving Steven's Pass

Oops-- meant to attach this pic of the Monument at the Northern Terminus of the PCT. Oh Wow!!! We're done!!

After 5 months, 7 days, 2660 plus miles, 5 pair of shoes, 15 to 20 lbs lost, and more life experience than can be remembered, we found the finish line. Ending on October 7 th, I apologize for the delay in wrapping up our adventure as we have only just made it back to the States. A huge huge Thank You to my parents for the whirlwind tour of BC and for coming out to celebrate. You are better than the best and I love you the most! More pics of our final days and final thoughts coming soon...