These are the last steps I will take on the PCT. It’s a very strange feeling, knowing that when I get to town today, there’s no resupply to do, and no trail calling me. I met a weekend hiker yesterday who was on his way to Seattle in a few days and had space for me. He was just ahead of me for most of the morning as I hiked out to Hart’s Pass. I got to the trailhead around noon, and then to Lion’s Den just a couple of hours later. The plan was to spend a couple of nights here before heading to Seattle next.

This morning when I woke up, everything was covered in frost. As expected, freezing mist had rolled through camp last night. I’d used extra tent stakes to pin the edges of my fly closer to the ground and prevent the mist from blowing through my tent. I had breakfast and coffee, and hung out with Avocado before packing up and heading south.

Mist continued to roll through the forest and over the passes as I headed south. The trail rose above the mist at times, revealing a beautiful landscape under bluebird skies. I walked through misty passes and over clear ridges for several hours before breaking through to ridge tops in full sunshine.

I spent the rest of the morning walking in perfect conditions, hoping that the weather would stay that way long enough for the others on their way to the northern terminus. My ride to town, Dave, told me that the road down to the second car park was too rough for his small car with a passenger. We agreed to meet at that car park after I walked the last piece of trail. Dave took my pack in his car though, and I was able to spend my last steps on the PCT running down the trail with no weight on my back, it felt like I was flying down the trail alongside the road.

At the second car park, I rejoined with Dave and he drove me to Lion’s Den in Mazama. Lion’s Den provides hikers with a soft landing after leaving trail, and I can’t recommend enough that every hiker coming off the PCT spend at least a little while here after finishing the trail.. I was able to put my tent up out the back of the house, catch up with other hikers, and decompress a little bit before heading into the city.