September 26, 2023
We completed hiking the Northern Washington Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), arriving at the Canadian border on August 6 of this year. When we reached the northern terminus of the trail it was a real high point for us after dreaming about it for seven years. Upon reaching Canada, we had completed 98.4% of the 2,650-mile trail, with only 42.7 miles to go.
Even though we had hiked more of the PCT than many thru hikers, who cannot necessarily complete the entire distance due to closures that come up each year, we still felt a nagging urge to walk every mile. It was what we had intended when we first began trekking north on our thru hiking attempt back in 2016.
Our remaining distance was originally included in our 2021 PCT Sierra Nevada trek. However, after 20 days of hiking that year, we left the trail due to the smoke from the Dixie Fire. Since we only had 42 miles to go, we tried to schedule it later in 2021 and in late September of 2022. But both times fires made it impossible to hike.
With the historic snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this year, our hope was that fires wouldn’t be such an issue. We only needed to wait for all the snow to melt and hope there was a good weather window before the hiking season ended. As soon as we completed our Washington trek, we checked the conditions to see if we could complete the section on the way home. But there was still snow on the most treacherous portion of the trail, so it was a no-go. That snow held on until the end of August.
We had some other plans, so our next window of opportunity was in mid-September. With the snow gone, we began to check the weather forecast to try to time our trek for the most favorable conditions. An opportunity opened up the third week of the month. Since we live within a day’s drive of the remaining distance, we went ahead and made hotel reservations and secured an online permit.
We have hiked every mile of the PCT heading north, but the logistics of this trek made it easier to hike this section in a southern direction. Ebbetts Pass, where we left the trail in 2021, is in a very remote area, as we experienced first-hand when we tried to hitch a ride from the trail. It made sense to park our car at its trailhead and hike to it. And we could also easily Uber to the beginning of the trail in South Lake Tahoe.
After calling the National Forest office in the Ebbetts Pass area to verify that we could leave our car in the parking lot for several days, we reserved a rental in South Lake Tahoe to drop our car off at the trailhead.
Our route south from Echo Summit (U.S. Highway 50) to Ebbetts Pass
On a Thursday we drove about eight hours from our Palm Desert, California home to South Lake Tahoe. It was a clear, cool day and the route mainly took us along US Highway 395, which runs along the Eastern Sierra Nevada range and adjacent to our 2021 trek. We had beautiful views of the mountains and reflected on many of the places we had hiked along that section of the PCT.
The city of South Lake Tahoe is located on the California side of Lake Tahoe, which is the largest alpine lake in North America. The lake is about 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. It is also the second deepest lake (1,645 feet) in the United States, after Crater Lake in Oregon. After checking into our hotel in the late afternoon, we walked a couple of blocks to the lake. It was very windy and cold, so we sat for just a short while to admire it before heading off to dinner at a local brewery.
Dropping Our Car off and Beginning Our Hike in High Elevation
Before we began trekking our final 42 miles of the PCT, we spent the next morning caravaning our car and a rental to the Ebbetts Pass trailhead, where we planned to finish hiking in four days’ time. We covered the 100-mile round trip in about three hours.
Sign to the Ebbetts Pass trailhead parking lot; leaving our car to hike to in four days’ time.
After returning the rental car in South Lake Tahoe, we took an Uber for about 10 miles to where the PCT crosses US Highway 50. In 2016 we began hiking north from here when we skipped 290 miles of the Sierra Nevada Mountains due to snow and high river crossings. Now we began trekking in the opposite (southern) direction at about 12:30 pm. As we set off, we were also hiking on the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), which is a 165-mile loop around Lake Tahoe. It shares a trail with 49 miles of the PCT.
The first couple of miles took us through damage from the 2021 Caldor Fire before moving into a pristine pine forest.
Although we spent the previous night in South Lake Tahoe to acclimate to the altitude, we both really felt the elevation as we began ascending from our starting point at 7,241 feet. Almost our entire 8.8-mile stage was a steady climb, with some of the ascents on steep, rocky steps.
Steep and rocky climbing on the trail
The weather was in the 50s F and clear. However, hiking south meant the full sun was in our faces, making some of the climbs feel even warmer. Several times we stopped to catch our breath.
When we took our first water break a couple of miles in, we had issues with our primary filter, but eventually got our backup filter to work after some troubleshooting. This made for a long break, so we were anxious to start up again. A flat section through Bryan Meadow provided a short respite from the climbing.
As we completed our last ascent of the day to about 9,000 feet, we had views of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains.
At about 5:45 pm we finally reached beautiful Showers Lake at 8,638 feet. While preparing dinner, we also had problems lighting our stove. Eventually, we were able to cook our dinner and get things set up just before it began to get dark. Even though we had seen other PCT hikers on the trail, we were surprised to be camping almost alone at this popular spot.
Satisfied with our first day, we settled into our tent for a chilly night with the forecasted temperatures in the 30s F.
Reaching Carson Pass and a Series of Beautiful Lakes
It had been cold at night, but we slept pretty well. When we left the tent in the morning we had a nice view of the lake in the early morning sun.
Since we had planned a fairly leisurely schedule, we weren’t in a huge hurry to break camp in the morning. So we enjoyed a hot breakfast before packing up and beginning our hiking day.
As we continued hiking south on the PCT, we noticed some frost and pockets of ice on the trail, confirming the near freezing temperatures we experienced during the night.
The first few miles were downhill, which was a nice change after all the uphill of the previous stage. We entered Meiss Meadow at the southern intersection of the Tahoe Rim Trail and the PCT. The TRT split here to continue its loop around Lake Tahoe, and we proceeded south.
Located in the meadow is the Meiss Family Ranch. In 1878 Louis Meiss purchased 1,000 acres of land and built a cabin and barn for his wife and 10 children. It was bought in 1966 by the National Forest Service.
Later, we began climbing toward Carson Pass. We began to see day hikers and deer hunters as we ascended.
As we hiked we came across many trees, including several types of pines and quaking aspens. Occasionally we would see large cedar trees on the trail.
Right before noon we crossed a paved road at Carson Pass, named after frontiersman and guide Kit Carson. Being a Saturday, the area was busy with more day hikers and weekend backpackers.
We entered the Mokelumne (Moo-ka-la-mi) Wilderness, one of the 48 Wilderness Areas that the PCT passes through.
The path began traversing through a series of beautiful lakes.
After another ascent we came to Lost Lakes, where we planned to stop for the night. It was only 3:30 pm, and the area was crowded with local campers. Instead of looking for a campsite, we decided to break for an early dinner and filter enough water to dry camp (with no water source) further down the trail.
Back on the PCT after an hour break, we continued for 2.8 more miles, climbing up another 500 feet to a ridge at 9,000 feet with several lakes below us. Unfortunately, some of our views were muted by smoky haze from fires in Northern California and Southern Oregon.
Making the climb up to the ridge after leaving Lost Lakes
We found a wonderful campsite at about 8,500 feet with views of the setting sun. Our total miles were 15.1 for the day.
Trekking through a Subalpine Area and Choosing Our Last PCT Camping Spot
On our third day of trekking we woke to another cool day with clear skies. With only 18.8 miles remaining to complete the entire PCT, we decided to hike most of the distance during this stage, leaving just a few miles for our final half day. The morning started out with a series of gentle ascents and descents through some nice forest and scenic lakes.
We took a long break at about four miles into our 13.7-mile stage at Lily Pad Lake. As there were just a few other hikers in this section, we enjoyed the peaceful view and solitude while sitting beside the water.
As we continued south, we had to be more selective with our water sources. There was algal bloom in some of the lakes and streams that can contain harmful toxins and make us sick. The PCT crowdsourced app was a great resource on the condition of upcoming water sources.
In the afternoon we reached a subalpine section of trail, where the terrain turned stark and barren. After the forest it seemed otherworldly to us.
Hiking through the stark subalpine section of the PCT
The path climbed along a ridge, with a few narrow sections and steep drop offs to navigate. This was the treacherous trail that could be dangerous with snow and had influenced our decision to ensure it had melted before scheduling our trek.
After reaching the top of the climb, we had nice views looking back at our progress during the last couple of days.
Descending into some trees, we stopped at Pennsylvania Creek to make dinner before climbing 1.8 miles further to a dry camp just before Eagle Creek.
The app had described several nice sites tucked into the trees. As it had become very windy that afternoon, we looked forward to sheltering our tent away from any open areas. When we arrived at the camp, most of the sites were on a slant. So we had to take some time to find the best option for the night.
In the end, we found a sheltered site, but with more slant than we would have liked. It was not optimal for our last night of camping on the PCT, but we made the best of it. At least our camp was located within a beautiful amphitheater of scenic rocky crags.
A Golden Hour Start and an Emotional Final Day of PCT Hiking
The wind became stronger after sunset. Even with our sheltered location, we had a restless night, as strong gusts shook the tent many times. As we packed up, we were treated to a “golden hour” of beautiful warm sunlight on the craggy mountains around us.
With only 5.1 miles to go, we took our time packing up and enjoying our final breakfast on the trail.
There were just a few climbs to go, and we savored the views as the path traversed through forest and past a few more lakes.
We had not seen any wildlife during our first three days of hiking, but had two different morning deer sightings as we walked.
Deer sightings during our final morning of hiking
When we began our PCT trek in 2016, we took a picture at an iconic sign located at the one-mile point from the Mexican border. With about one mile to go on our trek, we stopped to capture a photo to mark that milestone on this trail that had been such a big part of our lives for the past seven years.
Soon after, the path began descending toward California State Route 4. We caught a glimpse of the road with about a 1/2 mile left on our stage. As soon as the highway came into view, we both became emotional and had to stop. I began to cry. I had mixed emotions of joy at our accomplishment and sadness that the hiking was coming to an end. We had spent 182 days hiking the 2,650-mile trail, and it was finally coming to a close.
After crossing the highway, we hiked a little further to the Ebbetts Pass trailhead turnoff to the parking lot. This was “the” sign where we left the PCT in August 2021, due to smoke from the Dixie Fire. And it was where we ended our PCT adventure seven years after beginning our hike in April 2016!
Leaving the PCT at the Ebbetts Pass trailhead sign on August 6, 2021; Finishing the PCT on September 25, 2023
After taking some photos, we got into our car and drove two-and-a-half hours to Mammoth Lakes, California for a couple of days of relaxation and celebration before heading home.
In 2016 we had set off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in one year. After leaving due to injury and weight loss, it took us four non-consecutive years of hiking over seven years to finally complete the trail. For each time we actually completed miles, we had other instances where we had to abort our plans due to fire, floods, pandemic, and injuries. So we not only celebrated the actual physical accomplishment of finishing the trail, but our perseverance toward our goal.
Our breakdown by year is as follows. In total, we gained and lost about 480,000 feet each as we trekked from Mexico to Canada.
| Section | Distance |
|---|---|
| 2016 Pacific Crest Trail in California and all of Oregon | 1,828.5 miles |
| 2019 Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California | 26.0 miles |
| 2019 Pacific Crest Trail in Southern and Central Washington | 317.4 miles |
| 2021 Pacific Crest Trail in California Sierra Nevada | 247.2 miles |
| 2023 Pacific Crest Trail in Northern Washington | 188.3 miles |
| 2023 Pacific Crest Trail in California Sierra Nevada | 42.7 miles |
| Total Pacific Crest Trail Distance | 2,650.1 miles |
As is our practice when we are off the grid, we used our satellite communicator device to transmit our location once or twice a day so that our family members would know we were alright.
Our Garmin inReach locations along the trek from South Lake Tahoe to Ebbetts Pass
Trekking the Pacific Crest Trail was life changing for both of us and something that we will never forget! Thanks so much to everyone for their support through all our ups and downs during this long journey!