#fire closures

In early September, the Pacific Crest Trail north of Harts Pass closed due to fires on both sides of the border. Harts Pass lies just thirty miles from the Northern terminus of the PCT. For so many this is a bitter end in their endeavor to complete the PCT in 2022. It is possible that the trail could re-open but when is anyone's guess. Conditions in the North Cascades have taken a late summer turn rather suddenly.

Many believed this year might allow some respite from the past smoke filled years. The mountains received late winter snows and a wet spring followed. Apparently this was not enough. Sadly it appears that for many Harts Pass will be the northern terminus this season.

Following is the news release from the US Forest Service:

Release Date: Sep 8, 2022

Increased fire activity on some of the lightning caused fires, burning in the very remote, steep, and inaccessible terrain in the northwest corner of the Pasayten Wilderness Area, spurred trail and area closures over the holiday weekend. Hot, dry, and windy conditions are expected today as a trough moves into the area which is expected to create conditions for increased fire behavior. The Shull, The Parks, Kid, Three Fools, Skagit, and Elbow fires, located near the Canadian-U.S border, are expected to grow in acreage today.

In a joint delegation with the National Park Service, a National Incident Management Organization Team, NIMO Team 2, assumed command yesterday over the six fires now being called the NW Pasayten Fires, located in the Pasayten Wilderness on the Methow Valley Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, as well as the Chilliwack Complex Fires within the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.

A number of closures are in effect including an area closure for the Freezeout Creek basin and a number of trails and portions of trails in the area. Portions of both the Pacific Crest Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail remain closed at this time.

Currently, there is no reroute in place for hikers. In a post, the PCTA reminded hikers not to cross into Canada on alternate trails, which is a violation of Canadian law and could result in deportation and a ban from the country; instead, they should exit the trail at Harts Pass at mile 2623. 

The closure is a blow for northbounders, who make up about 90% of thru-hikers on the PCT. The northern reaches of the trail often see significant snow in late September or early October, making travel considerably more difficult. In an email, Scott Wilkinson, Content Development Director for the PCTA, called the closure “totally indefinite” and noted that what happens will likely depend on how the fire north of the border behaves.

Major wildfires have become an annual feature of hiking on the PCT, necessitating closures and reroutes that have forced some hikers onto roads, convinced others to skip sections of the trail, and driven others off the trail entirely. Currently, another 24.7-mile section of trail is closed in Oregon; fires had previously closed other parts of the trail in Oregon and northern California this year.

“What do you fear, lady?” he asked. “A cage,” she said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

After experiencing years of unexplained health issues, thru-hiker Kelly Weintraub was diagnosed with Lyme disease in June 2014 and Bartonella in April 2015. “Living with chronic illness,” she notes, “often means living behind bars, unable to pursue dreams or even participate in the activities of daily life. I chose to write under the name Eowyn because the character, and in particular the above quote, resonated with me when I was sick.”

What a testimony to her courage to bust out of her cage and walk the PCT.  The photos above are from late August.  The top photo is looking back at Rosary Lakes with Odell Lake in the distance. The bottom left photo show beautiful Mt. Jefferson. And the bottom right shows the trail closure at Minto Pass that forced Kelly (and others) to do some road walking.

They decided to walk the Calendar Year Triple Crown . . . walking the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the PCT in a single calendar year. They started at the southern terminus of the AT on January 1, 2021 and finished on October 22 at Etna Summit in Northern California.

Following their beginning at Springer Mountain in Georgia, Parell and Potter bounced between trails over the next 295 days in order to chase the best conditions. When the snow became too deep on the AT in February, they transferred to the CDT in New Mexico, and shortly after started southbound on the PCT in Kennedy Meadows, CA. After reaching the Mexican border on the PCT, they traveled east to finish up the northern portion of the AT. The rest of the CDT followed, and finally, Potter and Parell ended their journey on that northern stretch of the PCT. Why there you might ask? And, how'd it go? We refer to their recent Instagram post for the explanation:

THE LAST 40 MILES OF THE CYTC... are different than we expected! But maybe we should’ve seen that coming? Earlier this year (July 5th), while hiking northbound on the PCT, we had to go AROUND a 39.4 mile stretch of trail in Northern California between Scott Mountain Summit trailhead to Etna Summit trailhead due to a fire that shut down the section. That story itself warrants its own post (spoiler: we had to run from an oncoming wall of smoke), but essentially, that meant we “skipped” 40 miles of trail. Obviously, that’s not gonna cut it for a Calendar Year Triple Crown, so to connect our foot steps, thus completing our thru hike of the PCT (and thus of the entire CYTC), we knew we would have to come back and complete that section. Buuuuuut as luck would have it, that section of trail is now CLOSED once again for a totally different fire!! So what does this mean? We’re finishing with a road walk to put the final piece of the puzzle in, creating a continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada on the PCT. A bizarre ending to an even more bizarre journey.