Help - need a new PCT reroute to Rainy Pass

[ghsmith76]

Just came off Spider Gap Buck Creek loop, which was fabulous. However I was planning to go from Stevens Pass to Canada on PCT with re supply at Stehekim, but fires prevent that. I'm getting my re supply today with transportation somewhere tomorrow to backpack the rest of August. I would still like to incorporate the last segment of the PCT starting at Rainy Pass but I need another aprox. 100 mile segment on the front or back end. I need to tell my wife where to send my re supply. This is tough to figure out with an iPhone in unfamiliar territory. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to backpack the rest of August at about a 10 mile per day clip.

[drm]

I don't think there is an alternative hiking route between Suiattle Pass and Rainy Pass. But if you're looking for some alternative after getting shuttled, you might look at the South Pass or Twisp Pass area, which I think can connect into Rainy Pass.

[ghsmith76]

A hiker on the trail mentioned an option of looping back from Manning Park to Mazama. Does that offer possibilities if I re supplied at Manning Park?

[Grannyhiker]

You can't return from Manning Park to the USA via trail. Crossing the border into the US from Canada is now allowed only at established border crossing stations. Entering the US via the PCT (which is remotely monitored) can cost $5,000 fine and a year in jail. From the PCTA: http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/ ... n-the-pct/ Just another hardship imposed in the years since 9/11.

I'd suggest two separate hikes. Hike the PCT to Manning Park, return to the US via bus/train (be sure to have your passport, needed to get back into the US), pick up your resupply and go somewhere else for the rest of your time. Does it have to be the PCT? Have you done the Snoqualmie to Stevens section yet? Had you considered a portion of the Pacific Northwest Trail, which you'll cross just south of the Canadian Border? http://www.pnt.org You could hike the PCT north to the border, turn around and hike back to the PNT and go either east (to the Pasayten) or west (to Hannegan Pass). I'm not sure where you'd resupply; maybe the Ross Lake Resort (where you'll need to take a water taxi to the Big Beaver Trailhead if you're going west).

[retired jerry]

I wonder what would happen if you hiked out of U.S., then came back via bus, without a passport

You'de be stuck there at border crossing forever? Have to live in Canada?

[Grannyhiker]

I always wondered that, too! You'd be the man/woman/person without a country?

[retired jerry]

would they give you food and a place to sleep? That might be good for someone that couldn't afford that

[ghsmith76]

I have decided to go south from Stevens Pass, re supply at Snoqualmie, then go to White Pass.

[drm]

I wonder what would happen if you hiked out of U.S., then came back via bus, without a passport

You would have to go to a US consulate (presumably in Vancouver) and get a new passport there. Same thing for people whose passports get stolen, which happened to me once at a train station in Belgium. That was a decade ago and I think it cost me $80 then. It was quick because I had my passport number with me, which is recommended for all travelers abroad, and I was already in a capital city that had a full-service embassy. Or give a copy of your passport to family at home and the passport office will call them to get the details.