NO. 26 OF 26 · WASHINGTON · DAYS 128 TO 129 · 60.8 MILES TO THE BORDERPHOTO #2303 · DAY 129 · ROUTE: TRAIL LINE + STRAVA
DAY 128 · SEP 4, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 128: Rainy pass/Harts pass”
36.4 mi6,952 ft11:263.2 mph
trail mi 2576 · 1,629 ft1,629 to 6,827 ft
DAY 129 · SEP 5, 2021
“PCT day 129: CANADIAN BORDER”
24.4 mi3,556 ft7:563.1 mph
trail mi 2624 · 6,379 ft4,245 to 7,019 ft
60.8 miles to the border·2 days, September 2021·129 days start to finish·2:40 pm September 5Washington, leg 26 of 26
Stehekin to Canada via Harts Pass
The northern terminus at 2:40 pm on September 5. Then I turned around and walked back out.
By Jeffrey “Atlas” Combs · walked Sep 4–5, 2021 · published · updated
I left Stehekin and kept going. Day 128 was 36.4 miles through Rainy Pass and Harts Pass. The next day I walked 24.4 miles to the northern terminus.
I finished on September 5 at 2:40 pm. Day 129. I had walked from Mexico to Canada, plant based the whole way.
Quoted lines are from my 2021 logs, verbatim.
I couldn’t go into Canada because of the COVID restrictions, so I turned around and hiked back to Harts Pass. I recorded 11.1 miles after the finish on September 5, then 19.4 the next day.
“It was somethin pretty cool to hike back out and see all the peeps on their way to finish.” Afterward I wrote, “Well for once I don’t have to wake up and hike.”
For a trip now, the PCTA explains the current border rules. Canada discontinued the PCT entry permit program on January 31, 2025, and crossing the border on the trail is prohibited. Plan to turn back at the monument and walk about 30 miles south to Harts Pass, the way I did; the road out, Forest Road 5400, is dirt, fine for cars and closed to trailers. Check current closures before this leg. In 2026 the Ptarmigan Fire closed the trail from Methow Pass to the border from late July until September 9, and a second fire closed the approach to Stehekin into the fall.
Start // north of Stehekin, day 128
Finish // the border, September 5 at 2:40 pm
To the border // 60.8 miles across days 128 and 129
Return // 30.5 miles, September 5 and 6
Day by day
11 frames from these 2 daysDay 128 · Sep 4
Rainy pass/Harts pass
36.4 miles tracked
#2280 a North Cascades valley, day 128 · photo #2280 · #2284 North Cascades peaks, day 128 · photo #2284 · #2287 the ridge trail, day 128 · photo #2287 · #2290 above red peaks, day 128 · photo #2290 · #2296 the Harts Pass and border trail sign, day 128 · photo #2296
Day 129 · Sep 5
flip from border / CANADIAN BORDER
24.4 miles to the border; 11.1 miles back out
#2303 above the last ridges, day 129 · photo #2303 · #2309 the northern terminus, day 129 · photo #2309 · #2315 at the monument, day 129 · photo #2315 · #2323 on top of the monument, day 129 · photo #2323 · #2326 the terminus clearing, day 129 · photo #2326 · #2331 evening over the ridges, day 129 · photo #2331
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The food, then and now
Stehekin was my last town stop. I don’t remember the exact food I packed for the finish and the walk back to Harts Pass.
Carry food for the way out too. The PCTA’s northern terminus transport page lays out the US exit options. Stehekin’s current food services are limited, according to NPS; check them before planning your last resupply. Checked October 8, 2026.
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