Are you preparing to hike 2,650 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail from the U.S.-Mexico border to Canada via Oregon and Washington? Get ready to spin around.
The Canada Border Services Agency formally ended a long-standing practice on Monday by announcing that it will no longer grant permits allowing hikers to enter British Columbia’s E.C. Manning Provincial Park from Washington’s Pasayten Wilderness. Hikers now have to travel 30 miles back to Hart’s Pass, outside Mazama, to reach civilization, rather than continuing 8 miles north from the border to Manning Park Resort and the closest road (where, presumably, a transport home awaits).
The proposed change, according to an agency spokesman, was being considered prior to the U.S. presidential election and would bring Canadian policy into line with the long-standing U.S. regulation that forbids southbound hikers from entering Washington.
According to the Pacific Crest Trail Association, 700 persons finished the long-distance trail in 2024. Most people would rather go through to Manning Park than back to Hart’s Pass, according to trail information manager Jack Haskel.
According to him, most individuals choose to enter Canada rather than go back if the weather is favorable and the skies are clear.
Five weeks after the Canadian government unveiled a $900 million border security strategy, the action was taken. Along its southern border, Canada has already placed 60 new drones and plans to put more surveillance towers, X-ray machines, and portable chemical analyzers in the future.
According to the spokesperson’s email, the CBSA is collaborating with its partners to enhance public safety and national security at our borders. We work in a dynamic environment and conduct frequent assessments of our operations and programs to make sure we fulfill our mission to effectively and efficiently administer a secure border.
The decision is being accepted by PCT thru-hikers, who already have to prepare for challenges like heavy snow and wildfires, train for physical hardship, and organize the logistics of resupply on a multi-month trek. Some people view the additional thirty miles of hiking through the North Cascades as a victory lap, an opportunity to give hikers who are still trudging north a high five.
Amelia Ehrens, a resident of Ruston, was given a preview of the change in November when her application for a border-crossing visa for this year was denied without providing an explanation. She was excited to complete her trip by crossing the border, but now that the new policy is in place, she doesn’t have to worry about the complications of returning to Washington from E.C. Manning Provincial Park.
Because you’re basically walking across the entire country and ending at the border of another country, I thought that was a pretty cool idea, she added. It was good to have that trust to simply cross the border without anyone looking, but I can totally understand why, particularly if you can’t enter the United States from Canada. It’s reasonable.
Haskel, who climbed the PCT northbound in 2006, said the decision is a disappointing development for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
He stated that for many people, the chance to enter Canada has been a treasured aspect of the trip for many years. The last steps into Canada on my trek across America added to my sense of accomplishment and closure while also adding to my confusion at reentering society in a foreign country.
During the height of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 and early 2021, when Canada banned unnecessary cross-border travel, thru-hikers were also prevented from completing the PCT in British Columbia.
An increased number of hikers entering Mazama, the nearest American town to the Northern Terminus, is one unintended consequence of the regulation change.
Mary LaVerne Garber-Williams, a volunteer trail angel, will be prepared to greet hikers at Lion’s Den, her 2-acre property that she has been using for the past three PCT seasons. Thru-hikers are welcome to set up their tent and use her hiker’s hut, which has a living room, kitchen, and shower. She also does washing and donates the entire business to more than 1,500 trekkers each year.
She expects significantly more traffic this year because everyone who gets it to the end turns around in 2025.
She said, “I know it’s going to be extra busy.”
The Seattle Times, 2025. Check out SeattleTimes.com. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
