Pacific Northwest Trail Overview
- Distance: 1,226 Miles
- Elevation: 205,000 feet
- Eastern Terminus: Chief Mountain, MT
- Western Terminus: Cape Alava, WA
- Seven Mountain Ranges
- Seven National Forests
- Three National Parks
- Six Wilderness Areas
The Pacific Northwest Trail was the first long distance trail that piqued my interest in thru hiking. In 2018 I was headed into the North Cascades National Park for a backpacking trip when I ran into a woman hiking the opposite direction. After the typical trail conversation ensued, I learned she was a thru-hiker nearly 800 miles into her hike of the PNT – a 1,200 mile National Scenic Trail that starts on the east side of Glacier National Park and finishes on the Washington Coast. I remember feeling a bit silly with my large backpack, boots, and random items swinging freely off the back of my pack in comparison to her. After returning from my trip and diving into research I learned that her look (a small backpack, trail runners, Hawaiian shirt, etc.) was very much a “look” in the thru hiking world.
Thru hiking to me wasn’t completely foreign as I grew up on the east coast not too far from the Appalachian Trail. I have memories of my dad giving the rest of our cliff bars to an AT thru hiker somewhere in Vermont. I quickly became familiar with parts of the nicely graded Pacific Crest Trail after moving to Seattle in 2017 and have certainly run into my fair share of dirty, tired, and happy hikers on it. However, the PNT was what caught my eye. I’m not sure if it was the remoteness, ruggedness, or simply the fact that few people have hiked it, but my thoughts kept returning to the PNT as I started spending more time in the mountains learning about backpacking. Finally, after 4 years I decided to break from my typical summer of dedicating most of my time to ultimate frisbee and attempt a thru hike. Instead of getting on the trail that I had been interested in for years, I decided to leave Seattle in May (a couple months before the PNT can be started) and attempt the Continental Divide Trail. After about 700 miles on the CDT, horrible altitude sickness in Colorado, a shockingly smooth flip to Glacier National Park, the tough decision to change trails, some scrambling with resupply boxes, and multiple hitches, I was standing at the Chief Mountain border crossing and the start of the Pacific Northwest Trail.
I had spent a few days in East Village, MT and I was itching to feel some forward movement. I was excited to start the PNT, but I was deeply disappointed about losing my motivation to complete the CDT. Standing at the start of the PNT marked the official end of my time on the CDT. It didn’t help that the eastern terminus of the PNT is a northern terminus of the CDT and a stark reminder of the choice I made. Nevertheless, The choice was made and I left the sign and headed West, taking my first steps on the Pacific Northwest Trail.