We started from the official beginning of the Boundary Trail at the Iron Gate Trailhead, 20 miles northwest from Loomis, WA, before meeting up with the Pacific Northwest Trail near Horseshoe Meadow, 6.5 miles away. The section we chose is nestled in Washington's Pasayten Wilderness, just on the other side of the Cascade Range’s rainshadow and east of North Cascades National Park. Having both hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014, we’d experienced a heavy wanderlust beginning to creep back into our day-to-days, so we decided to try out a section of one of the lesser known National Scenic Routes. We were camped near Cathedral Lake on September 1, at mile 26 of the Boundary Trail, an 80-mile, 6-day section of the larger Pacific Northwest Trail that stretches 1,200-miles from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Olympic Coast in Washington State. This will bring the mileage difference to 2.1 more miles than the Primary PNT route.“Has it ever snowed on your birthday before?” In order to put forth an equal effort I will be starting my timer from the Lake Ozette connecting trail before the PNT begins to add 3.1 miles as well as hike around the Quillayute River instead of taking a boat ride across it to add an additional 5.1 miles (8.2 total additional miles). Total mileage difference with closures = 6.1 shorter Hay Creek Fire (43.8 miles on reroute vs 47.2 on Primary Route = 3.4 shorter) (5.2 miles on reroute vs 13.5 on Primary Route = 8.3 shorter)Ħ. Wildfire closure west of Lookout Mountain. Bonaparte Mtn Fires closure: (32.4 on reroute vs 29 on Primary Route = 3.4 miles longer)ĥ. Chopaka Rd Closure (11.1 miles on reroute vs 9.3 on Primary Route = 1.8 longer)Ĥ. Timber Harvest closure on Mt Josephine (3.7 on reroute vs 4.2 on Primary Route = 0.5 shorter)ģ. Undi Rd Closure near Olympic National Park (2.2 on reroute vs 1.3 on Primary Route = 0.9 longer)Ģ. Some of these reroutes are longer, a couple are shorter.ġ. There are currently several closures (some of which have been there for several years) on the PNT that the PNTA has suggested reroutes for that I’ll be following so I don’t end up dying in a mudslide, forest fire, or get shot by a tree farmer. Good ol tax dollars being used wisely by the super efficient government again I suppose.) I will be following the “primary route” as suggested by the PNTA, as some sections of the “congressional route” were decommissioned in the 90’s (even though it was designated by congress in the 2009 - the PNTA has no clue why they signed off on decommissioned areas. When initially mapping out the route I noticed differences in different maps so I called the PNTA to confirm the primary route they suggest. The PNT is unique in that there’s a “congressional”, a “primary” as suggested by the PNT, and various “alternate” routes. I will submit trail notes and photos after completion. You can follow along here if you want: /nickfowler I’ll be starting a self-supported FKT attempt on the Pacific Northwest Trail beginning Monday morning 8/23/21, headed eastbound. Also, the Pacific Northwest Trail Association deserves recognition for continuing to improve the trail and advocating preservation of these wild places. This east-west connector has been used in the Great Western Loop and as part of the Sea-to-Sea Route.Ī special note should be made for Ron Strickland who has been making his dream of this trail a reality for over 40 years. The PNT connects two other National Scenic Trails, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. West Terminus: Cape Alava, Olympic NP, WAĮast Terminus: Chief Mountain TH, Glacier NP, MT Rainforest to high desert, ocean to alpine this trail travels through many gems of the upper left corner of the U.S. The trails traverses three National Parks: Olympic, North Cascade, and Glacier as well as seven national forests. Being one of the youngest National Trails, it can be quite rugged and challenging. Over 1200 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Washington to the Continental Divide in Montana, the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail travels through diverse ecosystems.
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