My goal from the beginning was to complete the PCT by the time I was 70 years old in 2019. But that was not to be. For 3 seasons, 2017, 2018, 2019, I have been trying to hike the section from Etna Summit to Seiad. Fires had prevented me from finishing that particular section. So in 2020 I would once again attempt that section, the last one needed to complete the PCT.

I normally spend summers in Alaska on our sailboat, but due to Covid-19, unwilling to fly, I would spend the summer of 2020 at home in Port Townsend, WA. I decided to take advantage of the situation by hiking weekly in the Olympics, including two short backpacking trips, one to Buckhorn Pass and the other to La Crosse Basin. I was able to enjoy all the beautiful wildflowers in full bloom, a special treat, something I miss while hiking the Olympic fall, winter and spring.

The 2020 season would turn out to be a tough one for PCT Thru and Section hikers with the emergence of Covid-19. Fires in both California and Oregon would add another element to what had already turned into a dismal season. Wanting to finally "get 'er done" I was carefully watching the weather and fire alerts for the Marble Mountain Wilderness area. My partner Mark was ready to take off and support me on a seconds notice, once he had been able to return home from Alaska by road through Canada---a story in itself!.

Everything came together in mid-October and on Friday, October 14th we departed for Etna. After setting Mark up in the Indian Scotty FS campground outside Fort James, he took me up to Etna Summit on October 16th to begin my last section. I couldn't have asked for better weather.

The first 15 miles were mostly in previously burned areas while the smoke from the currently burning Salmon Creek fire, about 30 miles to the WSW, lingered in the background, reminding me that this was fire season. Campfires, which I don't make, and stoves, which I don't carry, were forbidden at this time on the trail. Campfires were even forbidden in the campground where Mark had set up camp. Yet further down the trail near the Marble Mountain Wilderness access trail heads, clearly signed No Fires, I was the only camper without a fire for the night!

I thought a lot about all the miles I had hiked, the hikers I had met, and my incredible experiences on the PCT. And now I only had 56 miles to complete the PCT. I have been a part of many hiker's journies over 9 years. On one of my day hikes to Mt. Townsend, I realized that I could see the Cascades from Oregon to the Canadian border, and I had hiked the entire range!

On the third day I began to first encounter other hikers, most doing the Sky High Lakes and Marble Valley of the Marble Mountain Wilderness. It was also the last day of the hunting season, and my camp that night was at Paradise Lake, the first camp I shared with hikers, hunters and campfires. A family of 6 were on a family outing and hunting trip, with 6 mules, 4 horses and a pony. But the setting was lovely with Kings Castle reflected in the lake.

It was 5.5 miles to Buckhorn Mountain, the last miles of trail that were debris free, before I would begin the 21 downhill miles into Seiad. Just before Buckhorn Mountain I had encountered a PCT hiker heading south, also on his last leg to finish the PCT, who described the trail ahead as an obstacle course, lots of downed trees and overgrown brush making the trail almost impassable. I have been hearing about this section of the trail over the last couple of years and had not been looking forward to the challenge. Let's just say that it took a lot of patience and energy to finish these last miles of the trail and not the best way to end my journey, but I got it done! I had finally completed the PCT!!!

I'd like once again to thank my partner Mark for all his support the last four years on my late summer/early fall hikes in Northern California.