Feds warn not to cross Canada border on PCT

imported
#1

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jul/01/feds-issue-warnings-to-hikers/

End of an era folks - hike to the border, but don’t cross it, or go to jail…

daniel smith

#2

This doesn’t appear to affect thru-hikers, who traditionally cross from the US into Canada via trail, but return to the US by vehicle at a port of entry. Per the article, that’s all still okay, unless Canada is enforcing differently as well.

blisterfree

#3

Southbounders are now illegal.

Another ridiculous policy attempting to appeal to stupid, afraid citizens who vote. It doesn’t have to make any sense or achieve anything. It only has to make people feel validated for their hateful “values”. :mad

markv

#4

This has always been the policy. You can cross the border in to Canada with your Canada entry form that you get from the PCTA. When you return to the U.S. you must return via a port of entry. The problem is for southbounders. Are they not going to be allowed to enter from Manning Park anymore?

Doc Holiday

#5

Well, I have been planning my SOBO PCT hike from Manning Park thru Washington for many months and I am not going to let this stop me. I may get arrested and t hen again I may not. The question I have is what to SOBOs tell customs when they enter Canada. I suppose they are asked what they plan to do in Canada and how long they plan to stay. Do US customs agents say anything when SOBO’s enter Canada and tell them they are going to hike back into the US?

Rodney

#6

I guess the Border Patrol is on the lookup for Osama Bin Hiken.:boy

Mapmaker

#7

Let’s just keep the PCT in the USA now. Forget that noise about hiking into Canada. I am half-serious. It would not bother me terribly if I did not set foot in Canada. Is the terminus marker the only big thing those last few miles? Is there any cool scenery once you enter Canada?

Hiker2012

#8

I think the logistics for ending the hike is easier in Canada. It’s easier to get to Vancouver’s airport than Seattle’s.

bowlegs

#9

I looked at my logistics book on the PCT. The last resupply area in the US is 90 miles from the border at Stehekin. Is that the last roads crossed? I can relate to getting to transportation once then hike is over. So, how are the PCT thru-hikers going to be able to get to Monument 78 legally?

Hiker2012

#10

The highway crossing at Rainy Pass (hitch to Winthrop) is about 70 miles from the Canadian border. So Southbounders who want to stay legal can add an extra tough June 140 miles roundtrip, and some hitchhiking.

markv

#11

When I through hiked some years ago, I went to Monument 78 (from the south), and then hiked back to the North Cascades Highway via an old trail along Ross Lake. It was lovely. I think it added a couple days.

Michael

#12

That’s a good idea. Just keep in mind that camping in the North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake Rec Area is highly regulated now with an enforced permit system. My plan to stealth camp in there last year on my PNT hike was foiled by a ranger. Rangers will work with thru-hikers as best as they can (the guy who stopped me went way beyond the call of duty to find me a legal campsite), but you’ll need to call, write, or fax ahead for a permit.

Garlic

#13

Snipped this entry from the pct-l mailing list:

http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-July/039574.html

Hiker2012

#14

ah your not going to have a problem on the US side unless you actually get your ID run by a Border Patrol Agent, or are a little too tan and crossing through Arizona. I tagged the Canadian border last year on PCT, turned around and I think it was only 40 miles back to a dirt road that 3 of us were able to hitch after dark a hour long ride back to a nice little store, just off the main hwy that goes over Rainy Pass, next to Mike Weigles heli ski operation. There were a bunch of people at this pass camping 40 miles south of Canada. The three of us; me Hydro and Guts all felt that this was less of a hassle then going into Canada. Forgot the name of the road. But it wasnt an issue. Granted Canada would have been cool to check out, but at that point it would have been just a side trip really to the whole PCT.

Guino

#15

Again, this doesn’t affect nobos. What I’d like to know is whether Canada keeps track of who crosses into Canada in such a way that you’d eventually show up as having overstayed / gone awol by not properly crossing back via a legal border crossing checkpoint. And then do they share that info with US authorities, who are the only ones that seem to care in this case anyway. If none of that happens, then obviously many sobos will just tell Canadian authorities what they want to hear on their way north to start at Manning.

I guess we’ll find out once the first few rogue sobos report back.

oso grande

#16

As Guino said, it is easy enough to get to Hart’s pass (14 mile steep mostly one lane unpaved road from Mazama, WA) or even State Peak Lookout Tower (highest place one can drive in WA and close to the PCT). Last year this added less than two days and less than 35 miles to my hike. Of course this is my plan this year for my late (read after most the snow melts) sobo attempt. Last year I got an entry into Canada permit in case I had an emergency. Twice the photo op in some of the most beautiful scenery on the trail.

Personally I’m dismayed at the cavalier attitude and sense of entitlement that SOBO hikers seem to have about breaking US federal law.

Many wise and inadmissible NOBO hikers turn around at the border and hike back out rather than risk deportation at their expense as Canada has strict guidelines for entry–for example a DUI is a capitol offence in Canada and entry is not allowed without doing lots of paperwork and fine-paying.

lollygag

#17

To Hiker 2012: The trail terminus is on the border so an end to end thru hike of the PCT doesn’t require one to enter Canada or Mexico.

lollygag

#18

Personally I’m dismayed at the cavalier attitude and sense of entitlement that SOBO hikers seem to have about breaking US federal law.<<

Oh give it up. What kind of knee-jerk reaction did you honestly expect on an online trails forum in the immediate aftermath of what is obviously misguided policy making? But don’t worry. The system will beat everyone down into doting conformity and resignation soon enough. For now, spiritually, we rebel. Get over it.

oso grande

#19

to OSO NOT GRANDE

Actually this is not he immediate aftermath of new policy, it is the way the law has always been written and while I’m all for “When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free”, it is crap that holier than thou sobos give everyone hiking south a reputation for ignoring federal law.

Pissing off the entire PCT community doesn’t phase me, I’ve already done it with my position on keeping trail booty, so your “oh give it up…get over it” comment is falling on my deaf ears.

lollygag

#20

When the actions of other hikers diminish your own hike, it’s time to find a new trail or a new attitude.

PS - You’ve officially flamed me with your to-line.

oso grande