We did it. We finished. Granted, it wasn’t quite the finish I’d imagined, but the fact that we reached Canada after 6 months and over 2500 miles is what ultimately matters. What happened is this:

The big storm from earlier this week dumped a lot of snow. The mountains in Glacier turned a pristine white, and just the mere sight promised deep drifts, wet and difficult days, and cold nights. To complicate matters, we only had a four day window since another big snowstorm was set to hit Saturday. There simply wasn’t enough time to try and make it through the mountains. We came up with a plan that involved roadwalking most of the way, with the last 26 or so miles on trail.

We weren’t the only ones. The storm created a small bubble of hikers who had holed up during the bad weather, and were setting out to finish. Many had the same idea as us, and we found ourselves hiking the road with six others. We were still treated to gorgeous views of snowy peaks and brilliant fall colors, only from the relative comfort of the road.

The closer we got to where we’d all (independently) decided to rejoin trail, the more we reconsidered. There was just…a lot of snow. And eventually, we all came to the same conclusion: we were roadwalking to Canada. We’d arrive at the exact same finish point as we would have on trail, and anyway, this particular border crossing was closed for the season which meant we’d have the road all to ourselves.

It was a strange feeling walking those last few miles. It honestly didn’t feel that much different than every other day for the last half year, and yet I also knew this was the end. When we finally caught sight of the “Welcome to Canada” sign and stepped out of the USA, it hit: I’d just walked across the entire country.

We took pics. Ate chocolate I’d saved to celebrate. And then we started walking again, because even though we’d made it to Canada, we had to get back to the highway. Britta and I walked perhaps 10 miles back before a pickup truck miraculously appeared on the little-used road and the driver graciously gave us (plus the six other hikers who finished the same time) a ride out. Then they went a step further, and offered to take us all the way into East Glacier, even though it was out of their way. It was a bit of a chilly ride, but we were all just grateful to have it.

Britta and I got a motel and are going to simply relax – and eat – until tomorrow when our dad and brother are picking us up. I plan to write one more post just to reflect on the hike as a whole, but until then here are a few numbers to sum up this last section of MT and ID.

• 1 solar eclipse
• 2 states
• 4 zero days – all because of snowstorms
• 10 towns
• Dozens of people warned us about grizzlies (we never did see one)
• 29 miles was the most walked in a single day
• 47 days
• 764 total miles of trail & road