WATERTON LAKES, Alberta — Hemmed in by steep mountain walls, the windswept beach at the southern end of Upper Waterton Lake is quite a scene. I stand there for long moments, my eyes scanning the western shore to where I figure the border swath to be, 4 trail miles ahead.
The end is, literally and figuratively, almost in sight. I feel disoriented and even a little numb.
I return to the adjacent ranger station, and, with a surprising two bars of cell service, call the phone number posted on the door. With passports in hand, I, along with my companions Amy and Gavin – hikers from the United Kingdom I’ve been friends with since New Mexico – complete the check-in process with Canadian Border Services.
We shoulder our packs and strike off, quickly reaching a calf-deep ford across the Waterton River. Soon after, my pace slows and I lose sight of my pals on the winding path through golden groves of aspen. My body and mind are on auto-pilot, but the sight of a small dock snaps me back to reality, and I know for sure that I can’t be far.
I turn a corner, enter a small clearing and step across the international boundary from Montana into Alberta. It’s midafternoon on Monday, Sept. 23. The long, hard, beautiful journey on the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada is done. Six months and 2,550 miles through some of the wildest, loneliest, most rugged terrain in the Lower 48.
Amy and Gavin greet me with big hugs and happy tears. And I’m thrilled to find three other CDT friends here as well. Even though Near-Miss, Nine-to-Five and Early Bird had departed camp a solid hour before us this morning and are faster hikers, they nevertheless decided to wait up so we could all celebrate the big finish together.
The 45 minutes spent around the concrete monument are a blur. There are the obligatory photos, of course. And a skimpy lunch from empty food bags. Amy produces a Burger King crown found at the hostel in East Glacier Park Village, and implores both Nine-to-Five and I to pose with the silly but traditional headpiece. We dutifully comply.
I’ve never allowed myself to think much about the “Triple Crown,” the recognition bestowed upon hikers who have completed America’s “Big Three” trails. But with the Appalachian Trail (2015), the Pacific Crest Trail (2019) and now the CDT in the can – a grand total of 7,400 miles over 19 months – I guess it’s OK to finally say that, well, yeah, I did that.
It’s 4 more miles into Waterton Lakes, where we commandeer the bar of a swanky restaurant in true hiker-trash style. A four-hour festival of eating, drinking and general mischief-making commences. The following day, with wistful smiles, we bid adieu and scatter across the globe, me in the direction of home in Maine.
The final three weeks on the CDT were amazing. From the Rogers Pass west of Lincoln, it was 200 miles and 10 days before I touched pavement again at U.S. Route 2 on the way into East Glacier. Between, the CDT threads through the mind-boggling 1.25 million-acre expanse of the Scapegoat Wilderness and then the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
The Chinese Wall, a serpentine 50-mile-long limestone escarpment, was a highlight of “the Bob,” as were the abundant huckleberries. Frequent grizzly bear prints and scat (black bear, too) were sober reminders that we weren’t at the top of the food chain out here. Gray wolf tracks added to the ultra-wild feel of this remote region.
The last 100 miles to Canada through Glacier National Park were simply magnificent, and a monumental conclusion to a journey that began at the other end of the Rockies in New Mexico way back on March 30. In fact, the segment from St. Mary Lake to Swiftcurrent Lake over Piegan Pass may well be the finest day of backpacking ever in this hiker’s experience.
The only way to tackle a hike of this magnitude is to put one foot in front of the other day after day, and I feel blessed for the good health and stubborn drive that saw me through. I also credit the support and encouragement from all of you, and the love and assistance of my wife, Fran, for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you!
Carey Kish of Mount Desert Island recently completed his thru-hike on the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada. Follow more of his adventures on Facebook and Instagram. Comments are welcome at maineoutdoors@aol.com.
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