October 22, 2011 - The Dusty Camel reaches Canada!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 173

After all the hard work, the planning, endless months of living with nothing more than 17 pounds of gear on our backs, meeting strangers that turned into family and days of filming we have reached the clear cut border and entered Canada!! The last twenty weren't easy though...

White out snow, blasting winds, avalanche debri, icy rain in the afternoon and heavy snow till five miles out from the border. Total accumulations measured up to the top of my boot. Whenever we hit a north side of a peak the temp dropped to mid twenties. Today was a day I'll never forget because the hike itself was so epic. By the time we hit the border we snapped a quick photo and set camp a hundred yards away.

It doesn't feel like the end yet because as I am typing this the driving snow is building on our tent. Everything we own is wet. We are exhausted.

Tomorrow, after we hike about eight more miles through Cascade terrain and soaking wet, frozen clothes, then the hike will be complete and the true celebration will commence!

While it's cold and we're all sore, I am trying to soak it in. It still hasn't been fully realized by everyone tonight that we just finished a 2,665 mile trek: through the beautiful Mojave Desert, a biblically colossal snow year in the Sierra, high heat and dry stretches through the volcanoes in northern Cal, then averaged over a marathon a day for three weeks to break through to Portland and over the bridge of the Gods... Thus began the cold rain, then snow and more snow. The last 250 miles were mostly in avalanche areas, white outs, a freezing and thawing cycle and a constant threat of hypothermia.

All this just to reach this point. Awe-some. What an adventure.

-Andy