Long-distance hiker to finish Pacific Crest Trail this weekend

STEVENS PASS, Wash. — Jeff Garmire of Vancouver has picked up his final resupply and plans on finishing his hike of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada this weekend. That will make two down and one to go as he attempts to complete the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking in America.

With the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails behind him, Garmire will take a day off to rest and prepare for the Continental Divide Trail, then hop on a train for Glacier National Park in Montana.

But the final miles on the Pacific Crest Trail have not been easy.

“Today was tough,’’ he wrote in his Tuesday blog post. “Washington has been a grind. Between the weather, bad trail conditions, snow and extreme terrain, it has been just about as much as I can handle.’’

To make his deadline to get to Montana and the CDT, “I have given up sleep and hike straight through from 5 (a.m.) to 10:30 p.m. If the weather would cooperate I could easily get my 40-mile days in during the daylight, but this has not been the case.’’

His rain jacket also is worn out.

“After a few minutes of rain, I am a walking sponge,’’ Garmire wrote. “I’ll have to figure out how to combat this problem for the next trail.’’

His progress can be followed online at http://freeoutside.com.