On January 27, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced that it would be discontinuing its Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) permits.
The PCT, popularized by Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and the adapted film starring Reese Witherspoon, stretches 4,265 kilometres from Mexico to Canada. The trail begins at the Mexico-U.S. border near Campo, Calif., following the west coast through California, Oregon, and Washington, with the final 13 kilometres passing into Canada and ending in Manning Provincial Park, B.C.
Without the permit program, hikers hoping to enter Canada and complete the trail will have to first present themselves at a port of entry. The two closest ports of entry are Abbotsford and Osoyoos, B.C. Abbotsford is approximately 160 kilometres from where the trail enters Canada and Osoyoos is 180 kilometres.
“This change will facilitate monitoring of compliance of trail users, enhance security at the border, and aligns with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who does not allow travellers to enter the U.S. from Canada on the trail,” the CBSA said in a statement.
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The agency went on to say that it conducts evolving evaluations of its programs and operations to support a safe and secure border.
“This is disappointing news,” wrote Jack Haskel, a PCT information manager, on the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s website. “That said, we can appreciate their points, and the fact that this policy is consistent with the United States’ policy which does not allow for entry into the United States via the PCT.”
Haskel asked all hikers to be respectful of the trail near its northern terminus in Washington, taking any garbage with them. He pointed out that this section will likely experience increased traffic with hikers having to double back at the Canadian border.
The PCT was first proposed nearly 100 years ago. Catherine Montgomery, a Canadian-born educator who was one of the founding faculty members of Western Washington University, is believed to be the first proponent of a border-to-border trail, proposing it in 1926. She was followed by Clinton Clarke, a chairman of the Mountain League of Los Angeles, who organized the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference in 1932 to promote the idea of the PCT. Despite this early support, the PCT wasn’t established as a National Scenic Trail until 1968.
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Today, the Pacific Crest Trail Association estimates that hundreds of thousands to more than a million people use sections of the trail each year. A much smaller number attempt to thru-hike the trail. In 2024, 6,840 long-distance permits were issued. These are people travelling more than 800 kilometres of the trail.
On average, the entire trail takes about five months to hike. Total cost ranges from $8,000 to $12,000 depending on the cost of equipment, accommodation, transportation, food, and insurance.
Currently, Belgian ultrarunner Karel Sabbe holds the fastest known time for completing the PCT. He finished the entire trail in 46 days, 12 hours, and 50 minutes, averaging 93 kilometres per day.
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