The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is closing the entrance to the country along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
The path of 4,265 kilometers extends from Mexico to Canada to California, Oregon and the state of Washington. The vast majority of the path is located in the United States, but a small extension of 13 kilometers extends to Canada within the EC Manning Park, southeast of hope in southern BC.
Previously, hikers were able to request a permit that allowed them to walk along the border along the path, but the CBSA said Monday that the rules have changed.
“The US hikers. UU. Without permission who wish to complete the Canadian part of the path, from now pointing out that the change leads to alignment with customs and border protection of the USA, which does not allow travelers to enter the United States from Canada along the way.
For hikers who complete the 13 -kilometer Canadian section of the path, the terminal is in Manning Park Resort, where, according to General Manager Vern Schram, many people will have packages delivered in advance with clean clothes and supplies.
Schram said hikers will often stay at the resort for a day or two recovery or at least for a meal in restaurants. He said at the end of the summer and early fall, before this border change, several hundred hikers would have stopped at Manning Park Resort.
“We have a happy smile face. We get the ‘I just need to give me a shower before talking first with someone,” said Schram.
“We have them in the best state, right? They are really excited. They are rejuvenated, they are renewed, so we can see the best of these people, and it is really exciting for our staff to organize them at the end of such a achievement.”
But Schram said that with the change, completing the Canadian section of the path after more than 4,200 kilometers could add three or more days of logistically complicated travel.
The closest entries in Canada are Abbotsford and Osoyoos, which are approximately 100 kilometers from the path.
Trail users who go north must duplicate and find a way to reach one of the two road border crossings or other media.
“It is a great impediment to the last 13 kilometers and a large amount of effort on your part, so I am not sure how many people will really happen with that, or say that the border is good enough and that is their last destination” Schram said.
The closure occurs when Canada is under the pressure of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to do more to ensure its southern border, although the CBSA did not say if this decision is related to the president’s border concerns.
In a statement, the Pacific Crest Trail association described the decision as a “disappointing” and asked hikers to respect the rules of the path and the countries through which it passes.
The entrance to Canada through the path stopped from 2020 to 2023 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.