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Hiking from Mexico to Canada

David Henry’s 2,600 mile Pacific Crest adventure

Photo provided by David Henry

Starting in Mexico, David Henry hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, enjoying Moraine Lake, the Cascades and friends he made along the way.

Umpqua Community College transfer student, David Henry, has always tried to get the most out of life. Although he is only 32-years-old, he has experienced many adventures, from working at several national parks to experiencing the rigors of being a father and aspirations of furthering his education. But his biggest adventure came on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2008.

The Pacific Crest Trail, commonly referred to as the PCT, is one of the prominent long distance hiking trails in the world. Stretching from Mexico to Canada, it follows more than 2,600 miles of the highest portions of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

Photo provided by David Henry

The trail itself linked together four previously made trails in a continuous span that was declared finished in 1993. Despite having thousands of section hikers throughout the year, only the most fit and determined hikers go the full distance, with only 2,964 hikers being completion verified according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

In the winter of 2007, David Henry became fascinated with the trail.

“I bought a large book on the PCT and obsessed over it through the winter. It described the whole trail and had brilliant pictures. I was totally determined to hike it as soon as possible,” Henry said.

After leaving his home in Oregon to stay in San Diego, Henry reached the Mexico-California border. There, on May 4, he took his first steps on a six month, 2,600 mile journey.

However, this was not the first time Henry attempted the staggering trek. When he was only 21-years-old, he tried the monumental hike but only lasted 150 miles. Using the experience he gained from this previous attempt, he was determined to redeem himself.

Photo provided by David Henry

After hiking through Sequoia National Park in California, Henry summited Mount Whitney on June 17.  Whitney tested Henry’s endurance just a few weeks into the adventure with its elevation of over 14,505 feet. It is the tallest peak in the continental United States.

To recuperate his strength, Henry wouldn’t always stick to the trail, instead taking impromptu trips to some of the greatest cities along the West Coast. Some of these side trips included stays in Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Mammoth Lakes, San Francisco and many others. Henry claims that his stories of many of these trips, such as his Las Vegas stay, are unfit for publication.

Throughout the telling of his grand adventure, however, Henry stressed early and often the importance of friendships on the PCT.

Photo provided by David Henry

“A few weeks of hiking on the PCT with other through hikers creates bonds that would take years to happen in the ‘real’ world. Relationships are created because of amazing shared experiences,” Henry said.

One common practice while hiking the PCT is for friends to give each other trail names. Henry recalls having friends with colorful names like Wrong way, Overdose, Squirrel, Dogwood and Tahoe among others.

Early on, David was bestowed with the nickname Atreyu, a moniker shared with a character in “The Neverending Story,” the book he was reading at the time. Later, while hiking through Yosemite National Park, he met his then girlfriend, Butterfly.

Despite the incredible times Henry enjoyed while on the PCT, it wasn’t always easy. Averaging more than 20 miles of hiking everyday, his body began to wear down. Along with losing around 25 pounds, injuries began to hinder his progress.

Photo provided by David Henry

Among some of the injuries he sustained was a problem with his left knee while traversing the Sierra Nevadas.

“My left knee hurt all through the High Sierras. It only hurt going down hill, but it hurt freaking bad,” David said.

Another issue was when his right foot began to fail him, and he was sidelined for six days in Lake Tahoe. During this time, David’s family traveled to Tahoe to see him for the first time since his departure. Despite his physical pain, he remembers his time in Tahoe as being fabulous and beautiful.

On Sept. 28, he reached Manning Park in British Columbia, the northernmost point on the Pacific Crest Trail, thus completing his journey. It was here that Henry signed his name into the completion book, forever cementing his accomplishment. By the time he finished his epic journey, he had traveled through seven national parks and 25 national forests.

Photo provided by David Henry

It was at the end of the road where David experienced an all-time high and the most humbling of lows. Ecstatic over the feat that he had accomplished, the reality of the situation soon sank in. His adventure was over, the life he had come to love over the last half year was finished.

Before everyone went their separate ways, Henry celebrated with his PCT travelers the only way they knew how.

“Eighteen of us finished on the same day. We planned it that way. A couple were Canadian and their friends met us in Manning Park. Everybody chipped in and we rented a huge lodge for two nights. It was a giant celebration, an epic party,” Henry said.

After saying a tough goodbye to his friends, Atreyu and Butterfly hitchhiked to Seattle. For the next month, he and Butterfly traveled from Astoria, Oregon to San Francisco, backpacking and hitchhiking the whole way.

San Francisco marked the true end to Henry’s once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It was there where he faced one of the most difficult moments in his life, saying goodbye to Butterfly. He stood alone on the pier waving at her as the ferry grew small in the distance.

Photo provided by David Henry

“Painful to the fullest. It was like we had been married for many years with the amount and quality of the experiences we had. Hurt for a very long time. It was all very much like the movies,” Henry said.

To David Henry, backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail was an experience and accomplishment unparalleled by any other. UCC professor and aspiring PCT hiker, Charles Young, gave his input.

“Thousands hike portions of it, but only a few hundred are sufficiently fit and determined enough to cover the whole distance in one epic march. David is one of the few who have done this, and fellow serious hikers know this is a major adventure and achievement. We are not talking about easy hiking here,” Young said.

With UCC graduation rapidly approaching and his upcoming transfer to the University of Oregon in sight, Henry admits the PCT is starting to become a distant memory. To recapture his PCT magic, Henry plans on completing the epic pilgrimage again in the future.

However, until that time comes once again, Henry likes to reminisce about his unforgettable experience.

“The PCT was so much more than just hiking in the woods. Yes, the sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, wildlife and stars were beautiful, but that is only part of the experience. Making great friendships and sharing these experiences is another huge part. The PCT is a months-on-end adventure that awakens what is best in us. A test, a pilgrimage, an epic journey back to our roots, back to our true nature.”