Pacific Northwest Circuit – Stats from our 2700-mile walk & canoe

We completed the Pacific Northwest Circuit, which was a 3.5-month walk/canoe from the Pacific Ocean on the western-most point of the contiguous US, to the Rocky Mountains at the source of the Columbia River, and then back out to the Pacific Ocean. The trip gave us beautiful nature and adventure every step/paddle of the way. It was also a physical and emotional challenge — we were pushing ourselves the entire way and encountered very few other hikers to share the experience and socialize with. These are some stats we kept track of over the course of the trip.

Big-picture stats:

• We spent 106 days walking/paddling from June 13 – September 26, 2022.
  • 72.5 days on foot
  • 33.5 days on the water
• We walked and canoed 2,797 miles.
  • 1,611 miles walked (28 miles with a canoe on our heads)
  • 1,186 miles paddled
• We clocked 978 hours of self propelled moving time.
  • That’s an average of 9:15 per day
• We climbed 248,827 feet of total ascent.
• We traveled a continuous foot/boat path from sea to source to sea.

A closer look at the miles:

• We averaged 26 miles per day.
  • 22 miles per day during the walking portion.
  • 36 miles per day during the canoeing portion.
• We took 0 days off.
• Our longest canoeing day was 59.2 miles. Our shortest canoeing day was 2.7 miles due to wind and waves.
• Our longest hiking day was 31.2 miles. Our shortest hiking day was 7.5 miles due to snow in the Olympic Mountains.

Life on the trail:

• We spent 102 nights sleeping outside in our tent (4 nights inside).
• We wore through 3 pairs of shoes each.
• We prepared and mailed 111 dehydrated dinners that we ate along the trip.
• We walked and canoed through 2 countries, 4 states, and 2 provinces.
  • USA
  • Canada
  • Washington
  • Idaho
  • Montana
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Oregon
• We met 0 other eastbound hikers while on the Pacific Northwest Trail.
• We crossed paths with 41 westbound hikers while on the Pacific Northwest Trail.
• Tim had 14 blisters on his hands at once during the canoe portion of the trip.
• We each shaved 0 times.

Animals:

• 8 black bears
• 1 mountain lion and 1 Canada Lynx
• 1 coyote
• We saw 3 stages of the grouse lifecycle while hiking:
  • Mating in June
  • Eggs in July
  • Chicks in August
• Bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and moose
• Marmots, pikas, ground squirrels, and chipmunks
• Snakes and salamanders
• Beavers, bald eagles, osprey, pelicans, salmon
• Sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, orcas, starfish, crabs

Summary video on YouTube: