May 27, 2016: My nephew Jesse, who lives in Arizona, stands near the California town of Campo near the Mexican border and takes his first step onto the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail. He’s finally going to fulfill his longtime dream of through-hiking the famous PCT. From Campo, Jesse will trek all the way through California, Oregon and Washington to the Canadian border, where the trail ends.
Sept. 18: Jesse reaches Snoqualmie Pass, where it’s raining and the only available lodging is booked full. We’re texting each other now to coordinate meeting at Stevens Pass for a visit when he’s passing through, but I figure an overnight stop with shower, laundry facilities and real food might sound better to him than a quick visit.
MARY: If you need lodging, my house isn’t far away and I’d be happy to take you there and drive you back to the trail in the morning.
JESSE: Oh man that would be amazing! Especially since it’s going to continue to rain. Would it be possible to take 3 of us?
Three? Transportation wouldn’t be any problem because I had the 2017 Pacifica that week. The problem would be my feeble hospitality skills. It would be out of my league to provide a welcoming atmosphere and hearty meals for three soaked and starving PCT hikers. But of course I said yes. Who could say no?
My reward would be the great photo opportunity presented by three PCT hikers and their gear loading into the Pacifica.
Pacifica is an all-new minivan from Chrysler, replacing the long-lived but now discontinued Town & Country minivan. Just like their names, the two are completely different. Pacifica takes the Chrysler minivan to a whole new level of sophistication with a platform engineered to optimize ride comfort, handling responsiveness and serenity within the passenger cabin. While these qualities are wonderful and were appreciated by me during the test week, they’re not necessities for hauling PCT hikers and their gear to and from Stevens Pass. For that, Pacifica provides 197.3 cubic feet of interior volume with three rows of seats, outfitted with an amazing Transformer-like Stow ’n Go seating and storage system that lets you flip and fold every which way to customize the setup for whatever ratio of passengers-to-cargo space you need. Especially cool: The seats don’t just fold flat, they fold down into the floor, completely disappearing. For easy opening, power sliding side doors have a small “chiclet” button on the exterior handles in addition to keyfob operation. Hands-free operation by moving your foot beneath the doors, and a built-in vacuum system for tidying the cabin are two more handy features, standard or optional depending on the different models in the Pacific lineup.
I had the Pacifica Limited model, highlighted by a handsome interior styling, a generous assortment of standard features, up-to-the-minute telematics and a slew of safety equipment.
As it turned out, Jesse was alone when I picked him up at Stevens Pass because the other two guys couldn’t keep up with him and he didn’t want to be late.
Sept. 29: Jesse has reached the end of the PCT at the Canadian border and is hiking back 31 miles south to Hart’s Pass, the nearest spot in Washington with vehicle access, where I’m to pick him up at 6 p.m. In the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest at an elevation of 6,100 feet, Hart’s Pass is also the highest point in Washington reachable by driving. I’ve been trembling for a week after seeing online what Hart’s Pass Road looks like. Do a Google image search for it and you’ll see what I mean.
For the 3.5-hour trip to Mazama followed by the 45-minute death-defying drive up to Hart’s Pass, I have the reassuring 2017 Nissan Pathfinder with selectable two-wheel drive, intuitive (automatic) four-wheel drive, and four-wheel lock modes; hill start assist; hill descent control; and for good looks, 20-inch alloy wheels.
Inside, the seven-passenger Pathfinder is resplendent with comfort and convenience features including heated and cooled front seats (eight-way power adjustable for the driver, four-way for the passenger), heated rear seats, an Around View monitor, three-zone automatic climate control with second-row controls, connectivity and entertainment technology galore, and on and on. Nissan’s EZ Flex seating system has fold-flat 60/40 second row and 50/50 third row split seats.
An excellent optional interior feature of my Pathfinder was the presence of my friend Toni, who WITHOUT EVEN BEING ASKED volunteered to come along for moral support.
Because I’d blown the terror of Hart’s Pass Road out of proportion with my wild imagination, it ended up being not so bad. There were a few undeniably petrifying stretches when I had a death grip on the steering wheel, but the rest of the road was fun and the scenery was spectacular.
We met up with the exhausted but ecstatic Jesse at Hart’s Pass Campground. A couple of trail angels happened to be there with a barbecue and a big Seahawks cooler, feeding a ravenous group of happy PCT hikers. Jesse joined in and they all shared stories.
I experienced considerable trepidation when we started the drive back home because Toni and Jesse had mentioned their mutual tendencies to get carsick. Thinking about the two of them hurling in the car was worse than the perilous drop-offs on Hart’s Pass Road. But the Pathfinder’s stability on the twisty roads — there’s nearly zero body roll — worked like Dramamine. There were no unpleasant episodes and Jesse was asleep in the back seat all the way home. Whew.
2017 CHRYSLER PACIFICA LIMITED
Base price, including destination charge: $43,490
Price as driven: $43,490
287-horsepower V6 engine
18 mpg city
28 mpg highway
2017 NISSAN PATHFINDER PLATINUM 4WD
Base price, including destination charge: $44,460
Price as driven: $46,160
284-horsepower V6 engine
19 mpg city
26 mpg highway
Mary Lowry is an independent automotive writer who lives in Snohomish County. She is a member of the Motor Press Guild and a board member of the Northwest Automotive Press Association. Vehicles are provided by the manufacturers as a one-week loan for review purposes only. In no way do the manufacturers control the content of the reviews.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
