Tag Archives: Continental Divide Trail

Maps–Don’t hike without one

Posted on by under All Hikers, Family hiking, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Long-distance hiking, The Outdoors, Thru-hiking, Trail Related

English: The Franconia Ridge, a section of the...

Map reading necessary in Rocky Mountains on Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide Trail

Remember that hiker last year who was injured and lost in the Oregon woods? She had broken her leg and spent three days and nights alone. The available details were posted here on August 9, 2011. Turns out that the injured girl and her boyfriend had become separated for a different reason (a spat), which explains how she really got lost—not by merely looking for a better place to set up a tent. See the follow-up article here.

Note what she says about maps. “My biggest mistake was failing to review maps of the area with my boyfriend before the trip.”

Besides proper clothing, water, and nourishment, you should always bring a map, or some type of field guide, when you hike. Have a map of where you will start, where you intend to go, and where you will finish. I keep my maps ready to see and protected in a transparent zip-loc bag. If I plan to follow a particular trail, I hi-lite it in yellow ahead of time. And when I invite my friends to hike, I provide extra maps, should we become separated.

Here’s another idea to avoid getting lost by Tom Mangan, who writes the hiking blog Two-Heel Drive. The ubiquitous digital camera can save the day.  “If the trailhead has a map of the general area you’re hiking . . . just take a picture of the map, then use your camera’s playback function and zoom into the area where you are hiking.” There are other excellent ideas on how to avoid getting lost in his post.

Easy for me to say, but work together when you hike with others. Arguments and disputes can happen, but if you are out in the wilds, try to suck it up and join forces, so you don’t get in a jam. In any event, bring maps. You wouldn’t want to hike in areas shown in the pictures without maps.

Hikers, backpackers must use maps on long-distance trails

CDT-New Mexico

Speed Records on Trails: Good idea or bad?

Posted on by under All Hikers, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Long-distance hiking, The Outdoors, Thru-hiking, Trail Related
English: Looking north on the Continental Divi...

English: Looking north on the Continental Divide Trail in the Weminuche Wilderness between the Palisade Meadows cutoff and the Knife Edge – of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thousand Island Lake (2997m) and Banner Peak (...

Thousand Island Lake (2997m) and Banner Peak (3943m), looking southwest from John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail at 3080m, in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Appalachian Trail sunrise in Maine's mountains

Appalachian Trail, Georgia's Springer Mountain
A.T. in fourteen states

Last year, Associated Press ran an article about a woman who’d just completed hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes! Well, that’s dandy.

While I’m in awe of the accomplishment, I’m wondering why she did this. What is the logic or meaning behind it? The article states that she never ignored the beauty of the 2,180-mile trek from Maine to Georgia. But did she stop to smell the wildflowers, rest by waterfalls, take the time to absorb the landscapes of nature, take the time to observe animals in their habitats? Bombing along at an average of 47 miles a day, I doubt it.

“Fastest is so relative,” the young lady states, “…what are you not going to see at three miles per hour?” That’s like saying, I read Tolstoy’s War and Peace yesterday, every word, so what could I have missed?

Maybe I don’t get it. Many others have tried for speed records thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. And I remember reading about one man who thru-hiked the triple crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail), about 7800 miles, in one year! Think of all that he glimpsed but didn’t experience. How much did he really see and absorb in the Rockies, Yosemite, the Sierras?

For all you speed demons, slow down. And take the time to smell the flowers.

Miscellaneous: In my post about cleaning sleeping bags, Carol Chubb of Massachusetts suggests throwing several tennis balls into the dryer with the sleeping bag. This will help break up any down clumps. Thanks, Carol.

Related articles

The Continental Divide Trail

Posted on by under All Hikers, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Long-distance hiking, Thru-hiking, Trail Related

Hiking the Continental Divide TrailBackpacking the Continental Divide TrailThe Continental Divide Trail (CDT) begins at the Mexican border in New Mexico and runs 3100 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, part of Idaho, and Montana. It is not well-marked and is still a work in progress. Many thru-hikers start at the Canadian border and hike south; others will begin in the south and head north.

If you attempt to thru-hike this trail, carry a GPS, become good at navigation–map and compass–and go with a partner. I haven’t finished this trail but hiking it alone, most of my thinking time was spent trying to confirm where I was and trying not to get lost.  I did get lost several times and had to backtrack to figure things out.

Study the CDT website: www.cdtrail.org  At the CDT website you can learn about the trail and buy maps.

Read thru-hiker journals: www.trailjournals.com  An excellent way to prepare is to read the journals of successful CDT thru-hikers. Go to the site above and look at the journals; print one out and study it. Most journalists discuss gear, navigation, how they handled snow, the towns where they resupplied, techniques, etc.

Invest in a book: www.booksforhikers.com On the left side, scroll down to CDT. The most helpful book for me was Yogi’s CDT Handbook (Planning Guide and Town Guide) by Jackie McDonnell. Request the 2010 edition.

You won’t meet many thru-hikers on this trail. I didn’t meet any, although I didn’t finish. To finish in one season, you need to average about twenty miles a day; there were days I couldn’t do that, mostly because of snow. But it is a great experience to hike this “King of Trails.”

The Triple Crown Hiking Trails

Posted on by under Trail Related

Hiking the Appalachian TrailBackpacking and hiking the Pacific Crest TrailHiking the Continental Divide Trail

Long-distance hikers commonly refer to America’s triple crown hiking trails. The pictures, top to bottom, follow the order below.

Appalachian Trail (AT)  This is the grand daddy. It runs through 14 states from Georgia to Maine and is 2178 miles long. Many aspiring thru-hikers start with this trail. Most begin in Georgia, in Spring,  hoping to follow seasonal weather as they plod north. You should allow six months to hike the AT. By general consent, the toughest parts are the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Mahoosucs in Maine. It is still the  most popular long-distance hiking trail in America–maybe the world.

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)  Incredibly scenic and gaining in popularity, the PCT runs from the Mexican border into British Columbia, Canada. It is 2650 miles long, longer than the AT, but most thru-hikers finish it in less than six months. This may be due to the long, wide, scenic traverses along the “crests” of mountain chains, which make for easier hiking. Where much of the AT is dense, the PCT is more open. The PCT includes part of the Mojave Desert, Yosemite, and the Cascade Mountains.

Continental Divide Trail (CDT)  Still a work in progress (almost complete) this rigorous but rewarding trail also extends from the Mexican border to Canada. It is about 3100 miles long and has a spectacular run through the Rocky Mountains. Navigation skills–map and compass–are needed to thru-hike this trail. Many sections are not well marked and one needs to constantly focus on bearing to avoid getting lost–lest you end up like the bones above, which I hiked by in southern New Mexico.

For a thorough description of these three trails, I suggest the book Hiking the Triple Crown, by Karen Berger.

“Hike Your Own Hike” redux

Posted on by under All Hikers, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Thru-hiking, Trail Related
restofsavedDellphotos10May11031

Pacific Crest Trail

FromDellcomputer10May111368

Continental Divide Trail

 

I’ve received a number of comments on a previous post–Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH).  I have hit a sensitive issue, an issue that can easily break up any thru-hike.

I remember two thru-hikers on the AppalachianTrail in ’03. The two middle-aged men were tight when they started, but one always lagged behind the other, and the other was always in a hurry. Somewhere in Virginia, they did the right thing—they split up. What I found interesting was that the hiker in a hurry left the trail for good, about two-thirds of the way; his friend finished. The hiker who finished had become stronger and stronger as he forged ahead at his own pace. He told me that he would have never completed the A.T. if he’d tried to keep up with his friend.

There you are. If you are serious about finishing a thru-hike, then hike your own hike, not anybody else’s. I’ve heard the same type of story many times, and I know you have too. The most common, I believe, is when several thru-hikers of a group insist on going off-trail, or doing something different, than you want to do, and you reluctantly give in. The group pressure gets to you and, before you know it, you are out of your zone and off your game.

This can cost you your hike. HYOH: Hike Your Own Hike!

The Continental Divide Trail

Posted on by under Trail Related

Hiking the Continental Divide TrailBackpacking the Continental Divide TrailThe Continental Divide Trail (CDT) begins at the Mexican border in New Mexico and runs 3100 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, part of Idaho, and Montana. It is not well-marked and is still a work in progress. Many thru-hikers start at the Canadian border and hike south; others will begin in the south and head north.

If you attempt to thru-hike this trail, carry a GPS, become good at navigation–map and compass–and go with a partner. I haven’t finished this trail but hiking it alone, most of my thinking time was spent trying to confirm where I was and trying not to get lost.  I did get lost several times and had to backtrack to figure things out.

Study the CDT website: www.cdtrail.org  At the CDT website you can learn about the trail and buy maps. 

Read thru-hiker journals: www.trailjournals.com  An excellent way to prepare is to read the journals of successful CDT thru-hikers. Go to the site above and look at the journals; print one out and study it. Most journalists discuss gear, navigation, how they handled snow, the towns where they resupplied, techniques, etc.

Invest in a book: www.booksforhikers.com On the left side, scroll down to CDT. The most helpful book for me was Yogi’s CDT Handbook (Planning Guide and Town Guide) by Jackie McDonnell. Request the 2010 edition.

You won’t meet many thru-hikers on this trail. I didn’t meet any, although I didn’t finish. To finish in one season, you need to average about twenty miles a day; there were days I couldn’t do that, mostly because of snow. But it is a great experience to hike this “King of Trails.”

The Triple Crown Hiking Trails

Posted on by under Trail Related

Hiking the Appalachian TrailBackpacking and hiking the Pacific Crest TrailHiking the Continental Divide Trail

Long-distance hikers commonly refer to America’s triple crown hiking trails. The pictures, top to bottom, follow the order below.

Appalachian Trail (AT)  This is the grand daddy. It runs through 14 states from Georgia to Maine and is 2178 miles long. Many aspiring thru-hikers start with this trail. Most begin in Georgia, in Spring,  hoping to follow seasonal weather as they plod north. You should allow six months to hike the AT. By general consent, the toughest parts are the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Mahoosucs in Maine. It is still the  most popular long-distance hiking trail in America–maybe the world.

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)  Incredibly scenic and gaining in popularity, the PCT runs from the Mexican border into British Columbia, Canada. It is 2650 miles long, longer than the AT, but most thru-hikers finish it in less than six months. This may be due to the long, wide, scenic traverses along the “crests” of mountain chains, which make for easier hiking. Where much of the AT is dense, the PCT is more open. The PCT includes part of the Mojave Desert, Yosemite, and the Cascade Mountains.

Continental Divide Trail (CDT)  Still a work in progress (almost complete) this rigorous but rewarding trail also extends from the Mexican border to Canada. It is about 3100 miles long and has a spectacular run through the Rocky Mountains. Navigation skills–map and compass–are needed to thru-hike this trail. Many sections are not well marked and one needs to constantly focus on bearing to avoid getting lost–lest you end up like the bones above, which I hiked by in southern New Mexico.

For a thorough description of these three trails, I suggest the book Hiking the Triple Crown, by Karen Berger.