Posted Jan 1, 2019, 9:49 PM by Matthew Anderson [Updated Jun 4, 2019, 9:15 AM]
As I started considering the logistics necessary to walk 3,100 miles over five months along the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) from Mexico to Canada two opposing quotes kept coming to mind. The first by legendary basketball coach Pat Riley reads, "When you leave it to chance, then all of a sudden you don’t have any more luck." and the second by author and travel writer Rolf Potts reads, "The simple willingness to improvise is more vital, in the long run, than research." I decided to embrace both ideas and start from the point of a well research plan with full knowledge that improvisation along the way will be critical. What follows is my planned itinerary which is the basis for resupplies, meeting friends and family along the route, and finishing before early season snow starts falling in Glacier National Park. I'll do my best to stick to the itinerary and provide updates on Twitter as plans change.
One of my goals is to take some personal time for introspection but five months of introspection is a bit much for me so I'll welcome company along the way. Please let me know if you're interested in meeting out on the trail and it will be wonderful to see smiling familiar faces along the way! Click Here to track me on Garmin MapShare; the route shown (red line) is approximate and I'm planning to take some alternate routes and cut-offs along the way.
This section covers 85 miles in five days which averages 17 miles/day and the longest day is 22.6 miles. It starts in the bootheel of western New Mexico and passes through the Big Hatchet Wilderness in the Chihuahuan Desert. Skup is planning to hike this section with me and intermediate waypoints include:
This section covers 124 miles in six days which averages 21 miles/day and the longest day is 27.8 miles. Just north of Silver City I'll divert from the official CDT route and take the Gila River Alternate route. Intermediate waypoints include:
This section covers 139 miles in six days which averages 23 miles/day and the longest day is 28.0 miles. It starts near Gila Cliff Dwellings Nat'l Monument and follows the Middle Fork of the Gila River for 38.4 miles through the Gila Wilderness to Snow Lake. The route crosses the swift flowing river more than 200 times between towering canyon walls and there will be time to soak along the way at Jordan Hot Springs. The endangered Mexican wolf was reintroduced to the area in 1988 and you can Click Here to see the location of wolves with tracking collars. I don't have anybody hiking this section with me yet and if hiking the entire section doesn't sound appealing an alternative is to hike the river portion to Snow Lake, part ways, and then there's a two-day overland trail back to Gila Hot Springs. Intermediate waypoints include:
This section covers 95 miles in four days which averages 24 miles/day and the longest day is 30.3 miles. It passes passes through the El Malpais (Spanish for "badlands") National Monument and overlaps with the Zuni-Acoma Trail for six miles. Hikers follow cairns, some centuries old, across the volcanic plain past caves formed by lava tubes. Intermediate waypoints include:
This section covers 162 miles in 7 days which averages 23 miles/day and the longest day is 28.5 miles. Intermediate waypoints include:
On Wednesday morning May 8th John and I left Ghost Ranch with hopes to reach Chama by Sunday afternoon. The weather forecast was calling for snow in Chama through Saturday and rain on Sunday but we decided to give it our best shot. By mid-morning dark clouds were building to the north and by mid-afternoon heavy wet snow started falling above 9,000 feet. At 5:30 in the evening we found some flat ground near a stream and got a temporary break in the weather so we decided to set-up camp. After going to bed the snow resumed and it was necessary to clean off the tent several times during the night to keep it from collapsing. By morning most of our gear, including sleeping bags, were pretty damp and with no change in the weather expected for the next several days we decided to return to Ghost Ranch.
My original plan for the Continental Divide Trail was to hike a single line from Mexico to Canada in one season but due to persistent winter conditions and elevated avalanche danger in Colorado I’ve decided to take some time off the trail and resume hiking farther north where conditions are closer to normal. Colorado’s high country has continued snow in the forecast and according to Postholer, the May 28th snowpack along the CDT between Cuba, NM and Twin Lakes, CO is 315% of average. The biggest question at this point is if I’ll resume hiking in northern Colorado or Southern Wyoming and that decision will be made in the next couple weeks based on unfolding conditions in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness north of Steamboat Springs. On one hand this decision is disappointing but on the other it’s clearly the right one for me based on my risk tolerance and it may lead to a more enjoyable experience for the remainder of the hike. As I was making my way north through New Mexico in April I meet lots of great people but always seemed to be saying goodbye and racing off down the trail to cover the miles I’d scheduled for myself; there were a lot of lonely days out there. This change in plans should allow me to relax my schedule, enjoy more time with others, and still meet my family at Waterton Lakes National Park over Labor Day weekend. And in the meantime, I’m looking forward to catching up with friends in Denver! [May 29, 2019 Update: On May 20, 2019 I made the decision to resume hiking north from Rawlins, WY on Jun 10, 2019.]
This section covers 115 miles in seven days which averages 16 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and four days where the goal will be to hike 23.7 miles.
This section covers 171 miles in ten days which averages 17 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and seven days where the goal will be to hike 21.6 miles. It passes through the Winder River Mountains and the Bridger Wilderness.
This section covers 159 miles in nine days which averages 18 miles/day and the longest day is 34.6 miles. It passes through the Teton Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park and intermediate waypoints include:
This section covers 176 miles in eleven days which averages 16 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and eight days where the goal will be to hike 20.1 miles.
This section covers 122 miles in nine days which averages 14 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and six days where the goal will be to hike 19.5 miles.
This section covers 175 miles in ten days which averages 17.5 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and seven days where the goal will be to hike 22.9 miles. It passes through the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.
This section covers 96 miles in seven days which averages 14 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and four days where the goal will be to hike 19.0 miles.
This section covers 127 miles in eight days which averages 16 miles/day. There is one floating rest day and five days where the goal will be to hike 21.3 miles.
This section covers 135 miles in seven days which averages 19 miles/day. There is no rest day and five days where the goal will be to hike 22.9 miles. It passes through the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
This section covers 104 miles in seven days which averages 15 miles/day. There is no rest day and the longest day is 19.5 miles. It passes through the Glacier National Park and my parents are meeting me in Waterton Lakes National Park for the drive home. Intermediate waypoints include: