Poll: Which direction did you go or which direction will you go on the CT?

[HeartFire]

SWBO - last year with the Collegiate West section. 36 1/2 days (with 2 zero's tucked in there). I'm also tempted to do it again

[blake]

NEBO. A long story short: Tried to hike PCT, got stress fracture by Agua Dulce. Took forever to heal, Bought a bike and zip-tied a couple small garbage cans to it for my gear, did a bike tour that ended when I met a really cool couple just outside of Durango that agreed to hold my bike at their house for the summer and drop me off at the CT trailhead. Amazing!

[LuckyMan]

Plan SWBO starting around July 22

[On Track]

Contemplating the pronunciation of SWBO, I think it should be pr:Swebbo.

[bearcreek]

So the final tally, as I count it - 20 SWBO, 2 Mixed, and 2 NEBO. So there are about 10X as many headed towards Durango as towards Denver.

[Venchka]

Sounds about right to me. I would want to leave Denver.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Dobbins]

Late to the party here. Did Southwest bound in 2012. Live in Denver, wanted to take advantage of easier terrain and less snowpack, although in 2012 pretty much the entire trail was passable by June 1st.

[TrippLite]

SWOB - 2004 July
Reflecting back, never would have thought I would see the day that because of gear advancement I would shave 4 1/2 pounds off my then trustworthy 99 Gregory Palasade that weighed a few ounces shy of 7 lbs

[TrippLite]

SWOB - 2004 July

EDIT... SWBO - July 2004
Early morning post w/o coffee

[Paskids]

SWBO in 2013

[Nooga]

Just completed a SWBO (Collegiate West).

[nattyB]

I have plans for a SWBO with the Collegiate West option this coming summer.

[gram cracker]

I think the reason more people start near Denver is because more people live there. It's also closer to transportation for people who come from out of state.

[Coffee]

I did meet a couple of Denver bound thru hikers as I was approaching Durango at the end of my hike in late August. One of them was from out of state but acclimated prior to starting. The other hiker was from Leadville and therefore already naturally acclimated due to Leadville's 10,000+ foot elevation. I think that this is the key factor.

[Grampie]

I started my thru as a NOBO. Took a week off when I got to Duncanon and went to Maine and finished as a SOBO. Met a lot of good folks as a NOBO hiker. I was sorry that I didn't continue NOBO with them. The SOBO hike was great Summited Katahdin on July 22. Had great weather with few bugs the whole SOBO hike. Found very few hikers going SOBO that time of the year. For about a week I met quite a few of my NOBO friends in passing.

[lhefling]

I've just decided this year to do the CT as a bucket list item. Will plan to do Silverton to Durango this year and the entire CT SWBO as soon as I'm ready and can coordinate the trip.

[Coffee]

You might want to work the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad into your Silverton to Durango hike. It was great one way, but tedious on the return. You could take it one way from Durango to Silverton and hike back. Actually if you don't want to actually visit Silverton, you could get off the train at the Elk Park stop very near the Colorado Trail. Only two downsides would be missing the town of Silverton (interesting) and starting your hike with an uphill portion to get to Molas Pass.

[Highway Man]

I did a SWBO thru in 2010, from Aug. 6 to Sept. 5.

[Diode]

I hiked the trail NEBO in September, 2013.

[MaryandMarc]

We're going SWBO, starting July 20th. It seems to me you'd have fewer people-passings if you're going with the flow than if you're going against it... So if you want to meet lots of people and then leave them again, go NEBO. If you're hoping to hike with newfound trail friends, go SWBO.

I wonder if the same holds true for the mountain bike encounters. Are they mostly going in one direction or the other?