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  1. #1

    Default CDT 90 to 100 days.

    Just to put my experience in perspective first, I hiked the A.T march 2nd to july31st 2010, PCT May 1st to Sept 21st 2011

    I can do 30 MPD in 12 to 13 hours depending on conditions.

    I have other things to do in 2012 making my thru-window much shorter then in the past for me.

    I am thinking of starting July 15 SOBO on the CDT.

    I hiked 500 miles of solid snow and another 100 patchy of snow on the PCT. This was all done map and compass or GPS so a few hundred of snow pack is not a big deal.

    Storms would be an issue.

    What are the potential weather issues with this time frame?

    PINE.

  2. #2
    Garlic
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    As you know, the afternoon monsoon storms will be a bit of an issue, but that's probably the best time frame to hike the CDT. If you can keep a 100-day pace, good for you. Getting out of Colorado before the end of September would be great. The overall elevation is more of an issue than on the PCT. Fires might be an issue, too, but with that late of a start you'll have a pretty good idea of how the season will look. Your pack weight will be a little heavier with food and water in places, so count that into your pace expectations, too. Nobody knows what the snowpack will be like by then, but it's pretty late so it most likely won't be an issue. The permit rangers in Glacier will want to slow you down to less than 20 mpd, but that's not a bad thing, to enjoy the Park.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  3. #3
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    I found the permit rangers in Glacier to be fairly flexible, actually, but perhaps being among the first they had to deal with made a difference --- who knows.
    How fast did you do the PCT, Pine? If you can do the PCT in 90 - 100 days, I think you have a shot at the CDT that way. I took about 4-1/2 months each to do both PCT and AT, and the CDT took me exactly 5 months FWIW. I do think it's a bit tougher. Selecting the shortest route options (Anaconda, Creede, etc) would certainly help, of course, but that sort of thing you can figure out as you go, so long as you have map data for different routes.

    Part of the issue with snow isn't necessarily snow "pack" --- in GNP and the Bob, it was softer energy-draining snow and associated high creek crossings for me, but a July 15 start would certainly make all of that much better.
    I guess part of the issue isn't being able to do 30 mpd for one or a few days, it's being able to do that every day, day after day. I wouldn't want to (the trail kicked my butt hard enough with more conventional daily mileage), but maybe you will.

    Certainly an upside to doing that sort of pace is less food and water to carry overall. Note that navigation on this trail is more of an issue, and could literally slow you down in a few places; a good GPS and experience with it could help you some there.

    I can't think of other weather issues, getting through southern CO is the big one; the rest is stuff that you're already used to dealing with. Well, maybe except the sometimes daily thunder/lightening storms, sometimes with often brief but intense hail.
    And wind. Plan on a lot of wind in various places (all ~four states).
    Gadget
    PCT: 2008 NOBO, AT: 2010 NOBO, CDT: 2011 SOBO, PNT: 2014+2016

  4. #4
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    I suspect July-Oct is a great time to hike the trail, but here are some things that come to mind:

    1. A 90-100 day CDT hike is a significant increase in effort over your past two hikes. Based on the dates provided, you hiked the AT in ~5 mo and the PCT in ~4.5 mo. What will change to make this hike different?

    2. 30mi in 12h (PCT pace) seems below the threshold for a 100 day CDT hike. I found my pace dropped on the CDT as compared to the PCT and I spent much more time route finding. Route finding on the CDT is not tied to snow and will slow your pace for the length of the trail. Rough estimate: I budgeted 3h/10mi on the PCT (off snow) vs. 4h/10mi on the CDT. Granted, I didn't carry a GPS - YMMV.

    3. Resupply is hard - be sure to budget time for hitching. Luck is a factor but, outside of NM, resupply was a bit of a time suck. Long/multiple hitches are to be expected. Even worse, hitching time does not equal rest time

    In summary, I found the CDT to be a "worst case scenario" type trail - terrain will slow you down, weather will force a detour or short day, you will get misplaced, you will be delayed. If you rely on a best case outcome to achieve your goal, you're likely to be disappointed. Plan and train for the worst and you should have a great time

    -ed CDT2011 NOBO May 19-Sept 1

  5. #5

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    I always, always plan for the worst. "what will change to make this hike different"? On the A.T and PCT i started slow and took zeros when unnecessary for rest. Most zeros I took were to hang out with other hikers. On the CDT I will not start slow. From what I can tell there will not be as many other hikers to zero with.

  6. #6
    See you at Springer, Winter 09' Chance09's Avatar
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    Take it from somebody who did big miles on the PCT. The CDT is a tough trail to do big miles on. I spent a month on the PCT doing 35+ mile days with my longest being a 52 mile day. I did the PCT in a huge snow year too.

    That said I might have averaged 25 MPD this year but after 25 miles i was absolutely beat.

    There was a lot of time spent hiking as fast as we possibly could, but as fast as we could was 1 MPH.

    Afternoon thunderstorms aren't an issue that late in the year in CO, but freezing cold rain and snowstorms at 12,000+ are.
    AT - Georgia to Maine '09
    PCT - Mexico to Canada '10
    CDT - Canada to Mexico '11


  7. #7

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    I believe that squeaky hiked the CDT in something like 75 days, so clearly 90-100 is humanly possible, although not at all easy. If you're finding the pace too difficult, there are numerous short-cuts to shorten the hike. If you do the Butte Super-Cutoff, skip the Rocky Mountain National Park Loop, Creede instead of the San Juans -- then you've probably saved 8 - 10 days right there alone, but you'd be missing some awesome sections.

  8. #8
    Registered User handlebar's Avatar
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    It would be a shame to miss the San Juans just to complete the trail in a set time frame. You can always come back another year and do the remaining chunk. Under no circumstances would I advise anyone to miss the San Juans. They were a highlight of the hike for me so far (Mex to Helena, MT).

    By July 15, depending on snow pack this winter, you shouldn't run into too much snow in MT, though you may hit some snow in CO starting that late. I noticed a lot more of the afternoon thundershowers on the CDT than on the PCT. Check out the snow report on Postholer.com to see how the snow develops.
    Handlebar
    GA-ME 06; PCT 08; CDT 10,11,12; ALT 11; MSPA 12; CT 13; Sheltowee 14; AZT 14, 15; LT 15;FT 16;NCT-NY&PA 16; GET 17-18

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