Hey guys!
I just started planning for a thru hike in 2015, anyone else out there planning on hiking it as well? I will be doing a NOBO so if anyone else is too, we could possibly meet up!
-Melanie
Hey guys!
I just started planning for a thru hike in 2015, anyone else out there planning on hiking it as well? I will be doing a NOBO so if anyone else is too, we could possibly meet up!
-Melanie
Might as well go for the triple crown at this point!
Melanie, you sound excited. Kinda like someone recently off the trail who didn't get enough of it.
I'm currently thi a 2015 NOBO CDT hike starting at Crazy Cook. Though with the recent death of local trail angel Sam Hughes, I'm wondering how starting there will work out. My current thoughts are to stay with the designated route except when an alternate is clearly more scenic and would prefer to avoid paved road hiking as much as possible (feet hate it with the type of trail runners I normally use). But I recognize that things change quickly on the trail so we'll see how it works out.
I hiked the PCT in 2009 and did the northern 600 miles of the AT SOBO last fall (Vermont in October was pretty nice). I'm currently trying to brainwash a fellow PCT '09 hiker into doing the CDT with me (sending him CDT documentaries for b-day gifts etc.).
I am pretty excited since I always find opportunities to get on the trail. I also heard about the local trail angel's recent death which is too bad. He helped so many hikers to the start of the CDT. Everyone has only kind words about him. I am hoping that someone will rise up and pick up where he left of.
I am also hoping to stay with the designated route and try to avoid road walking too. I was going to hike the CDT loop in the Rocky Mountain National Park this past month but due to the forest fire, I was unable so I'd like to do that loop as well, I heard it is vert scenic with all the lakes etc… Like you said, things quickly change when we're on the trail. Who know's, we may want cheeseburgers every 20 miles!
You could send me CDT documentaries for my birthday too! I currently live in WIsconsin so I mostly hike the Ice Age Trail but I am from Québec and I used to backpack in the Appalachians there. How was the PCT in 2009? I have 2 friends who are at the midway point. The PCT has a lot of trail angels, well according to their blog posts anyway.
I loved the PCT in 2009 though I did encounter a forest fire in NorCal that caused some issues. I had beautiful weather most of the trip and only used my tarp for weather 9 times (4 at the end due to on/off snow by the Canadian Border). It isn't so much that there are tons of trail angels. Its that hikers start in a smaller window and thus pass through together only a few weeks apart. The trail is pretty isolated so all the hikers go into the same towns and places so its easy for those who want to Trail Angel to get most of the hikers for a given year. On the AT, hikers are spread out over months and many resupply at different towns from each other. However, the number of hikers that started the PCT this year is more then double what it was in 2009. While I often hiked around other hikers, there were many times I was alone for days. That should be far more common on the CDT so I guess its a good thing that I like myself since I find that when you hike alone you tend to do a lot of thinking about your life and experiences.
[QUOTE=Miner;1507712]I loved the PCT in 2009 though I did encounter a forest fire in NorCal that caused some issues. /QUOTE]
When you encountered the fire, did you hike around it or simply skipped the area altogether? As far as trail angels, the CDT doesn't have as nearly as much as the PCT and AT combined. I am hoping not for food but for some good samaritans to cache water everywhere! I am currently planning the New Mexico route and I am using Jonathan Ley's maps and so far the water condition doesn't look so good. Most of the tanks are dry as of 2011 or have dead animals in them. I think that will be the most challenging of all.
Have you encountered any dangerous animals on the PCT? Grizzlies, rattlesnakes etc? As much as I want to cowboy camp most of the trail whenever possible, some of the bugs in warmer region scared the bejezus out of me. Being from Canada (Currently living in Wisconsin) we don't have much venomous animals, I've encountered black bears, elks, and moose before. All were easy to spot and avoidable. I'm planning on traveling south before 2015 and hike the area so I get familiar with it.
[QUOTE=foreversuperawesome;1508798] Read Medicare Pastor's northbound CDT trail journal from 2012. Look at her photo gallery for the trip. Look at photos of her camps on April 1 & 2, 2012. Also read her Prep journal entries where she writes a brief biography of her 70 year life.
Folks have also been sleeping under the stars and finding water in Big Bend National Park for centuries.
Have fun!
Wayne
Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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Somwhere between the last 10 days of April to first week of May. Its a little early to say exactly when. If the snow in the San Juan's is bad, I'll favor a latter start. If I end up not doing much training, then I'll favor a bit earlier in-order to more slowly break in.
Miner,
We definitely need to meet up at some point. Perhaps we could start together… I, too, want to start at Crazy Cook monument, as Sly mentioned, with the passing of Sam Hughes it will be harder to get transportation to the beginning of the trail. I'll keep searching for a way to get there, after all, it's the official start of the CDT.
If all fails, I'll just hike there! I'm planning to start in April to "break myself in" and start easy. Last thing I want is to overdue it in the first few weeks and get an injury that will prevent me from continuing farther. Anyway, that's my plan, for now.
I think this is a good plan, but keep in mind that water sources will often be 20 miles apart or more! And if you aren't doing 20+ miles per day, that makes for a ton of water to carry. I met several PCTers who began their hike in Tehachapi and they often struggled with the long dry stretches and only doing 15 mi per day. I think that section is much hillier than southern NM though.
Also, as someone from the East, do you have any experience with desert hiking? I'm from North Carolina and was totally unprepared for how difficult the desert would be. I recommend getting some hikes in for practice, luckily you have plenty of time!!
This year (and I suppose next) the CDTC ran shuttles to Crazy Cook during the typical thru-hiker seasons, however, I'm not sure of the price. Other prices I heard were quite expensive since it's such a lousy road.
If you want to start right away testing your route finding abilities, the CDTS Columbus route is a good one.
Melanie, there were over 100 northbound hikers that started this year and I only expect numbers to go up, so you shouldn't have a problem finding someone to plan or hike with.
Check out the CDT Mailing Label page, it has links to nearly everything there is to find about hiking the CDT.
I wouldn't worry about strictly following the official route. Of all three triple crown trail you really need to remain flexible on the CDT. Many times the Ley maps cover several options. You can always go back and do sections such as the RMNP loop (or hike them beforehand.)
Last edited by Sly; 07-28-2013 at 08:46.
I expect the number to grow as well. Which is good, the trail is finally getting some recognition. I have Ley's map as well and there are many routes to choose from, I was suppose to do the RMNP loop this past june but due to a forest fire, I was forced to change my trip, so we hike elsewhere in the park. Still bummed that I wasn't able to get my feet on the CDT... yet.
Up until this year it seems the number for the past 10 has been between 25-50. In 2002, the year I thru-hiked, there were less than 25 thru-hikers in both directions with about the same long distance section hikers. Of course these are just guesstimates, but I believe fairly accurate.
re: Designate route
I'd mix and match. The designated route in The Winds for example is horse friendly, but you miss Temple Pass, Cirque of the Towers and so on.
Just be flexible.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Forgot the link.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=13342
Wayne
Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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