CDT Thru Hike in 2015

[foreversuperawesome]

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

[NaturalHiker]

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 melanie, i know it's a long way off but im most likely going to be attempting a thru-hike of the CDT in 2015 going Northbound as well. Just knocked out the AT this year, am planning the PCT for 2014, and if im not burnt out by then.. Triple Crown it is.

[Miner]

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.).

[foreversuperawesome]

Might as well go for the triple crown at this point!

[foreversuperawesome]

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.

[Miner]

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.

[Sly]

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

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.)

[Mags]

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.

[foreversuperawesome]

[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.

[foreversuperawesome]

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.)

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.

[foreversuperawesome]

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.

I'll try to be as flexible as I can be. Already planning on a few unofficial routes that will be much better scenery than if I stayed on the official route. Some reliable water areas are also off trail too, so I plan to hit those one up too.

[foreversuperawesome]

I'm currently thi a 2015 NOBO CDT hike starting at Crazy Cook.
.).

Miner,

You're starting at Crazy cook in 2015? Sorry I missed that part last time, When are you planning on starting?

[Venchka]

[QUOTE=foreversuperawesome;1508798]

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.

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

[Venchka]

Forgot the link.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=13342

Wayne

[foreversuperawesome]

Forgot the link.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=13342

Wayne

Thanks for the link! It's very appreciated!

[Venchka]

Thanks for the link! It's very appreciated!

You're welcome! I am wading through all of the recent journals. Inspiration is oozing through the pixels. There may be some hope for this Geezer after all.
Last night I read: "6 weeks from Glacier to Yellowstone." Shazam! The light bulb went on. The seeds of a plan were sown.
With any luck, I'll be in a permanent work release program beginning in 2015. 6 weeks. Glacier to Yellowstone. Tack on The Teton Crest Trail. Shaazaam!
Good luck!

Wayne

[ChinMusic]

I'm on the AT as I type. I had penciled plans for the PCT in '14 and the CDT in '15. Right now I don't see those two happening.

But, I was told by JB in New York, "Six weeks after getting home you will be ordering Yogi's book".

[Dogwood]

Absolutely, mix and match with official CDT routes and alternates to design the hike of your dreams. No other other long distance trail of the extent of the CDT does this most aptly apply.

Trail angle system is NO where as near developed on the CDT as it is on the AT or even the PCT.

Even after having 8 previous long distance thru-hikes of 250 - 2700 miles each under my belt before I thrued the CDT in 2010 I still found the logistics daunting at times. I found it helpful to chunk things down by state and just kept chugging through it until I had that state's logistics down. Without going into great detail I thought Ley's CDT mapset made things immensely helpful in designing my route. Yogi does a GREAT CDT guide too. And, MAGS CDT advice kept me from getting overwhelmed at times by cutting through to the nitty gritty; he does this probably better than anyone in regard to ALL his trail and personal advice.

Think about it from this perspective. It's a damn GREAT hike just doing Glacier to Yellowstone! That section alone could be the hike of a lifetime for a great many hikers! That's exactly what I did Venchka. I tacked on the Bechler Trail(GREAT waterfall and hot pool soaking trail!, took in Union Falls too) from near Shoshone Lake/Heart Lakes(both in Yellowstone NP) down to Flagg Ranch and hitched over to Grand Teton NP and did the Teton Crest Trail. That plan you have is, IMHO, one helluva hike! ANY hiker would experience a wealth of scenery, terrain, and challenges on that trek and be proud to have it included in their hiking resume.

"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! " - Foreversuperawesome

I did the RMNP CDT loop. People have different opinions about it but my thought was "Why wouldn't I want to experience a National Park? It's a NP for damn good reason. This is just my opinion but I think SOME CDTers fall into the mindset to just get the trail done(the CDT is a LONG trail) so start lopping off trail mileage for the simple reason to get it over with and for little other valid reasons. This is really not a hard loop to do logistically if you factor in Shadow Cliff Hostel in Grand Lake and do it as a LONG day hike! Thanks MAGS for the advice on the RMNP loop!

In 2010 there were a total of 6 of us going SOBO and about 10 that I knew who were going NOBO. I met about a dozen total CDT thru-hikers that year. On several occasions I didn't encounter any human for 3-5 day stretches. I shouldn't have to say this but I will because I still notice hikers in an AT mindset who want to hike the CDT that way. The CDT is very much unlike the AT in many aspects. If you're planning a CDT thru or long CDT section hike you should understand that and know the differences and wisely prepare accordingly.

[Miner]

Miner, You're starting at Crazy cook in 2015? Sorry I missed that part last time, When are you planning on starting?

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.

[Sly]

With the passing of Sam Hughes it's going to be much more difficult to reach Crazy Cook. Starting at Palomas/Columbus is the official alternate.