The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is a long-distance trail that runs from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. He kayaked in Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, backpacked on Michigan's Isle Royale. The Continental Divide Trail: America's most remote long trail From Aspen to the peak of the pass is about . Why? . Much of the surface over which we traveled on the Great Continental Divide Adventure Route was macadam, but there was also plenty of dirt, rocks, and gravel, so we needed tough tires with strong sidewalls and high traction treads, which was well provided by the Yokohama Geolandar tiresboth designswithout a single flat tire for the entire trip. Soon after, she hiked 800 miles of the Continental Divide trail along the Montana and Idaho borders. I also came across the following deaths which occurred on or near the PCT but did not involve thru-hikers: FALL | 30-year-old male | March 31, 2022 | A mans body was recovered just north of Forester Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail/John Muir Trail following a fall in monsoon-type weather(source), LIGHTNING | Nicholas Torchia | July 30, 2021 | On the Sallie Keyes Cutoff near Muir Trail Ranch in the Sierra, Torchia was leaning against a tree for cover during a storm when the tree was struck by lightning (source), HEATSTROKE | Unnamed Woman | June 16, 2021 | Emergency services were called to aid a woman near Anza (California) suffering from suspected heatstroke. If you cover a steady twenty miles a day, you will finish it . A guy on a motorcycle offered me a ride and then said he didnt have helmets but it was fine because theres no helmet law in Montana, I happened upon a man and a woman digging in some dirt on the shoulder and they had their truck parked off the edge of a forest service road. Pacific Crest Trail Horror Stories (Class of 2022) He succame to his injuries (which included internal bleeding and head trauma) before being found in his sleeping bag by hikers the day after his fall (source), HIT BY CAR | Flicka Rodman | Nov. 19, 1995 | While taking a road walk detour down Highway 138 in Southern California, both he and Jane Rodman were struck and killed by a motorist who lost control of his vehicle after falling asleep at the wheel (he received a five-day jail sentence) (source), HIT BY CAR | Jane Rodman | Nov. 19, 1995 | While taking a road walk detour down Highway 138 in Southern California, both she and Flicka Rodman were struck and killed by a motorist who lost control of his vehicle after falling asleep at the wheel (he received a five-day jail sentence) (source), FALL | Jodi Zatchick | Winter 1983 | During a winter thru-hike attempt, Jodi Zatchick and her hiking partner Gerald Duran fell off a cliff face near Wrightwood, California after losing the trail and slipping on an icy slope (source), FALL | Gerald Duran | Winter 1983 | During a winter thru-hike attempt, Gerald Duran and his hiking partner Jodi Zatchick fell off a cliff face near Wrightwood, California after losing the trail and slipping on an icy slope (source). [25][1], Notable points from south to north on the CDT in Montana include:[25][1]. In the end, I didnt have the heart to finish so alone I was out there for the community and when I couldnt have that, In Colorado attempting to do five passes in a day. The discovery this week in northern New Mexico of a 59-year-old known for extensive long distance hikes ends a monthslong search after going missing in December. You might say we were emulating the explorers of the 1800s but we were in Jeeps towing trailers rather than riding horses tugging pack animals or riding Conestoga or Studebaker wagons. We took Mosquito Pass into Leadville and the 13,185-foot pass between Leadville and Fairplay required all the clearance our vehicles had and their transfer cases low ranges, but the history, the relics, the mine shafts, and scenery were well worth the effort. Alex Cahoy was 32 and a healthy and experienced hiker. The road walk into Rawlins (Wyoming) after the Basin. I was whimpering and crying on and off from being cold and exhausted all day. a 501 (c) (3) national non-profit organization that seeks to create a community committed to construct, promote, and protect in perpetuity the CDNST. The average number of days (including "zeros") to complete the hike was 147.[9]. Lastly, I have also had some reports of deaths on the Pacific Crest Trail that I havent been able to find any source material for. They meet at the actual continental divide at Flattop Mountain, an elevation of 12,324 feet (according to the National Park Service's website). [36], The CDT trail goes east from the Idaho border, circles around the city of Butte, then turns north toward Glacier National Park via the Lewis and Clark National Forest and through three National Wilderness areas. A continental divide is a ridge or natural boundary of elevated terrain that separates the drainage basins of a continent. Continental Divide Trail - Google My Maps [12][13][14] This seven-month journey spanned over 5,600 miles. Jump in and jump out at the various interstates as your free time dictates. The route follows the western mountains known as the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada Range. But Continental Divide Trail thru-hikers are revitalizing the town in surprising ways. The award is acknowledged here . The CDT is now 95 percent complete. He was in his sleeping bag, his possessions arranged neatly around him. If you know you want to complete a thru-hike, but aren't sold on which Triple Crown trail to hike, this article is for you. He didnt understand that the only thing I was afraid of at that moment was. Likewise, the red routes that we sampled werent extremely difficult, just more difficult than the blue road. It's not unrealistic to say that a Pacific Crest . Officials reported that the tree had rotted at the base, causing it to become unstable (source), DROWNING | Wang Chaocui | Mid July, 2017 | In Yosemite National Park (California), Wang Chaocui was discovered in a river in Kerrick Canyon. Nobody knows why Alexander Cahoy died suddenly while hiking the Continental Divide Trail. Grizzly encounter on day four in Glacier National Park (Montana). I eventually did and believe I made the right choice, but it hurt and still hurts that, When I realized my foot was hurt and it would take. The Continental Divide Trail closely follows the Continental Divide, but has a large number of approved alternate routes, some of which are more utilized than the official trail. We give equal recognition to thruhikers/equestrians and sectionhikers/equestrians. Either way, best to sign up for my newsletter, yeah? All-inclusive trips, expert guides, Top-rated hiking company on Trip Advisor! So if you ever see a headline something like, Hiker deaths on the PCT jump 200% in the National Scenic Trails deadliest year ever!, know that this means ten people died doing something inherently dangerous (aka its clickbait). Have your own tale of woe from a Continental Divide Trail thru-hike? Trail Ridge Road crests at 3.721m (12,209ft) and climbs up Milner Pass, Trail Ridge , Fall River Pass and Iceberg Pass . Because if youre lucky, you may drive the entire length in sunny warm weather, but thats very unlikely. Continental Divide Trail . 8 Great Reasons to Ride the Continental Divide Trail - ADV Pulse North Fork of Sheep Creek. The CDT crosses Interstate 15 again at an elevation of 6,299 feet (1,920m). [], CDTC, New Mexico Land Office, BLM Announce Partnership to Improve & Protect CDT Access, CDTC Applauds Important Milestone for the Bipartisan CDT Completion Act. On a path as long, high, and remote as the Continental Divide Trail, there is little room for gear errors. These are from the non-parks within the NPS. An autopsy produced no answers. Minneapolis man died of unknown causes on Continental Divide Trail . Inside a 5,600-mile footrace on the country's hardest trail. Remember that between altitudes of 10,500 feet (3,200 km) and 13,000 feet (3,962 km) the air is thin, and some hikers may experience difficulty. The Tour Divide has been raced and completed on both single speed . The Route covers 5 states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and is a . Award-winning Hiking Tours: Continental Divide Trail Summits Day Hike Tour! For the past few weeks, social media has been overflowing with homeowner complaints about missed pickups. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition, P.O. Ashland Ski Lodge (Oregon), Phillip Crosby was crushed by a tree that fell on his tent in strong wind (source), FALL | 20-year-old male | August 20, 2013 | A man free-climbing a rock face with friends near the PCT in Yakima County (Washington) fell to his death (source), HYPOTHERMIA | Karen Tellez | December 7, 1997 | A woman out hiking became separated from her group and died of suspected hypothermia near the PCT near Pine Canyon Road in Southern California (source), SUICIDE | Douglas Cracker | October 29, 1988 | A hiker on the PCT discovered the body of Douglas Cracker, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, half a mile north of Highway 62 in Crater Lake National Park (source). The lowest elevation of the trail in Colorado is 8,044 feet (2,452m) along the Middle Fork of the Elk River near the border with Wyoming[22] and the highest elevation in Colorado is 14,278 feet (4,352m) at the summit of Gray's Peak. 70% (2,170 miles) of the trail is along land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Continental Divide Trail : New Mexico Nomad The CDT was described in 2013 by a Triple Crown hiker as "Raw, wild, remote and unfinished; it is a trail that will make use of all the skills of an experienced backpacker. 1.2K. The road is open to traffic and is extremely narrow in some sections. When firefighters reached him, they were going over his symptoms when he suddenly went into arrest. Myth #2: Thru-hiking is not a race. MWA staff work to maintain the CDT in Montana and Idaho with the help of volunteers and agency partners. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) extends 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada across a range of landscapes in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. A, Realized that calcaneus fasciitis was going to require the. It's also the most remote, and the highest - the lowest point on the entire trail is in New Mexico at 4,189ft above sea level. His body was found just below the summit (source), FALL | Laurie Choate | September 5, 2018 | Laurie Choate, died in a fall hiking the Kendall Katwalk (Washington). Hiking the Continental Divide Loop in Rocky Mountain National Park Hikers sent sympathy notes to his parents praising Alex as easygoing, strong, cheerful, always willing to lend others a hand. The Great Continental Divide Adventure Route is a motorized route that follows closely along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. In 2012, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition replaced the CDTA to coordinate the efforts of several regional partners engaged in constructing and maintaining the trail. You've made it this far, you're either into this site or you're still looking for something. (March 2008) "There & Back Again", Bastone, Kelly (August 2008) "Taking the High Way: Thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail,", Last edited on 10 February 2023, at 23:37, "A Quick and Dirty Guide to the Continental Divide Trail", "The Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hiker Survey (2019)", "Cheating their Way to Fame: The Top 9 Adventure Travel Hoaxes", "The Onion vs. Mr. Magoo - On your mark, get set hike. The name "Trail Ridge Road" derives from its proximity to historic pathways used by native peoples to cross the Rocky Mountains. In Montana near the Canadian border the trail crosses Triple Divide Pass (near Triple Divide Peak, from which waters may flow to either the Arctic Ocean (via Hudson Bay), Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean). In that same year, the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA) was created and with volunteers built or improved the route of the trail. But Alex stood in the downpour, tending the fire, "having the best time in the rain." It was truly miserable. Otter's death on the Continental Divide Trail - besthike.com Though the Internet is now an invaluable resource for hikers, and a number of other authors have created their own guide books, Yogi's Continental Divide Trail Handbook still stands as one of the best resources for CDT thru-hikers. So if you have some mental block about hiking the PCT because of all the scary things that are waiting for you out there, then know that despite those things actually existing, they are unlikely to kill you. He didn't want to be the first to cross the river, he wanted to help everybody else across the river. [21], The official route of the CDT in New Mexico is 794.5 miles (1,278.6km) long,[1] although many alternate routes shorten or lengthen that distance. There was a lot of snow. Drainage divides, regardless of . Obviously, we had neither the time nor the funds to explore every alternative route along the divide, but we did sample several of them. was banging a pot and spoon all night. New Mexico; Continental Divide; I-40; . Continental Divide Trail. You can even hike the entire length of the divide from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail if you have five months to spare. Coming over a ridge to end what was my longest day so far on the trail (27mi / 43 km), only to see a new, active fire less than 10 mi / 16 km away and no way to escape but forward. . [11] In 1978 three women hiked the entire trail: Nancy Andujar and the team of Jean Ella and Lynne Wisegart. There was one point I was going to start early in Northern Montana (before sunrise), started hiking, then just pitched camp again because of all the. How Dangerous is the Continental Divide Trail? - YouTube We want to hear from you about your journey. [22] Timberline can be as low as 6,000 feet (1,800m) in Glacier National Park at the Canadian border[34] and as high as 9,000 feet (2,700m) in the southern part of Montana. "Everybody says there was no trauma, no distress," Tom said. It hit me hard but I knew that I was not hiking just to hike and if I didnt want to be out here I could go home. The world's longest mountain bike route zigzags 2,490 miles (4,007 kilometers) along the Continental Divide from the Canadian border near Eureka . Hopefully, none of this happens during your (or your loved ones) hike, but its possible. And if youll be towing trailers, as we did, the tag-alongs will also require clearance and tough tires. The Continental Divide Trail: Exploring America's Ridgeline Trail About halfway through my last state, New Mexico, I just wanted to quit. The Continental Divide stretches from Alaska down through Mexico . Indian Peaks Wilderness - Wikipedia "Money wasn't important to him," Tom said. With strong winds, I could not set up my tarp and had to retrieve my sleeping pad which blew away 0.25 mile / 400 m. The only way to keep warm was to, I spent most of Colorado trying to keep up with a group, including a friend I started the trail with, who was faster than me, and I burned myself out badly. I was night hiking along the road when a local pulled up. Hiking Triple Crown - A Complete Guide - BikeHikeSafari It takes between five and six months to hike through the remote Continental Divide Trail, depending on how fit you are. At an elevation of 11,315 feet (3,449m), the highest point reached by the CDT in Wyoming. CDTC policy is to operate on the honor system, assuming that those who submit a request for recognition have completed a journey between the Mexican and Canadian Border along the Continental Divide . A continental divide is a naturally occurring boundary or ridge separating a continent 's river systems.Each river system feeds into a distinct ocean basin, bay, or sea.. Continental divides are broad, continent-wide example of drainage divides, sometimes just called divides. Continental Divides in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia "My bipartisan bill ensures the trail will continue to provide public access and a continuous route will finally be . Continental Divide Trail Survey Collection, Pacific Crest Trail Horror Stories (Class of 2022), Pacific Crest Trail Hiking Advice for 2023 (& Beyond), Hikers Lowest Moments on the Pacific Crest Trail (Class of 2022), All my gear was totally soaked through at 11,000 ft / 3,353 m in driving sleet after Hope Pass, set up, and wound up. Continental Divide National Scenic Trail | US Forest Service The highest elevation is 9,324 feet (2,842m) in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. Continental Divide - National Geographic Society Wolf envisioned a similar trail running along the Continental Divide, and in 1978, he organized the Continental Divide Trail Society, which advocated for the newly designated National Scenic Trail and published several early guidebooks.[4]. Two Ocean PassA place where fish can swim over the Continental Divide The most common problems reported by thru-hikers are injury and snow. When Julie didn't hear from her son for a few days, she called the local sheriff's office, which sent out a search and rescue team. Reply. It was, My first night at Two Medicine before getting my permit and starting the trail the next day. Continental Divide Scenic Trail - Rockies - Uncover Colorado He cross-country skied as a small child, joining the Minnesota Youth Ski League when he was 6 or 7. He was, North of Grays (Colorado) on a forest service road a man in a Jeep passed me twice and then stopped and asked if I had a gun or bear spray. [Authors note: If you dont wish to shoot your own photos at the border, or have bragging rights about doing the entire route, or meet the nice folks at the Hachita Food Mart, a ride down State Routes 146 and 81 from Interstate 10 to the border is pretty much just a cruise on a two-lane highway over rolling hills through cattle country.]. The Continental Divide Trail: A Guide for Thru-Hikers One of our side trips was Leadville, Colorado. The CDT is considered the most challenging of all the Scenic Trails in the US. Minneapolis man died of unknown causes on Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide in Southwest Montana Hitching into Santa Fe, New Mexico in the bed of a pickup doing 85 mph / 137 km/h and passing everyone was pretty scary. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the USA "The Continental Divide Trail provides an unmatched outdoor experience for Montanans and visitors alike," Daines said. Next spring, she plans to hike the Arizona National Scenic Trail from the border with Mexico to . Being the descendant of two Western iconsa cavalry scout on the plains and a member of Butch Cassidys Wild BunchI came by my fiddle-foot tendencies honestly and all the attractions of Mosquito Pass and Leadville called to me and my calling infected the others in my group. Beginning of the hike my shoes were too small and I had mad tendinitis and was afraid of having a, I packed out baby carrots from Ennis, Montana, and got. said man who shot 2 at St. Paul family memorial, Stolen Kia being chased by patrol in Mpls. 22 hours and 51 minutes and was set in 2016 by Mike Hall (see Trail Notes for a full list of records). Save the dates and stay tuned for more details! [35] The Montana Wilderness Association is the leading non-profit partner for the northern section of the CDT. A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea.Every continent on earth except Antarctica (which has no known significant, definable free-flowing surface rivers) has at least .