Section Hiking the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

How did I get to the point of wanting to hike the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail?

When was the last time that you learned about something and it sent you down a rabbit hole of research? One of the first times I stayed up well into the wee hours of the morning was reading about the Appalachian Trail when I was in college. I felt like I had heard about a magical unfamiliar transformative wild space offering a promise of redefining my life. I couldn’t get enough of the online trail journals about individual experiences on a long-distance hike. I also remember telling my mom about this trail that goes all the way from Maine to Georgia and the laughter at the fact that we drove right past it through the Delaware water gap every weekend to go skiing. I laugh about that too now. 

After about 6 years of forgetting about the dream I had of exploring this magical place my friend Carla read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. She suggested I read it too. After reading about her transformation on the Pacific Crest Trail it rekindled my thoughts of the AT. It inspired me to confide what seemed like a ridiculous dream to my friend who without hesitation suggested we go backpacking together. We were both inexperienced but at least we wouldn’t be alone. In under a year I went from beginner backpacker to a thru hiker. In 2016 I hiked the AT southbound. I knew I loved this lifestyle of adventure. The commitment to a long slow distance and deep connection foraged with myself, the earth, and others has me hooked. 

Before I returned from the trail I started planning to hike the PCT in 2020. That would be the soonest I could leave my classroom teaching job with the promise of a partial pension when I reach retirement age. While 2020 didn’t pan out how anyone expected, I used the time to cultivate the mindset of a Phoenix rising from the ashes. I had right ankle surgery in January, left ankle surgery in March, and left hip surgery in July. With a dedication to physical therapy and home exercise I was able to set foot on the PCT in June of 2021. I was nervous about being asymmetrically strong. I was also determined and had a plan to keep my effort low and slow to build strength and endurance as I go. I had read about zone 2 training and the MAF method as I returned to exercise and was convinced a low heart rate would keep me going.

I hiked every mile of the PCT that was open to me but unfortunately all of Northern California was closed due to tragic wildfires. My plan for a PCT hike followed by a season as a ski bum and then a CDT hike were not to unfold exactly as I planned. I did hike what I could, worked as a ski bum, but when I saw that it was a high snow year in Montana and parts of Yellowstone National Park were flooding into the river I thought about the dangers of what lay ahead. I still felt as though my PCT hike was incomplete so instead of immediately hopping on the CDT I went back for what I had missed of the PCT. 

The friend that started it all, helped me get over the hurdle of newness, had started her own new adventure in the form of a cross country rv living road trip. We had planned to meet in Rocky Mountain National Park when I expected to arrive as a southbound thru hiker. I didn’t want to leave her hanging and I was thirsty for more than just 600 miles of the PCT in that season so I headed to Colorado and hopped onto the Continental Divide Trail for the first time at RMNP and headed south. It was peak time for southbound cdt thru-hikers, but my legs and lungs were new to the high elevation miles of the continental divide trail so I quickly fell behind the pack and few trail names to remember as I spent most of my time solo. 

I made it from RMNP, along parts of the Colorado trail in late September, through the San Juan Mountains, to just shy of Pietown, NM last season. It was the most breathtaking hiking of my life, both in scenery and in high elevation low oxygenation. The hiking was challenging and in spots the trail was difficult to follow, but I went as far as my timeline and social obligations allowed. This season I am headed back for the southern portion that I missed and next season I will do the northern portion. I guess that means on this trail I am a LASHer (long ass section hiker) instead of a thru hiker and considering there is over 3100 miles of trail I am happy to spread it out and enjoy it for years instead of a season. One of the greatest gifts of this mentality is it takes the pressure off of having to hike huge miles while racing the clock, timing the hike to an ever changing weather window. I may be able to slow down and enjoy the national parks the long-distance trail travels through. 

This year’s section of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

This year I will be traveling on foot through the desert of New Mexico from the border of Mexico to somewhere North of Pie Town. Last season I got off between Pie Town and Grants as it was an easy hitch and opportunity for a friend to pick me up easily. This year I may choose to go all the way to Grants and revisit the lava flows of El Malpais National Monument if time allows, or I may just end my hike in the same spot as last year if I am short on time. My approach to hiking long-distance trails, whether I hike the entire trail or a LASH, is really just like planning a bunch of shorter trails one right after another. The launching point for planning is always the website of the organization that created and/or maintains the trails. In this case, I used the Continental Divide Trail Coalition website to begin. I also use the app FarOut for all my mapping needs. When I was planning to hike this ***3,000-mile trail*** as one big hike I put together a spreadsheet of all the towns I would have resupply packages mailed to along the way. I am so grateful and consider myself lucky to have the support of my friend Nathan who not only let me use his freeze dryer to make my own homemade freeze dried food, but also offered to mail it to me along the way.

My first hurdle was to get to the southern terminus of the trail. Their are about 25.5 miles of the CDT between NM Hwy 81 and the Crazy Cook Monument. The CDTC is a great resource in planning this as they have a shuttle that will take you all the way to the monument if need be. This page tells you all about that shuttle service and give some basics for hiking in the desert as well. Instead of the shuttle a friend from the AT, trail name Breezy, lives in Albuquerque and offered to get me from the airport to the trail. She saved me the hassle of having to book a hotel, bus and/or train, as well as booking the shuttle service. She dropped me off at Hwy 81 and I began hiking southbound to the Mexican border. Once I saw the monument at Crazy Cook I turned around and headed North. 

One of the most important things about hiking in the desert is water. It is essential to life and in the heat of the desert a lack of water can turn life threatening quickly. The water sources along this section are sparce. Clean water is provided at a number of caches. I met Radar who maintains the caches as well as Nine Lives who helps out with the shuttle while I was out their. They make difficult to access points accessible to adventurers like me. They even offer to help people get to or from the caches should they need anything. 

When I got to NM Hwy 81 I hitched a ride into Hachita based on a comment that the Hachita store was stocking some plant based foods. I am excited to support any community looking to meet the needs of plant based hikers. I spent the heat of the day hanging out in the community center before getting back on trail and continuing to the next closest town. 

After passing many prickly pear, and at least 3 other variety of cacti that I don’t know the name of, I arrived in Lordsburg this morning. As I continue as a northbound I will pass through Silver City, Doc Campbell’s Post, and Pie Town before I finish this section. One of the coolest things about long trails is the unique and beautiful community built of hikers, small towns, hostels, and trail angels. People of all walks of life come together to create a whole experience.  I’ve met 17 northbound hikers so far and wonder what their plans are through this section of the Continental Divide Trail. I am choosing to stop at Doc Campbell’s Post after Silver City because it will allow me to take a detour through the Gila Wilderness. I don’t usually take alternate routes, but in this case I am so looking forward to seeing Gila River and the Gila Cliff Dwellings. 

In addition to the Gila National Forest and the Gila Wilderness, I am also walking through Apache National Forest, El Malpais National Monument, as well as present day and ancestral lands of the Chiricahua Apache, Zuni, Pueblos, Ute and Western Apache. The highest elevation I will enjoy is under 10k feet with an overall lower elevation than last year’s high elevations through the San Juans. My prior experience in the high desert was during some early season snow, so the weather conditions I am experience now are quite different. Previously, in Northern New Mexico the average elevation was closer to 10k feet, where as now I am walking at closer to 5k feet, although I will be gaining elevation soon. While the access to clean water seems limited, there is an abundance of wildlife that brings a smile to my face. I have already seen numerous desert rabbits and their ears are huge! I haven’t been able to identify just how many different lizard species I have seen, and their is no more joyous a sound than birds chirping as the heat dissipates in the evening. 

While I will not go the entire length of the CDT this year, nor will I make it to the Canadian Border this year, but the good news is I will still experience a long distance hike rich with the highest highs and the lowest lows. The deserts of New Mexico will encourage me to hike my own hike while I search out a great spot with shade, the best option for hiding from mid-day heat. I will have the occasional easy day to offset the physical challenges, and while it may take a lot of research to feel safe and prepared for a hike like this, time spent on any of the triple crown trails like the AT, PCT, and CDT are well worth it.

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