It seems that most people take the alternative route up the Gila River. Who has done the official CDT route through the Black Range? And how bad is it?
miles
Black range - Continental Divide Trail
system
#2
The Black Range is beautiful and remote. I haven’t done the official route, but we hiked the southern end in 1999. The issues with the Black Range are: much farther to resupply, lack of water in the spring, missing the unique beauty of the river valleys and the Anasazi ruins.
In 2006 a couple of hikers ended up not seeing any water for 3 days when following the Black Range route. They found a 5 gallon box of water left by a forest crew that got them out to the highway. Given the extremely low precipitation this winter, unless you want to carry several gallons of water, the high route will be iffy.
Black Range
system
#3
When we did it we found adequate water. You must be willing to go off trail a bit in places, and be prepared to go 20 miles between sources at times. It is a spectacular, beautiful hike on which follows the crest of the divide much of the time. We saw a really nice Black Bear in there, and a Mexican Wolf.
bearcreek