I would like to follow the official route and use my GPS as much as possible while hiking New Mexico. However I want to hike the Gila River not the Black mountain range. I’m going North so I’m thinking I will have to get off the official route at Silver City and I won’t connect back to the official route until almost Pie Town. Does anyone know if there is a definate road or destinct landmark where the two routes will connect again after the Gila? Snapshot
susie burns
hey Susie:
Get Jonathan Ley’s maps. The '13 CDT Maps were just mailed out.
http://www.phlumf.com/travels/cdt/cdtmaps.shtml
On Ley map NM37, the CDTA ‘official’ route heads north from Little Walnut Rd into the Black Mountain range. Ley’s ‘Red Route’ (recommended) heads towards the Gila River.
The two routes reconnect on NM30 @ the intersection of Forest Service roads 3070 & 90. This is only about 20 miles north of Snow Lake (WAY south of Pie town)
On my SOBO thru-hike last year I took the Gila River route which was awesome. There’s a great campsite just above Jordan Hot Springs on the Middle Fork.
I would recommend ‘winging it’ on the CDT - don’t be set on any given route b/c conditions may make certain routes almost impossible at times. It’s an great ‘trail.’ Lots of wilderness.
Happy trails!
freebird
Trails are together again at the beginning of segment 16 on Hwy 30. Official route follows newly opened trail north to Omega, which is on the highway between Pietown and Quemado. From there you need to hitch to either town to re-supply. You can return to Omega to hike north (on roads), or just follow the road that passes by the Toaster house north to end up in the same place. Mapbook maps 49-57 show the new route.
bearcreek
Susie - if you have the bearcreek maps already (which are excellent, but don’t have the hiker notes or all the various route options), you could download the '11 Ley CDT NM maps from Francis Tapon’s site (he hasn’t yet uploaded the '13 maps) & just print out the Gila River route maps…
http://francistapon.com/Travels/Continental-Divide-Trail/CDT-Maps-by-Jonathan-Ley
Quite a few CDT hikers in '12 carried BOTH the bearcreek & Ley maps (especially couples or groups of hikers). Many of the solo hikers like myself just carried Ley’s maps.
On the Gila route, be sure to hike both the lower & middle fork segments. Most of the SOBOS in '12 bypassed the lower Gila & roadwalked to Silver City b/c they were worried about the condition of the route. I was pleasantly surprised to find the lower Gila in great shape - even better than the middle fork (which had a few recent burns).
Have a great hike!
freebird
Got my CD today. Bit of a disappointment. New stuff in the bearcreek book hasn’t made it to Ley. (Like the new trail by Pietown.) If there’s new trail it would be nice to hike it instead of roads.
pango
Your disappointment seems to be based on wanting a hike by numbers type of deal. The CDT isn’t like that. You will always need to gather your intel from multiple sources in order to give yourself both the flexibility and opportunity you need to make this hike work for you and to get the most out of it. If you want to succeed, start with the right attitude. A big part of that is accepting the CDT for what it is, not what you’re familiar with from other long hikes. Good luck and good planning.
TR
Actually, I’ve already thru hiked the CDT. I am planning on doing some of the new stuff as section hikes this summer.
I was merely pointing out that the Ley 2013 CD is not complete or up to date. I was hoping to hike that new section without having to buy the book, but now I’m going to get it.
Since you want to talk about attitudes, let’s do it. You are obviously one of those relic hikers who wants it to always be exactly the way it was when you were there. HYOH, as long as it’s the one you did. Right?
pango
Good one! It’s funny how the HYOH mantra has become more rigid than religiously following the official trail.
That hike into Pietown on roads sucks. The new trail sounds very exciting to me.
journey
What a twerp. You should kiss Jonathan Ley’s feet for the all-volunteer effort he’s put in for many years now to make the CDT and its many alternate routes as navigable as it is. To come on here and express disappointment without so much as acknowledging what he’s done for you as a veteran CDT thru-hiker, and then to turn your petty slander back on me for gently calling you out on it, demonstrates the depth of your immaturity. Wallow in it all you like, but please spare the rest of us.
TR
Wouldn’t it be special to sit around a campfire and listen to your rather inflexible view of the world? Name calling and all…
FYI, I truly do appreciate J. Ley and I sent him a generous contribution when I used his maps. Certainly would have sent him one this year if this sizable piece of new trail had been included.
pango