When do ya generally start the CDT?..either direction… My husband and I are thinkin’ about a thruhike before he goes back’ta school in a year or two. We know every year is different and all, so even a broad guess would be helpful.
Thanks kids!
tangent
Northbounders usually start at the end of April, beginning of May. The idea is to reach the Colorado border after June 1. There will be snow in the San Juans - but the later in June you arrive the less snow there will be. In May, unless it’s a drought year, there is usually too much to hike. You don’t want to start too late though because of fire danger in the NM forests which can close the trails. Plus it makes it more difficult to finish a thruhike.
Many northbound hikers end up flipflopping - starting in NM, then heading north in early June to avoid the usually higher snow levels in southern Colorado. (CO trails are 10-12,000’, MT is 8-10,000.) Lots of strategies for that.
Southbounders start after June 15, usually. Much earlier and the rangers at Glacier probably won’t give you a permit. You will have snow the first couple of weeks - so bring an ice axe.
Have you hiked any other long trails? I recommend that you hike the PCT before the CDT.
You can find a lot of basic cdt info at
www.spiriteaglehome.com
Ginny
There are bears - I don’t know how much of a threat they are. Most CDT hikers at least see grizz, and some have been bluff charged, but I know of none that have been injured. The bears are most common in Glacier and the Bob Marshall/Scapegoat area, then again down near Yellowstone with a few in the Winds. There are also black bears, but they generally aren’t habituated bears - except possibly in Glacier, where you are required to camp in designated spots with separate cooking areas and bear poles in any case. If you follow proper bear country behavior (don’t cook where you sleep, hang your food, etc., make noise as you walk, etc.) you should be okay. We’ve camped in grizzly country on several trips and never had a problem, though we knew they were there. In bear country it is a good idea to travel with others, as you make more noise that way. We hiked with hiking sticks, which we deliberately made as noisy as possible - and only ran into a couple of bears (that ran away.)
Ginny
hey Ginny, I have hiked most of the long trail and thru’d a the AT in 04…my husband hasn’t done a full long trail yet, but that is only for lack of time. We are thinkin about the PCT too, but are leaning towards the CDT now and the PCT later in life… A lot of which trail we do is going to depend on the timing.
tangent
If you are going to do both, start with the PCT. It is easier and will teach you how to deal with long distances between water sources, long distances betweeen resupplies, snow, river crossings etc. Because there are more people and it isn’t as isolated, it is easier to learn those lessons on the pct before continuing on to the CDT. Also if you do the CDT first, the PCT is something of a letdown – too easy to be a real challenge. That isn’t the case if you do it first.
Ginny
I dunno, lookin back on it, the PCT may have been harder than the CDT…JMT was hellacious, as was the Mojave & all the snow & fords. For me, the \CDT fords were all about knee level & not much snow to speak of; though I did it the ez way by skipping the Bitterroutes & taking the Tobaccos S from Pipestone/Whitehall thru Virginia City then the Gravellies S on ridgetop dirt roads to meet the CDT going wrong way N at Raynolds pass… had a couple fun bushwhacks to pioneer… coulda started in July & met the mid-June SBers in Yellowstone region; (as I did) & needed help finding trail thru the N Winds. Also, the Wyoming Great Basin was hail & cold rain rather than hot (umbrella almost blew away)… though I left Yogi/Dewey again there & did the fun route along the Oregon/Mormon trail to a store/bar, then dirt road to Jeffrey City Cafe; then back to CDTS route a bit b4 heading off to Baroil bar for beers/pizza etc… then S arrow strait to the paved road going to the hwy to Rawlins…shortcuts make it ez, if you don’t have to do the CD, I personally was on the RMT!!!
gingerbreadman
Following the roads is physically easy, but emotionally really hard for a lot of us. It gets boring, quickly. I prefer choosing alternates that don’t do as much roadwalking. I’d rather bushwhack. I hate pavement – though the only place that really bothered me on the CDT was the stretch heading south into Rawlins. Next time we’ll find an alternative there too.
I’ve noticed over the years that those folks who followed pavement in NM generally disliked that state, while those who followed trail or the more obscure dirt roads really enjoyed it. There is more to long distance hiking than speed.
The nice thing about the CDT is you get to choose which routes you’ll take.
Ginny