Would i be the youngest to hike the CDT :)

imported
#1

okayy so im 15. me and my dad are planning to hike the CDT next year starting from new mexico up to canada. i dont know much about the trail. He knows more than i do about it but Neither of us have been on a hike this long before so any information or tips about the trail would be great. ive also been told i might be the youngest to hike it but i have not found and proof of that so if anyone knows if i would be the youngest please let me know i will be 16 when i hike the trail. thanks for the help guys.

dodd

#2

Go for it Dodd. Oblivious and his dad Troll did about half of the trail last year. He was 13 at the time. They were unable to finish due to heavy snow in some areas.

For your dad… Just my opinion… If you haven’t hiked a long trail before you might want to start with either the AT or the PCT. The CDT has many places where either there is no trail or it is easy to get misplaced. In addition it tends to have much nastier weather and can be difficult to find water on. Read some of the journals on trail journals for the CDT and you will get an idea of what I am talking about. However, if you choose to do it first, I wish you the best of luck! Robocop

Robocop

#3

thanks robo cop. i actully live in tennesse about idk maby an hour from the AT and ive always wanted to hike that… ive hiked little parts here and there but when my parents got seperated my dad started driving around the country and ended up in new mexico and found out about this trail and it seems like it would be a great experiance but i dont see howwe are going to get the money to do it. hah now imgetting off topic but my dad emailed me a traillogof this guy who started north and went south and so far from what ive read he lost the trail so many times and almost ran out of water. so ifi thru hiked and finished the trail do you think i would be the youngest?

dodd

#4

I think at 16 you would probably be the youngest to do the CDT at this point… I know younger people have hiked the other long trails, and I’d expect at some point, someone younger will do the CDT as well. But, for now I don’t know of anyone younger to do it.

Also I thought Oblivious was older last year? like 15 or so? Anyway, you’re right that they didn’t finish… which was a bummer for them, and also for me, as I liked reading their journal entries, and sorry to hear they were having such a miserable time out there.

Jonathan

#5

The AT is shorter, easier, with hundreds of shelters to get out of the rain in, usually ez to get water, (as many shelters are located next to springs flowing out of a pipe lodged into the hill!) & food; more towns to get a shower in; more trail helpers (angels) to help you out with rides etc… more other hikers to talk to & learn from; more places to buy gear if yours turns out to be too heavy or unreliable; you really can mostly just follow the white blazes, so mostly just need the databook & philosopher’s guide to trail towns if that is still around & perhaps some maps, especially in the wildest parts of Maine. If you buy food cheaply at home with triple coupons, you can have friends send your dried foods & replacement gear like socks/ new trailrunning shoes or lightweight boots (hike ultralight if u use T R shoes & replace them every month or 2 to preserve the muscles)…
then you take the large box of food from home, with a smaller box or 2 in side to forward some supplies ahead a week or so. Many hikers get specialty foods sent from home & buy oatmeal & other common items in town… or you can shop in large towns & send food ahead to small ones along with gear you might not need like winter gear … this is called a drift box & if you send it priority 100-200 miles ahead (depending on how fast you hike), it gives you the right to forward that box (by a note or postcard or phonecall to PO) to the next trailtown at no charge.
If you still must do the CDT to be the youngest, then take a GPS & a copy of Ley’s maps if he’s still helping hikers at phlumf.com? & some general roadmaps if you have to get off trail… it really helps to have several pairs of eyes to watch for the turnoffs, as I got lost when solo hiking CDT so many times it ain’t funny, & like most trails in the US, Europe, Australia etc… the important junctions are almost never marked, while obvious trail is always marked (don’t ask me why in the US, or Europe, but it’s park policy in Australia to hide the trails). Be ready to carry 5 liters of water or more at times on CDT, sacks from boxes of wine can be used, while AT has very few times when alot of water must be carried except during droughts. Bon Courage, Grande Randonniste!

gingerbreadman

#6

sorry, for CDT u will also need a set of guidebooks, either the big giant official ones of the CDTAssociation that you have to break up into parts, or the smaller carryable ones of the CDTSociety that may go better with Ley’s detailed topomaps. I tried to carry also some semi-detailed recreation maps, but the ones of the National Geographic Ass had not been updated in 50 years I found when looking for a relocated trailhead.

gingerbreadman

#7

I ran into Cindy Ross and her son on the AT a few years ago. They were doing some Trail work north of Eckville in PA. Her son mentioned he was the youngest that had done the CDT.

If I remember the conversation right, he was still an infant when they did the CDT as a family, and I think they said something about a llama too. :slight_smile:

Stumpknocker

#8

thanks for all the help and sugestions guys. i dont know if the last one is true and if he was an infant he didnt technaly hike it he was just along for the ride

dodd

#9

My son Jarrett solo-hiked the CDT sobo in 2005 when he was 17. I resupplied him thru mail-drops but he hiked it alone.

bowlegs