Could one hike from the northern end of the Great Divide Basin to Yellowstone in 3 weeks? What would be the major challenges in late july/early august? Is navigation challenging in this section? Car rental/public transportation out of Yellowstone?
I have LDH experience but not on the CDT. Thanks
AFR
As I recall, it would have been easier Northbound. We had to look for trail several times in the Winds, mainly when transitioning from road to trail (where it should be easiest to mark it, but some landowners are against it & some steal the signs). In the middle of the high alpine Wind River lakes, it was fairly easy to follow as I recall.
(of course, I had sunshine). Alot of horse packers, llama packers, & NOLS students traipse thru, so trail is either well marked or obvious… then N of Dubois, it was somewhat of a highway, so you should be able to easily do 15-20 mpd if you are the average long distance hiker.
gingerbreadman
It’s about 270 miles or so from South Pass to Old Faithful. For an experienced hiker, that is doable in three weeks. If you find yourself running behind, you can always bail before. The trail in northern Wyoming has some really beautiful sections, including the Wind River Range, with a lot of good alternate routes.
Challenges: navigation in some sections, crowds in the Winds, possibly bears, possible snow in the higher passes, thunderstorms at high elevation.
You’ll need reservations in Yellowstone.
Get good maps. Get Jim Wolf’s book. The ‘official’ route disappears in the Gros Ventre, leaving you stranded. Wolf’s routes are better. If you are feeling really adventurous, some of the cross country routes in the Winds are supposed to be really good.
Ginny
It may be hot until you get to the Winds, but I bet there’ll be more water than usual. I’m not sure where you’ll be starting from, but from the Bison Basin Rd to South Pass requires careful navigation, if you take the alternate route south of the Sweetwater River to avoid walking on the gravel road to South Pass. (At least I wandered about 5 miles out of my way in the sagebrush one day.) I did this piece SOBO. I loved central WY. You can see forever and the antelope are fun company!
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