Continental Divide Trail, America 2017

CDT126 28th August  Monday Feeling tired from the late finish last night at 9:30 in the evening, even the sleeping untill 7am wasn't enough to energise me. Upper Waterton border Once on the trail with the knowledge of the border being only 15 miles away, I know...

CDT125 27th August  Sunday 28 miles Swiftcurrent Motor Inn to Kootenai camp site. Early start of 6 this morning, well that was the plan anyway until we decided to have a quick coffee at the cafe first.  We thought about having a big breakfast at the...

CDT124 26th August  Saturday 30 miles Our next camp site was 30miles away, so it's a 5am start this morning.  Total darkness with stars above and only our headlamps to show the way. Passing a couple of lakes that we couldn't see but could feel the coldness,...

CDT123 25th August  Friday 25 miles Started early at 5:30am, dark for the first half hour where headlamps came in use.  It was a great morning walk with a lot of climbing with views of many lakes below. Mountains,  their colours and waterfalls made...

CDT120 22ed August  Tuesday 41miles, (But we took alternatives) Going was good this morning, up and down but I'm feeling tired from all the walking in the last five days. Bees sleeping on the plant in the cold morning After second breakfast, which I ate twice my...

CDT117 19th August  Saturday 29 miles Windy last night and this morning the air was clear and free of smoke.  The forest we walked through this morning had been burnt out, the whole valley was dead with skinny trees and new growth on the ground and bush...

CDT116 18th August  Friday 27 miles Blowing this morning at 6 o'clock, sun isn't visible yet but Czech Mix and myself started the morning with a steep climb.  Smoke was thick from the surrounding fires which didn't make my photos turn out the best. We...

CDT115 17th August  Thursday 13 miles With zero day finished, it's time to hit the road but not before a hot breakfast and a relaxing coffee at Lambkin's Restaurant.  It opened at 7:30 and I repeated the order i had yesterday, hotcake and an omelette...

CDT113 15th August  tuesday 27 miles Heart starter this morning with a good half hour hill climb, thankfully the mountains are becoming more manageable as I head north, hopefully no more silly sections like the four challenging passes I had not long ago in one...

CDT112 14th August Monday 28 miles Alarm on my phone woke me this morning, I can no longer rely on the birds waking me first thing in the morning, as it seems that it's taking longer to get light now days. Laying in my sleeping bag, the wind was blowing hard going by...

CDT111 13th August  Sunday 5 miles Resupply day in Helena, all keen and eager to get into town I was at the highway at 6:30 waiting for a kind driver  to pick me. It took a while but about 90 minutes later Jeff coming back from a 10 day skydiving event...

CDT109 11th August  Friday 25 miles Lucky deer as I was no hunter After the four days of resting in Anaconda, I kind of feel it in my joints, knee and hip was a little sore this morning and even though I made camp yesterday early, I struggled to get going this...

CDT103 5th August  Saturday 25 miles Leaving behind Storm Lake where I camped for the night, the problem with camping next to the lake is that the tent gets extremely damp. It was a really nice walk this morning, the trail differed from what I had on my map and I...

CDT102 4th August  Friday 29 miles It only took an hour to get up to Rainbow Pass climbing 1,500 feet and at just after 6 o'clock, there was a thick haze of smoke all about and the sun still hasn't risen over the surrounding mountains. I did a long walk this...

CDT101 3ed August  Thursday 24 miles, So far I've walked 2,467miles (3,970km) I just didn't want to get going this morning, I felt damp and cold but yet the tent wasn't wet.  Once I unziped my sleeping bag, I was packed up, and ready to go within 20 minutes...

CDT100 2ed August  Wednesday 26 miles 5 o'cock start this morning, a little chilly which reminds me of what  one of the firefighters had said yesterday, "it's going to get cold as you head north" Not something I really wanted to hear. Always nice first thing...

CDT99 1st August  Tuesday 17 miles Big Hole Pass I slept in this morning, or more likely I lay comfortably in my sleeping bag until 6:30.  I knew I had to wait until I got an update to see if it was ok for me to continue my journey north along the CDT, the...

CDT98 31st July Monday 26 miles I just cannot believe the great weather I'm having with a gentle breeze to make my uphill walks that much more pleasant. More traffic on the trail today, a couple with their dog that had it's own backpack, not sure if they are doing the...

CDT97 30th July Sunday 27 miles , (2,374 miles so far) Last night I got a bit of a fright just finished dinner and was getting comfortable and slowly drifting off to sleep, I then heard what sounded like a herd of horses crashing through the bush heading towards my...

CDT96 29th July Saturday 26 miles Water seems to be the theme  today, I knew that there's some distance between streams so I started the day with what I thought plenty of water. Second breakfast, no problem, lunch, getting  low.  Now that the weather...

CDT94 27th July Thursday 2,295 miles (3,693km) so far I need a break, next segment is going to be long so a rest is needed first,  9 days to Anaconda  (225miles) Thank goodness I'm getting rid of my gore tex boots, I thought they would be great going through the snow...

CDT92 25th July Tuesday 30 miles   5:30 start with my headlamp on for the first half hour, looks likes it's going to be an overcast day which I'm happy about, good change to have the sun not beating down on me and cooler temperatures as i carry on and climb the...

CDT91 24th July Monday 27 miles   Wild life was everywhere, mainly dear and real close up as well.  I'm sure I saw an Elk as well but he was at some distance away Not a good photo, but I promise that there is dear there, or Elk I only planed to do 25 miles today,...

CDT88 21st July Friday 20 miles Lazy start of 7am, it just goes to show you that if I push myself one day I pay it back the next. Water points were far and few between, I filled up and filtered  everything along the way.  My last stream I drank over a litre...

CDT87 20th July Thursday 28 miles Restless night sleep where at two in the morning I was being constantly attacked by either flies or mosquito where later I found that I had left the fly of the tent open. Come four o'clock I was restless and decided to pack camp and...

CDT86 19th July Wednesday 23 miles Up before first light to get WiFi to update my blog and order new trail runners, lucky for me that the laundromat was open and i stripped down and with only my rain pants and jacket on, I washed everything. WiFi was very good and did...

CDT85 18th July Tuesday 25 miles I camped within the Yellowstone border last night which I knew I shouldn't have but I'd just had enough walking for the day.  This morning I had only 4 miles to cross over to the Idaho state, which there wasn't any real...

CDT84 17th July Monday 16 miles Just noticed that I was only 4.1 miles from Old Faithful Geyser and Village, so at 5:30am I was up and packed and heading for the Old Faithful Inn where a Buffet breakfast was waiting for me, after doing an hour and a half on an empty...

CDT82 15th July Saturday 32 miles Easy start  this morning, packed my gear up and walked 30 metres where my food bag was hanging with my ready made breakfast of cold oatmeal soaked overnight. First half an hour of the day was tracking through swamp so my dry...

CDT81 14th July Friday Easy hitch hike into Dubious, I got to the edge of the highway  and probably after the fifth car, I got my lift to the town for resupply and decent hot meal.  The driver works for the Ranger (forestry department) maintaining and...

CDT80 13th July Thursday 33 miles I knew it was going to be a long day and with walking 15 hours I really feel it. Forest walking, very relaxing and easy going I had an extra 4 miles added to the end of the day because where I had planned to camp was all fire damaged....

CDT79 12th July Wednesday 29 miles 4:45am I was on the trail, headlamp was required and down I went from an elevation of 10,400 feet and within 2 hours I was walking at 8,000feet . First hour was on snow and then I left all that behind but not the wetboots with...

CDT78 11th July Tuesday 17 miles I knew I had a bit of a climb this morning so it's an early 5:30 start for me. Hard work but with great views along the way, sunrise Last night I camped at a junction where most hikers would turn off and head to Pinedale where they...

CDT77 10th July Monday 19 miles Rain came down on me in the early morning while I was still in the tent, wasn't a hard downpour but just enough to make thing difficult  while packing. 6 o clock  on the dot I was on the trail with my rain coat on walking in...

CDT76 9th July Sunday 25 miles . Not a good start this morning, I was attacked by mosquitoes while having breakfast.  I had my  oatmeal that I had left to soak overnight with raisins in an old peanut butter container.  But the mosquitoes were relentless...

CDT75 8th July Saturday 27 miles Elk or deer on the path, to quick for me with the camera I must admit, yesterday, all I needed was an excuse  to stop and camp early, 4 o'clock was far to early but when the rain come down on me and then sighted a patch of flat...

CDT74 7th July Friday 11 miles Bridger National Forest This section I plan to do in one go, that means I walk through the Winds River Mountain Range,  from one highway to the other, a 166 mile (267 km) where I hope should take 6-7 days.  Most hikers stop...

CDT71 4th July Tuesday 26miles As planned, I was up at first light and at 5 o'clock  I said my goodbyes to Sara and Andy. I didn't need my sweater and as the sun was coming up, I felt it easy going compared to yesterday even though I had a slight hill climb for 2...

CDT70 3rd July Monday 16 miles Still in bed at 6am, and to my surprise, Sara came over with a hot coffee.  What luxury. After packing up my tent , I went over to Andy and Sara where I said my good byes to mother bear  and the three of us set...

CDT69 2ed July Sunday 26 miles Last night I got just passed Rawlins town and walked until dark, must have been just before 10 o'clock I stopped and setup camp. The trail with no shade Real slow start this morning, 6am and within two hours of my walk,  water is...

CDT68 1st July Saturday Start at 1,585 mark this morning 28 miles Resting on top of a hill having my second  breakfast, with an undisturbed view of what's ahead. The landscape has change significantly, no more mountains with snow but rolling hills with green...

CDT67 30th June Friday 30 miles. Morning birds woke me this morning where it's becoming a habit  of starting on the trail just before 5:30. Going was difficult when leaving Pipeline trailhead, it seems that as soon as I stepped  over into Wyoming,...

CDT66 29th June Thursday Colorado-Wyoming border 29 miles Frost and cold hands rolling up my tent, but the dark clouds  are gone and I'd  expect a blue sky day. I pushed myself today to get to Wyoming border, I forgot to check out the water supply up further...

CDT65 28th June Wednesday Buffalo pass. 24 miles Just after five this morning I was back on the trail after resting at Summit lake campsite for two nights.  Cost nothing and if I didn't have the tummy bug, I would have kept going. It feels I have recovered...

CDT63-64 26th June monday 17 miles Left my campsite  nice and early with the hope that when I get back into town there would be a cafe open for breakfast.  Last night I walked about 40 minutes out of town until I found a vacant property  with trees and...

CDT60 23nd June Friday 23 miles+ 4 miles off trail. The morning birds woke me early this morning and by 5:30 I was back on the trail.  It's getting easier to get started in the mornings now days, it isn't so cold as long as I camp below 10,000 feet. Nice views...

CDT59 22ed June thursday 19 miles Start 1413 Passed a single moose that blocked my path, I had to wait 15 minutes until it decided to move on but then it returned to the path  to stop and stare at me. Finally it ran into the forest  but I walked wide of the...

CDT54-55 17th June Saturday I got eaten alive last night with the local mosquitoes, strange, they were everywhere but I found a lot of bites on my shoulders. Where I camped there was another person camping, I'd seen many day hikers yesterday, as the trail head wasn't...

CDT53 16th June Friday 21 miles I shared  the camp site last night with an American, with a trail name of  "Nutrition" the name come from him hiking until he runs out of money.  He is also doing the same trail as me, he has been doing these long walks...

CDT52 15th June, Thursday 17 miles What a great night sleep, yesterday, I was half way up the pass (Hope Pass) with about two more hours to go, but there was a perfect campsite calling for me to stop and rest. A stream nearby and just enough room for two tents with a...

CDT51 14th June Wednesday 20miles Leaving my little campsite this morning, I had dry socks and frozen boots even though I kept them in the tent.  The stream I camped next to, there was no problem crossing without getting wet, however, further on and I mean just 5...

CDT49 12th June monday 25miles Monarch Crest to Tincup Pass Road My backpack is so heavy, why do I keep buying to much food?   Admittedly we thought it was going to be slow going with plenty  of snow about, sure there is snow but a lot less than I first...

CDT47 10th June Saturday 31miles Hawkeye the trail angel  Where I camped last night it was in an open field with a stagnate pool of water where I got my water for cooking, I had woken a few times during the night thinking it was time to get up but it was only the...

CDT46 9th June Friday 24miles Noodles or Pasta? With the snow behind me, for now, the walking was through rolling hills and farming properties.  My feet were getting tired from the hard farm track but it was a welcome releif from the hard climbing in snow from...

CDT44 7th June Wednesday 24 miles Green grass at last, I'm so over snow Early start of 6:30 where our goal is to get to the junction on the Creede shortcut. We followed foot prints again today which makes navigation  much easier, the prints we followed this...

CDT43 6th June Tuesday 9miles Comes in threes? Thankfully not this time Leaving Pagosa Springs today but first breakfast. Walked into town from the camp site which was all down hill and only took 30 minutes.  A local I met yesterday morning said that the best...

CDT42 5th June Monday Pagoda Springs, Wolf Creek Pass I'm  alive, full of energy as it's a town day.  6 o'clock and I was all packed and ready to go, even before Ken  and that's a first. Usually I'm 10 minutes behind him and it doesn't  matter how...

CDT41 4th June Sunday 16miles Finally today it's becoming much easier on the trail, the snow covered ground has become much less where I'd say 50 percent of the walking was on hard ground which means, finally we can do greater miles in the day and reach the highway...

CDT40 3ed June Saturday 11 miles One slip and it's a long ride down Two big climbs for today, so it's going to be low mileage. Each day the sun has been kind to us, it's relaxing sitting in the sun thawing the cold frozen feet after hours of pushing through hard...

CDT39 2ed June Friday 9miles Tent location is prime importance Snow was frozen on my tent, it was almost like cardboard rolling it up, and my sleeping  bag was wet probably because I touched the side of the tent during the night, but overall I survived the...

CDT38 1st June thursday 15 miles Up to my waist in snow Doing our calculations this morning to know how long it will take us to get to Pagosa Springs, which is our next supply stop, we couldn't decide on how many miles we would do each day. The unknown factor  is...

CDT37 31st May Wednesday 12 miles Cumbras Pass and Wolf Creek. The owners of the hotel were kind enough to give us a lift into town where at 10 o'clock  we were due  to board the train. But first we found a nice cafe and had our last coffee and special...

CDT33 27th May Saturday It was a slow wakeup this morning, as the sun hit the tent, I was just too comfortable to get motivated or maybe I'm feeling tired from being on the trail for so long, eight day from last town. Just below among the trees is where we...

CDT32 26 May Friday 22 miles During the night, it was windy with just a small  bit of rain but not enough to get the tent wet  by the morning.   The sun took a long time to reach us thanks to the mountain that blocked out the first rays of...

CDT31 25th May Thursday 17miles Leaving behind our lake side picnic area that gave us a very comfortable nights rest.  Just 200 metres into the trail I  spotted  a porcupine, slowly I approached it hoping to get a good photo, I was surprised how close I...

CDT30 24th May Wednesday 22miles (35kms) Last night we camped next to a waterhole  where cattle drink, early morning it became cold and on the outside of my sleeping bag it was damp, Ken  reckoned it's because of the nearby water, I was thinking it was...

CDT 27 21st May Sunday 18 miles (29 kms) My first night in my new sleeping bag  was fantastic, I was warm and I slept very nicely. Weather wise it couldn't have been better, we arrived on top of the mountain at 10,300 feet, was surrounded with pine trees ...

CDT 25 19th May Friday 10 miles https://youtu.be/luhffX1QHzk I was keen this morning to get going, I'm  not sure if it was the cold or the thought of heading into Cuba town for  hot  breakfast  that woke me before the set alarm of 4:30. We walked...

CDT 24 18th May Thursday 28 miles (45 kms) Just past  9am and we come across a Cache  "Trujillo Main Cache"  this is where trail angels help the hikers like myself with water and in the icebox, some goodies.  Just what I needed, there were raisins...

CDT23 17th May Wednesday 26miles Ken was kind enough to allow a sleep in this morning due to the early start yesterday.  But even with the sleep in we still packed up and  hit the trail  before 7am.  Truth to be told, we both wanted a later start...

CDT20 14th May Sunday Zero day today with total rest https://youtu.be/SxkNklH6Lhc Late start in the morning and finally I got motivated and I emptied my bags to get the dirt out that I had collected over the last three weeks since I have been on the trail.  Sure...

CDT19 13th May Saturday Mothers day, in NZ anyway. Slept in this morning until 6:30 then coffee in bed. Our camp site for the night, visited last night by a herd of cows We slowly rose as there was no hurry to make our way to the highway that was just under a mile...

CDT18 12th May Friday Long dusty road along Pie Town Road 27miles (43km) The morning start was at 6:45 with only a distant cloud on the horizon and nothing but blue sky.  The bad weather the previous couple of days were two storm fronts that came through which we...

CDT17 11th May Thursday: total 424 miles 25 miles Pie Town and a hot shower, what a treat It's another night that I have been cold, the sleeping bag should have kept me warm as it's a "hand me down" from Ken that he has used on other and colder trails.  I'm thinking...

CDT16 10th May  Wednesday 26 miles The ground was rocky and hard last night, I couldn't remove all the rocks from my camp spot so I put my ground sheet and tent on the best spot available and hoped the air mattress would hide the rocks.  Well it didn't, the...

CDT 15 9th May Tuesday 25 miles Just checking, yep we are on the right trail Sleet hit us on top of the maintain, which blanked the ground around us.  It came apon  us quickly and fortunately  I had my weather jacket and  pants  at the ready....

CDT14 8th May Monday 26miles Wild animals Last night was really cold, but the strange thing is that my thermal top and long johns  were damp from sweat but come one o'clock in the morning it was really cold.  During about that time there was a lot of...

CDT13 7th May Sunday 22 miles Started out the usual time of 7:15,  Ken was ahead of me as he seems to be more organised in setting up and packing his gear away.   Maybe it's because  of his military  training in the past.  His habits ...

CDT12 6th May Saturday 18miles (29kms) Middle Fort trail 157, Little Beer Canyon According to our maps, we follow the river on one side and crossed maybe twice in the day, so we took our shoes off and used our camp shoes, crock.  However this wasn't to be, so we...

CDT11 5th May Friday 17mile (27km) tent Gila River trial. No 724 Murtox hole was our first rest stop to have our second breakfast.  I didn't  have my hot green tea this morning, as last night  I realised that having 9-10 more days to travel, it's time...

CDT10 4th May Thursday 20miles today 7to7 a long day The morning was cool when we started off today.  I'ts the tenth day on my trail and the first time camping next to a stream.  It was good to have a decent  wash after a long day.  A change...

Silver City, CDT

CDT7 1st May Monday 25miles today. 40km Woke up early and did about 30 minutes  of study while laying in my sleeping bag, Thai language  is a bit harder  than I thought, but I'll  keep going. Camp site last night Ken started to head the way we came last night and when...

CDT6 30th April Sunday Camp on Burro Mountain at 118 miles (walked 18 miles , 29kms) Last night was a cold night, the sleeping bag should have been a warm one but last night I was really cold.  After dark I found my head lamp then dressed myself with warmer clothes....

CDT5 29th April Saturday 100 mile One hundred miles today Leaving Lordsburg behind after a healthy  American breakfast and many coffees. It was good to rest in a room with soft bed and an air conditioned room. Just after midday we exited the small dusty town not...

CDT4 28th april Friday Three hours it took us to drive to our start point from Lordsburg  and 4 days to walk back Early start of 6am with a red light sky of the sun rise. It was cooler today walking but it was a long day. My water supply along the way, I used a...

CDT3 27th April Thursday Camped at 61 miles ( walked 23miles, 37km) Early start of 7am where  we're one of the last to leave the waterhole with the broken down windmill.  We wanted to top up our empty  bottles but the pump had stopped working, maybe there was a timer...

CDT2 26th April  wed Camped at 38miles next to cow waterhole. (21 miles 33.8km today) Terrible night in the tent, winds were strong and gusts pushing the tent about. Admittedly I didn't position the tent in the right direction  to avoid to direct force but it was...