Hiking the CDT... general question

[10-K]

Let me see if I can get this out in a way that makes sense.

I have learned from hiking the AT and PCT that (over)planning is great busy work while you're waiting to hike but once on the trail all that planning goes out the window and everything starts making sense when you start hiking.

Specifically, overly obsessing about resupply and "is my 2 oz jacket better than my 2.10 oz jacket" may be a fun way to waste hours of your life but is really totally unnecessary.

The CDT seems a bit daunting and part of me is thinking that this trail is very different than the other 2 popular long trails so maybe I *should* obsess a little.

The other part of me says to just be prepared and let the plan unfold (my natural inclination)....

Which is it?

[garlic08]

Mags reports that the CDT is quickly becoming more like the PCT--lots of information and guides, more hikers, and a shuttle even exists in NM now. I extrapolate that there may be record attempts on the "correct" route coming soon. Or maybe there already are--I don't pay too much attention.

There are a couple of important food drops, but those don't take much gray matter to figure out, and you're not the only one doing it.

How are your off-trail skills? That's one thing to prepare for.

You'll have less water support, so desert hiking skills are more important. You'll be sharing water with cattle most of the time.

And keep your PCT conditioning.

[Slo-go'en]

This 2 hour video of Cookie and Paul's CDT hike in 2009 is well worth watching : http://vimeo.com/album/47577

I didn't get very far on the CDT, only doing Glacier, but definitely get Yogi's CDT book and resupply guide. There is a lot of data to digest. It sounds like your going SOBO and one of the easiest ways to get to Glacier is by Amtrak, but be sure to book months in advance.

[Mags]

With the various maps and Guthook's app, along with a growing CDT community, it is not as much of a logistical challenge vs even a 5+ years ago. One well known triple crowner stated on a private facebook group:

"" I consider myself to be not a great navigator and was very happy that all I had to do was follow the dots on the GPS,"...

a recent CDT hiker also stated:

"We used a GPS the whole way with matching waypoints from the Bear Creek Maps, which didn't take great navigation skills."

So, yeah, more PCT like. I still think a person needs to know basic navigation skills (I had to get off the divide this summer and make my own route through drainages due to the lightning and hail. No app/pre-programmed GPS track would have the information) but, based on above, even that is suspect. The CDT will never be "easy". But the challenges, again, are more PCT like if with rougher tread and some cross country travel thrown in. Similar environments, similar food carries, and a similar (if shorter) weather window.

Take it 5-7 days at a time, and I think you'll be fine.

[Spirit Walker]

There is a lot of information out there now about hiking the CDT. It is better marked and much more traveled than a few years ago. We saw a huge difference between 1999 and 2006, and it has only gotten more populated in the years since. It isn't as difficult as you think. Resupply is probably the easiest part, simply because you don't have all that many choices. When the towns are 100 miles apart, you know where you will go. There are a few places where you have real choices (ie. Benchmark vs. Augusta, Wisdom vs Salmon, South Pass vs. Lander), but that can be decided when you are on the trail.

The research you do over the winter is still helpful, because it gives you an idea of what the various route choices are and why people take them. Do you want to go to Ghost Ranch or the Cliff Dwellings, or the hot springs in the Gila? Do you want to do Jim Wolf's routes through the Bob Marshall and the Winds or the official route or do you want to do off trail routes instead? Do you want to go through Columbus or go to Crazy Cook? Do you want to hike to Chief Mountain or Waterton? Hike through RMNP? How about JW's route through Indian Peaks? Having some idea of the routes you might want to take will make it easier to decide when you are on the trail, but it will also ensure you have the maps you need before you go.

That said, the CDT is a trail where you frequently end up changing your plans en route. We planned to climb a couple of 14'ers in Colorado, but there were thunderstorms all around so we didn't do it. A couple of times we detoured because the winds were strong enough to knock us down and we wanted to get off the high ridges. High water forced another couple of detours. Frozen water in the springs in NM meant we had to detour to find some that wasn't frozen. A snowstorm in Colorado forced another detour. Fires may also require alternate routes. IOW, the most important part of hiking the CDT is being flexible to what comes when you are there. The best preparation you can do is get the maps and know how to read them.