CDT for relatively experienced hiker

[Finlay1967]

Hi there,

I am coming over to America on the 18th of June and I was planning on doing the AT but I am now starting to think I would like a more wild experience and want to stay away from big crowds and have more wild camping and be fully immersed in nature. Would a trek like the CDT (I would start in wyoming) be possible with only a couple of weeks pre planning? I have all of the gear ready but would just need to work out re-supplies etc. Would this be possible in the time frame?

Many thanks.

[garlic08]

A lot depends on you and your experience and your style of traveling. Some need very little planning, some need months. Some need support, some don't. For instance, if you have no desert experience and plan to start in Rawlins, you might need more preparation and planning than others. And a lot depends on how far you can safely travel in high alpine conditions (with sometimes challenging route finding) between food resupplies.

Do you have any trail guides? I think Yogi publishes a CDT book with town information to help with resupply. If you don't mind hitching and road walking a bit, you don't really need to set up any mail drops. A couple of evenings studying the route and setting up a basic plan could suffice.

Good luck and I hope it works out. It's beautiful country.

[swisscross]

Wondering why you would even consider skipping Montana.
Would like to here why you would like to start in Wyoming.

I have been to Glacier three times, backcountry twice, and I cannot image not starting there.
Wyoming is great but Montana is majestic.

[burger]

Um, where in Wyoming are you going to start? The Wind River Range is likely to be too snowy to cross still. You could start in the Great Divide Basin (near Lander) and hike south, but the Colorado snowpack is extremely high this year, so you are going to run into extensive snow within a 10 days or so of starting.

Join the CDT 2015 Facebook group and you can see pictures of what people heading into Colorado have been facing. I think you'd actually be better off starting in Glacier or, if it's still too snowy up there, at Marais pass just south of the park. A lot of hikers who started at the Mexican border are flipping up to Canada and hiking south from there starting in a couple more weeks.

[Finlay1967]

Thanks for all of the replies. I dont have any trail guides as of yet but will get one asap and thanks for the suggestion of yogis book, i will look into it! I only decided today to change to the cdt so i am still in very early stages of planning and not 100% sure where i will start. I probably should have mentioned in the post but i will be going nobo and only doing the last section of the hike so will not be missing montana. Woukd love to do all of it but just dont have the time. Also starting to think with only the 3 months i have out there it may be better to start further north, perhaps at yellowstone, starting june 18th, finishing september 10th. Would this be doable at the time of year?

[Feral Bill]

Snow pack is low this year. That should help.

[Venchka]

Based on all of the information that I have gleaned from Trail Journals, it is approximately 2 months at normal pace from Yellowstone to the Canadian border. Some do it in less time. Some take longer.
So, flying into Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park would put you within 3-4 days hike (or an afternoon hitchhike) from the south entrance to Yellowstone where you can arrange to thru hike the park on the CDT. I would plan to depart the plane with enough food for at least a week. You may not have time or be anywhere near a store for food until Old Faithful in Yellowstone. There is a store there, but not exactly hiker food friendly.
The other obstacle is finishing in Glacier before the east side commercial shuttles and east-west free trans-park shuttle stop running. Plan to fly out of Glacier Park International Airport near Kalispell, MT. Shuttle info is available online at various park service and lodging company web pages. There is shuttle service from Apgar Village in GNP to the airport.
Be advised: Services in Glacier begin closing around the second week of September. Again, this information is listed at the Glacier park web site.
Now, here comes the real obstacle: Approximately 200+ trail miles from the road crossing east of Lincoln, MT to East Galcier Village, MT. You want wild? This is WILD. Google Benchmark Ranch. The folks there will accept mail drops for a fee. They are located approximately midway between Lincoln and East Glacier Village. it would be best to leave Lincoln with enough fuel to get you to Glacier and have to worry about mailing fuel. It can be done, but I think it would be better to not try. Besides, under ideal conditions you can heat water over a small fire.
There are more details that others will provide soon enough.
Go for it! You won't regret it.

Wayne

[Venchka]

Balls & Sunshine hiked NOBO in 2013. A very good read for planning and hiking pace purposes. They finished the first week of September.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=394388

SOBO resupply information. Turn it around for NOBO.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...om-GNP-Rawlins

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...t-resupply-CDT

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...-resupply-plan

Yellowstone

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisi...ntryhiking.htm

Glacier National Park. It may be possible to call the Backcountry Permit office and arrange your trip by phone or email. Same for Yellowstone.

http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/backcountry.htm

http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

http://www.glaciernationalparklodges...ours/shuttles/

Airports

http://www.iflyglacier.com/index.php

http://www.jacksonholeairport.com/

[Venchka]

Good info for resupply. You might even spend the night there.

http://www.benchmarkwildernessranch.com/CDT-Hikers.html

Wayne

[swisscross]

Good info for resupply. You might even spend the night there.

http://www.benchmarkwildernessranch.com/CDT-Hikers.html

Wayne

That man is going to shoot his $#&* off.

[Slo-go'en]

Okay, now you jumping into the deep end of the pool. When I said if you want wild, go to the PCT or CDT I was sort of jesting. Of the three long distance trails, the AT, PCT and CDT, the CDT is the most remote and difficult in terms of logistics. The AT is physically the hardest of the three to hike, but the CDT is hardest to figure out how to hike. Public transportation pretty much doesn't exist in that part of the country. There are only a few places you can get access to the trail. East Glacier, MT by train, Jackson Hole, WY by plane, Denver, CO by train or plane.

Most people who hike the CDT plan for a year or more and have extensive long distance hiking experience. The typical sequence is to thru hike the AT, then the PCT and then the CDT. You need to be skilled in route finding, using compass and maps. GPS is indispensable, but can't be relied on 100% since it can be damaged or run out of battery power.

Towns are few and far between and a long ways off the trail. Which means you have to carry a lot of food. You'll be hiking in Grizzly bear country so proper food storage and camping techniques are imperative. Learning how to safely camp in Grizzly country takes some study and practice. There are very few places you can replace or buy new gear so all your equipment has to be of top quality and you need to carry everything you will possibly need along the way. Hope you can lug a heavy pack.

Cell phone coverage is nearly non-existent along the CDT. If you get lost or hurt there is no way to call for help unless you have a SPOT type device. And help is a long, long way away. You are truly on your own out there.

All in all, you'd be best sticking to your original plan of hiking the AT. The first couple 100 miles through NY/CT/MA aren't all that exciting (which doesn't mean they don't have challenges). The trail gets a lot more wild and interesting starting in Vermont and Maine is a real challenge.

[RockDoc]

No, start in Montana and do Glacier, the Bob, Scapegoat, the A-P wilderness, the Beaverhead...
Why would anybody want to skip those? Very wild and spectacular.

[Finlay1967]

Really appreciate all of the information given! I will look over all of the information over the next couple of days and assess whether or not this would be possible to plan in the next couple of weeks. My gut feeling is that I would love to do this over the AT, while I am sure the AT would be a great experience in itself, I think what the CDT has to offer is more suited to what I want.

[swisscross]

Does it have to be a all one trail?
Three months will allow you to visit more than one area of the country and do some truly epic hikes.

Wind River Range in WY
The Colorado trail
JMT
Glacier
The Whites AT

etc.

That would be one heck of experience.

[Finlay1967]

While that would be an amazing experience, unfortunately I dont have the money to travel to various different parts of the country!

[Venchka]

One thought that came to me after my link frenzy, if you did fly into Jackson, WY and you did want to get in a nice warm up hike in the Rockies. You could hike some or all of the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. A 5 to 7 day trip depending on where you start and stop. It would be a shame to come so far, be so close and not hike that trail.
I'll let you GOOGLE this one. There is a lot of information online about the Teton Crest trail.

Wayne

[Slo-go'en]

Watch this video to see what your getting yourself into. This will either inspire you or make you run away.
http://www.made-in-england.org/videos/cdt/

[burger]

One thought that came to me after my link frenzy, if you did fly into Jackson, WY and you did want to get in a nice warm up hike in the Rockies. You could hike some or all of the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. A 5 to 7 day trip depending on where you start and stop. It would be a shame to come so far, be so close and not hike that trail.
I'll let you GOOGLE this one. There is a lot of information online about the Teton Crest trail.

Wayne

Bad idea. There will still be too much snow to hike in the Tetons when the OP gets over here in 2 weeks.

I say start in Glacier and hike south. A NOBO hike is not doable this year for someone with minimal long-distance hiking experience.

[Venchka]

Given this year's unusual conditions, very good plan. That, SOBO, was on my mind. Save the Teton Crest for a grand finale.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Finlay1967]

Once again, thanks for all the information, really appreciate it. The Teton Crest does look fantastic and would be a perfect finale. I think a sobo hike would in fact be better given the conditions!