Continental Divide Trail
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| Continental Divide Trail | |
|---|---|
| Length | 3100 mi; 5000 km |
| Location | United States |
| Trailheads | Glacier National Park (U.S.) Antelope Wells, New Mexico United States-Mexico border |
| Use | Hiking some Horse riding some Mountain biking |
| Elevation Change | ??? |
| Highest Point | Gray's Peak, Colorado (14,270 ft) |
| Lowest Point | Columbus, New Mexico (3900 ft) |
| Trail Difficulty | Moderate to Strenuous |
| Months | April to October |
| Sights | Continental Divide |
| Hazards | Severe Weather Hypothermia Lightning Falls Avalanche Dehydration Bears Mountain lions |
The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail) is a United States National Scenic Trail running 3,100 miles (5,000 km) between Mexico and Canada. It follows the Continental Divide along the Rocky Mountains and traverses five U.S. states - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In Montana it crosses Triple Divide Peak which separates the Hudson Bay, Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean drainages.
As of 2004, the trail, a combination of dedicated trails and small roads, is considered 70% complete. The uncompleted portions of the trail must be traveled by bushwhacking or roadwalking.
Only about two dozen people a year attempt to hike the entire trail, taking about six months to complete it.
The Continental Divide Trail along with the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail form the Triple Crown of long distance hiking.
This trail can be continued above the Canadian border to Kakwa Lake north of Jasper National Park by the Great Divide Trail, which is so far described only in a few books, and carries no official Canadian status.
Contents |
[edit] New Mexico
The CDT in New Mexico is about 700 miles long and some portions have very limited water.[1] Local volunteer groups place water caches (usually a pile of plastic gallon jugs) at strategic points along the trail. The southern terminus of the trail is not on the Continental Divide (see Animas Mountains) but rather in the vicinity of Columbus, New Mexico, a village that is also the northern terminus of the annual 250 mile Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see Cavalcade).
[edit] See also
- Colorado Trail - the two trails coincide for about 200 miles
- Pacific Northwest Trail - Shares a common start/end point with the CDT in Glacier National Park.
[edit] External links
- Continental Divide Trail Alliance website
- CDT Society website
- Jonathan Ley's CDT Hike - A hiker's website and top notch mapping resource
- Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest web site - Describes the northernmost parts of the trail
- CDT-L - Continental Divide Trail Mailing List
- CDT Thruhiking Resources - Listing of important resources to thruhike the CDT
[edit] References
- ^ Bob Julyan, Tom Till, William Stone (2001) New Mexico's Continental Divide Trail: The Official Guide Big Earth Publishing, 320 pages, ISBN 1565793315.
