The Continental Divide Trail may not be as well-known as the Pacific Crest Trail on a large scale (and this is a good thing), but among hikers, the CDT is largely regarded as the more challenging of the two trails.
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The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) spans over 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada and is one of the most significant trail systems in the world. It's the highest, most remote, and, in many ways, most challenging of our National Scenic Trails.
Massive high mountain passes, raging rivers, remote backcountry granite peaks, and pristine wilderness mark the northernmost section of the CDT—and aids in the escape and immersion into some of the most remote areas of continental America. Around here, snow sticks late into June and begins to fall again in September.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association estimates that 700 to 800 people attempt to thru-hike it each year, and about 15% to 35% (versus the AT's 25%) actually succeed.
I started the CDT solo and hiked a lot of the miles alone, especially the first 400-miles of New Mexico. I was fortunate to hike with a trail family starting in Colorado and covering most of the trail together, becoming part of the “Bubble” once we hit the last 1,000 miles of trail to Canada.
Trace the route the pioneers would take through the Great Basin. They needed to stay close to water and grass. They went around mountains, through mountain passes, instead of going right over them. The Great Basin was one of the hardest sections of the trail to cross because of the lack of water and food in the area.
The PCT is harder logistically than the AT which has ample trail towns or a water supply nearly every five to eight miles. In the PCT desert, water is scarce. You need to fill up at water caches and carry more water through long, waterless stretches of the desert.
The Continental Divide Trail takes hikers through Yellowstone National Park, but this national treasure is too big to enjoy from one trail. Take time to explore the geysers, mountains, waterfalls and wildlife within America's first national park.
The CDT travels through some of Wyoming's most stunningly diverse landscapes: Yellowstone National Park, with steaming geysers and volcanic activity, the craggy Teton Wilderness and Absaroka Mountain Range, the geographic phenomenon of Two Ocean Pass, the Bridger Wilderness and Wind River Range boasting 1,300 lakes and ...