When I first started using the Katadyn BeFree I thought to myself, "By the beard of Zeus! This thing is absolutely amazing. I can't understand how it hasn't already driven all other lightweight water filters out of business. What was I doing not using this thing before?" However, after a month of
Caching Water In The New Mexico Bootheel On The CDT
"Do I need to cache water for the first section of the Continental Divide Trail?" This question was a big concern of mine before starting the CDT. Assuming you are beginning your hike at Crazy Cook, the first 85 mi / 136 km of the CDT is a scary place for thru-hikers (especially those out on
Continental Divide Trail Week 4: One Month In
DAY 22: On-trail pizza delivery There may only be two of us now that Appa is MIA until we make it to Grants, but that doesn't mean Moist and I get going any earlier in the morning (it's not like we start hiking together anyway - you start hiking when you're packed up and ready to go). The sun
Continental Divide Trail Week 3: We Got A Dog
CDT DAY 15 - Last day in the Gila Today is our last day in the Gila and to celebrate our departure back into the high desert we have a rare morning fire. Technically, we'll still be in the Gila National Forest for a bit, but the campground at Snow Lake marks the end of our time actually
Continental Divide Trail Week 2: The Gila
CDT DAY 8 - Arriving in Silver City After falling asleep in one of the most crap places I've ever camped, we wake up and bushwhack our way back to the trail. Silver City is within striking distance and few things rival "town" as motivators (I guess trail magic or thunderstorms would be close
The CDT Gear Guide: Class of 2017 Survey
In an effort to maximize the utility of the Continental Divide Trail Thru-hiker Survey, I have done a deep dive into the gear that hikers used on the trail this past year. The results detailed here should help to give an idea of what gear made hikers successful and what gear hikers realized was
Continental Divide Trail Week 1: The Bootheel
For a detailed account of Day 1 on trail, check out this post: Continental Divide Trail Day 1: The Middle of Nowhere. CDT DAY 2: The First Detour On my first full day on the CDT I wake up what I would generally consider fantastic weather - not a cloud in the sky. However, in the New Mexico
The Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hiker Survey (2017)
Hello and welcome to the results of the 2017 Continental Divide Trail Thru-hiker Survey! Now that I've hiked the Continental Divide Trail, I feel it's a good time to begin disseminating free information on the internet to make the CDT more accessible to people who will ultimately end up ruining
Continental Divide Trail Day 1: The Middle of Nowhere
It turns out that the adventure of a 3,100 mi / 5,000 km thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail begins before you take your first steps away from the US/Mexico border toward Canada. It starts on the drive down to the southern terminus. Driving from Phoenix (that's in Arizona for all my