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 the trail (just kidding…but not really…sorry, everyone).

Although this is my first year conducting a Continental Divide Trail thru-hiker survey, it’s my fifth year doing the same thing for the Pacific Crest Trail. I used my PCT survey as a template for this one, but made some adjustments to the questions and answer selections to try to capture information that would be especially helpful to CDT thru-hikers.

That being said, this is the first year I’m doing this, and despite having hiked the CDT this past year, I’m certain I missed a lot of potentially useful information. Once you’ve had a look at the data, I would love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment or email.

Lastly, know that the following should be looked at skeptically; there’s nothing scientific about this data. I did my best to make sure this accurately reflects the data collected from this year’s Continental Divide Trail class and I tried to remove any obviously bad data (“guy who got attacked by wolves” you’re not helping anyone). My hope is that you find the following thru-hiking data (the best kind of data) entertaining, educational, and/or interesting.

Here you are, the results of Halfway Anywhere’s 2017 Continental Divide Trail Thru-hiker Survey:

NOTES ON THE DATA

• This year we had 85 completed surveys.
• The responses to some questions have been sorted and colorized to normalize the results and (hopefully) make them more useful (e.g. northbound vs. southbound).
• Not everyone meticulously documents the stats of their thru-hike. Therefore, the data is not 100% accurate. However, I am hoping people gave their best guesstimates when answering questions.
• For simplicity’s sake, I refer to the survey respondents collectively as this year’s “class“. Remember that this is only a fraction of this year’s CDT hikers and is not necessarily representative of the entire CDT Class of 2017.
• If you’re that kind of person and you find some small discrepancy in the data, get over it – may I remind you we aren’t dealing in exactness here. However, if you find a significant error, please let me know.

Here are the labels used to differentiate hiker segments:

• THRU: Thru-hikers (all)
• FINISH: Thru-hikers (all) who completed the entire CDT
• NOFINISH: Thru-hikers (all) who did NOT complete the CDT

• NOBO: Northbound thru-hikers (all)
• NOBO-0: Northbound thru-hikers who did NOT complete the CDT
• NOBO-1: Northbound thru-hikers who completed the CDT

• SOBO: Southbound thru-hikers (all)
• SOBO-0: Southbound thru-hikers who did NOT complete the CDT
• SOBO-1: Southbound thru-hikers who completed the CDT

If NO LABEL has been appended to a data point, then I used all data collected.

SOUTHBOUND DATA: I received responses from FIFTEEN southbound thru-hikers. An additional THREE section-hiking southbounders responded as well, but their responses are not included in the SOBO-0 and SOBO-1 groups.

THE DEMOGRAPHICS

First, a look at some information that won’t help you prepare for a CDT thru-hike, but that is nonetheless interesting: HIKER DEMOGRAPHICS.

• SEX | 71% Male, 27% Female
• AGE | 0% <20, 12% 20-24, 24% 25-29, 20% 30-35, 2% 35-39, 6% 40-49, 14% 50-59, 12% 60-69, 0% >70
• AVERAGE AGE | 38 (σ = 14.9)

• RACE | 74% Caucasian, 1% Asian, 1% Hispanic, 1% Black
• EDUCATION | 5% <12th grade, 8% High School Diploma, 15% Some College, 8% Associate Degree, 35% Bachelor’s Degree, 23% Graduate Degree, 6% Declined to answer

• COUNTRIES | Canada, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, United Kingdom, USA (8 TOTAL)
• US STATES | AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, IL, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WY (27 TOTAL)

THE BASICS

Here we take a look at DATES for thru-hikes, whether hikers were on their FIRST THRU-HIKE, what trails people ALREADY HIKED, whether hikers BEGAN ALONE, and what everyone thought about TRAIL DAYS.

Of the thru-hikers this year, 92% had ALREADY COMPLETED another long-distance trail and only 8% were on their FIRST long-distance hike.

The trails most commonly hiked by those with experience were:

• THRU – DID YOU BEGIN ALONE? | 60% Yes, 40% No
• THRU – WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME DID YOU HIKE ALONE? | 63%
• THRU – WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME DID YOU CAMP ALONE? | 46%
• THRU – IF YOU BEGAN/ENDED YOUR HIKE AT CRAZY COOK MENUMENT (NM) DID YOU TAKE THE CDTC SHUTTLE? | 76%
  Yes, 24% No

• NOBO – WHERE DID YOU BEGIN YOUR HIKE? | 100% Crazy Cook Monument
• NOBO– MONTH STARTED?
  • 6% March
  • 53% April
  • 41% May
• NOBO – AVERAGE START DATE | April 23
• NOBO – MOST POPULAR START DATES | April 13, 14, 21 | May 2
• NOBO – AVERAGE DATE ENTERING SAN JUANS (LEAVE CHAMA, NM) | June 4
• NOBO– HAPPY WITH START DATE?
  • 68% Yes
  • 8% No, would start earlier
  • 21% No, would start later

NORTHBOUND START DATES

• NOBO-0 – AVERAGE START DATE | April 22
• NOBO-1 – AVERAGE START DATE | April 24
• NOBO-0 – AVERAGE DATE ENTERING SAN JUANS (LEAVE CHAMA, NM) | May 31
• NOBO-1 – AVERAGE DATE ENTERING SAN JUANS (LEAVE CHAMA, NM) | June 5
• NOBO-1 – AVERAGE END DATE | September 15
• NOBO-1 – AVERAGE COMPLETION TIME | 144 days (σ = 15.9)

NOTE: All the northbound thru-hikers who said they would have liked to START LATER began BEFORE APRIL 26.

• SOBO – WHERE DID YOU BEGIN YOUR HIKE? 71% Chief Mountain, 29% Waterton
• SOBO– MONTH STARTED?
  • 5% May
  • 53% June
  • 42% July
• SOBO – MOST POPULAR START DATE | July 1
• SOBO – AVERAGE START DATE | June 27
• SOBO– HAPPY WITH START DATE?
  • 45% Yes
  • 65% No, would start earlier
  • 0% No, would start later

• SOBO-1 – AVERAGE START DATE | June 26
• SOBO-1 – AVERAGE END DATE | October 15
• SOBO-1 – AVERAGE COMPLETION TIME | 111 days (σ = 23)

NOTE: All the southbound thru-hikers who said they would have liked to START EARLIER began AFTER JUNE 26.

Now let’s look at whether hikers TRAINED for the CDT. I had everyone RATE THEIR FITNESS on a scale of 0 (Overweight, lazy waste of life) to 10 (Godlike superhuman) with “Average Joe” in the middle at 5.

• THRU – DID YOU TRAIN FOR THE CDT? | 55% Yes, 45% No
• THRU – AVERAGE FITNESS LEVEL | 6.8 (σ = 1.4)
• FINISH – AVERAGE FITNESS LEVEL | 6.9 (σ = 1.4)
• NOFINISH – AVERAGE FITNESS LEVEL | 6.5 (σ = 1.5)

THE HIKING

How much time did this year’s CDT class spend actually hiking?

Here are the HIKING STATS, including DAILY MILEAGE, number of ZEROES/NEAR-OS taken, and whether hikers FLIP-FLOPPED, hiked the ENTIRE CDT, or would hike the CDT AGAIN.

I also collected data on which ALTERNATES CDT hikers took this year. There are countless alternates along the CDT, but there are a few notable either official or defacto official alternates for hikers to choose from.

• FINISH – AVERAGE DAYS ON TRAIL | 134 (σ = 24)
• FINISH – AVERAGE LONGEST DAY | 41.6 mi mi / 67 km (σ = 8.6 mi / 13.8 km)
• FINISH – AVERAGE DAILY MILEAGE* | 24 mi / 38.6 km (σ = 5.6 mi / 9 km)
• FINISH – AVERAGE ZEROES | 19 (σ = 11)
• FINISH – AVERAGE NEAR-OS | 13 (σ = 7.7)
• WOULD CONSIDER HIKING THE CDT AGAIN? | 70% Yes, 30% No

• THRU – DID YOU FLIP-FLOP? | 26% Yes, 74% No
• THRU– DID YOU HIKE A CONTINUOUS/UNBROKEN FOOTPATH OF THE CDT?
  • 48% Yes, and I did NOT skip the fire closures.
  • 4% Yes, but I skipped the fire closures.
  • 26% Yes, but I may have missed a few miles here or there.
  • 2% No, I hitched past/skipped some small sections.
  • 0% No, I hitched past/skipped large sections.

*The AVERAGE DAILY MILEAGE was calculated by dividing the number of days it took hikers finish into 3,100 (the official length of the CDT). However, hiking all 3,100 miles of the official CDT is a very rare thing for thru-hikers to do. Instead, take this average daily mileage number as an upper limit instead as a rule.

As much as we all like to think that we’re going to succeed, I can guarantee you that not every would-be CDT thru-hiker will make it to the end. Here’s what’s probably going to happen to you.

DID YOU COMPLETE THE CDT? | 64% Yes, 36% No

• NOFINISH – AVERAGE MILES FINISHED | 1,586 mi / 2,552 km (σ = 773 mi / 1,244 km)

Now for the ALTERNATES! Many CDT hikers use an app appropriately titled “CDT” (aka “Guthook” aka “Atlas Guides”). This app shows the trail as well as many of the alternates, which are colored within the app to distinguish them from the official CDT. I’ve included the colors of each alternate below since many hikers simply use these colors to refer to/identify these other trails (e.g. “The brown alternate south of Grants”). If you’re interested in the app (and if you’re hiking the CDT, you should be), you can find it here: iOS/Android.

The colors used to identify the popularity of each alternate are as follows: OVER 66%, 33-66%, LESS THAN 33%

THE RESUPPLY

For those of you thinking about setting off on a Continental Divide Trail adventure, you’re probably wondering about resupply (aka how and where do you get your hiker fuel aka food).

Here’s this year’s RESUPPLY STRATEGY, including the number of BOXES sent, and where hikers SUGGEST MAILING a box.

• FINISH – AVERAGE RESUPPLY STOPS MADE | 27 (σ = 4)
• FINISH – AVERAGE BOXES SENT | 9.6 (σ = 8.4)

The average number of boxes sent by hikers who said they would liked to have sent FEWER boxes? Twelve. The average number of boxes sent by hikers who said they would liked to have sent MORE boxes? Six. The average number of resupply boxes sent? Eight.

So if you’re taking this advice and looking to send EIGHT resupply boxes (which also fits with the strategy of only sending yourself SOME boxes), the places you should send them – according to this survey – are (from Mexico to Canada):

• Doc Campbell’s (New Mexico)
• Pie Town (New Mexico)
• Ghost Ranch (New Mexico)
• Encampment (Wyoming)
• South Pass City (Wyoming)
• Leadore (Idaho)
• Lima (Montana)
• Benchmark Guest Ranch (Montana)

NOTE: From South Pass City it is possible to hitch to Lander and from Benchmark Guest Ranch it is possible to hitch (or arrange a ride) to Augusta. You can resupply locally in both of these towns.

I also asked where hikers resupplied. I have used the following colors to indicate the popularity of each stop: In geographical order, starting at Mexico, here are the most popular resupply stops (aka everywhere at least 70% of respondents said they paid a visit to): OVER 66%, 33-66%, LESS THAN 33%.

So what about hitchhiking? I asked hikers which resupply stops they had difficulty making it to from the trail. The top responses were:

1. Lake City (Colorado)
2. Lander (Wyoming)
3. Leadore (Idaho)
4. Lima (Montana)

Keep in mind that hitchhiking can be a very subjective experience and sometimes people can get lucky (or unlucky). Personally, I think waiting two hours for a hitch isn’t terrible. Others would probably consider this to be the worst hitch ever.

Need help figuring out where the cool places to go are? Here are hikers’ FAVORITE and LEAST FAVORITE resupply points (for each section):

THE GEAR

If there’s anything that can compete with resupply for “most time spent thinking about before a thru-hike”, it’s gear. Getting gear together for a thru-hike can be a challenge, especially if you’re in the majority of hikers who haven’t attempted a long-distance trail before.

So let’s take a look at the CDT Class of 2017’s gear, shall we?

• THRU – AVERAGE BASE WEIGHT (START) | 13.91 lb / 6.31 kg (σ = 5 lb / 2.3 kg)
• THRU – AVERAGE BASE WEIGHT (END) | 13.81 lb / 6.26 kg (σ = 4.2 lb / 1.9 kg)
• THRU – AVERAGE AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR | $958 (σ = $680)

• FINISH – PAIRS OF SHOES USED (AVERAGE) | 3.86 (σ = 1.3)
• FINISH – AVERAGE AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE | $4,970 (σ = $1,941)

• AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG TEMPERATURE RATING | 17°F / -8.3°C
• AVERAGE BACKPACK SIZE | 50 L

Here are the MOST COMMONLY USED “Big 4” items: PACKS, SHELTERS, SLEEPING BAGS, and SLEEPING PADS (I know it’s the “Big 3”, but I like to include sleeping pads; and I like symmetry). This year, I’ve added a SATISFACTION RATING for each piece of gear (based on responses from hikers).

But in addition to the big ticket items, hikers also need to consider what they’re bringing in the STOVE, WATER TREATMENT, and SHOE departments. Here’s the most popular gear:

THE HEALTH

The question of water treatment and hygiene is (sometimes) a big consideration for hikers. That being said, it’s typically something you worry less about as the trail goes on.

Here are the stats on hiker HEALTH and WATER TREATMENT.

• DID YOU TREAT YOUR WATER? 52% Yes, 44% Sometimes, 2% Never, 2% Did Not Respond
• DID YOU GET SICK? 14% Yes, 86% No

Now we can get to the fun part and take a detailed look at who made good decisions at water sources out on the CDT. We all know that you want to look cool in front of your ultralight and not treat, but it turns out there are risks to that badass thru-hiker lifestyle.

THE LIKES AND DISLIKES

• THRU: WHICH MAPS OR APPS DID YOU USE?
  • Guthook (the “CDT” app): 97% (iOS/Android)
  • Ley Paper Maps: 50%
  • Ley Digital Maps: 42%
  • Bear Creek Survey Maps: 21%
  • Gaia (App): 1%
  • Other: 1%

THE FEAR, REGRETS, AND ADVICE

I asked hikers if they ever felt LEGITIMATELY AFRAID on the trail. More of this will be included in a future post, but for now, here are some that stood out to me:

• Getting attacked by dogs in New Mexico.
• Stretches of trail along highways, exposed ridges in storms.
• I hiked the San Juans alone. That was terrifying exactly twice.
• Bolt lightning and wind-driven, bullet-like hail in the high Colorado Rockies during the monsoons. Also, we had a face-to-face encounter with a grizzly sow with cubs and, separately, a wolf encounter (both occurred in Montana).
• There were moments in the San Juan’s with no trail to follow in a snowstorm. There were moments in the Wind River Range with no trail to follow and crossing streams that were swollen. 72 miles into the Winds I hiked out cross country 20 miles and again the swollen streams along with the wondering if I was going to find myself in a position where I could no longer go forward.

Now for Class of 2017 wisdom: what would you have DONE DIFFERENTLY if you were to do it all over again?

1. Wish I hiked with more people. Ended up kinda lonely.
2. I wish I had journaled and taken more photos of people instead of places.
3. Taking that little extra time during the hike. I worked on trying to slow down.
4. Trained physically, bought a good camera, and prepped blog articles.

I also asked this class what ADVICE FOR FUTURE CDT HIKERS they had. Here are some of my favorites:

• Be flexible in considering and taking alternates, as they can get you around all sorts of problems (fire, snow, thunderstorms, blowdowns).
• Do it! It’s not as brutal as people make it out to be! Start early and don’t be too afraid of snow.
• Get your base weight as low as possible. Have someone you can call to whine about the trail. Because sometimes, you are just gonna hate it. Keep your humor. Because it’s the only thing that will save you sometimes.
• Never listen to southbounders.
• The hardest part of this trail for me was the unpredictable trail quality. You think a 3-mile flat section will take you an hour, but then you turn the corner and realize that the trail is totally overrun with 5ft talk willow trees and it takes you two hours instead. Or three. Crap like that is frustrating, happens a lot, and is not indicated on your maps.

There is a lot of information in these responses, so I will be making a separate post with ALL (some) of the responses. After all, one of the top resources reported by this year’s class was “former thru-hikers” and now that’s exactly what they all are.

THE CHANGES FOR NEXT YEAR

Here are the changes that I’ve decided on for next year’s survey. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them – leave a comment below to let me know.

Nothing here yet…

Finally, another BIG THANKS to and all the other hikers who completed this year’s survey, including (but not limited to): Beans, Dundee, Tree, Snow, Moment, Slomo, High Country, Bowleg, Thunder, Bad Camper, Young Blood, Himal, Fun Size, Molly Molly, Sheriff Woody, Numbers, Koolaid, Catwater, Trooper, Thor, Moses, More Cowbell, Appa, Queen B, Endless P Summer, Bright Eyes, Lunchbox, Sherpa C, Arcade, Dassie, Glimmer, Oilcan, Candlemaker, Dos Eggrolls, Dr. DAYDREAMER, Continental Drifter, Gut Punch, Chardonnay, Diatom, Pounds, Fainting Goat, Mr. Peanuts, The Spaniard, Little Spoon, Birthday, Sunny, Pebbles, Starfish, German Mormon, Happy, High Country, BreadnButter (Butters), Knotts

In the next couple of weeks (months?) I will be evaluating and posting more from this year’s survey, including gear breakdowns, resupply strategies, demographics, and more.

I spent a lot of hours putting this together and would love your feedback. Please COMMENT BELOW or get in touch to tell me what you think!

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