Thru-Hiking Journal

Day 6 Forward progress: 14.4 miles Total miles on trail: 98.4 miles Not to brag or anything but I slept in today all the way until 6:00. So... that's pretty huge! Given that we're still in the bootheel desert, we knew that hiking in the afternoon hours was not ideal, so our original plan was to leave around 4:00. We ended up hanging out in the hotel lobby until we got too antsy to stick around town much longer, and after a few last-minute chores and a late lunch, we got start

Crazy Cook Monument: the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail, just feet from the Mexican border Day 1 Forward progress: 14.2 miles Total distance on trail: 14. 2 miles Dude... what am I doing here? Even though I did this section of trail last year, I forgot how absolutely awful this first day is. When I asked Mitch if this day was better or worse than he thought it would be, he said worse. I thought I had adequately warned him. The Continental Divide Trail Coali

Day 6 Miles hiked today: 21.9 Total miles hiked on trail: 111.0 Unclear how, but that was my best night of sleep on trail so far. I think once the wind subsided in the night, there was no noise from my tent, and therefore nothing keeping me awake. It also was a pretty cold morning, so it was hard to rouse myself from my quilted slumber. I'm waking up with a sore right foot because last night, while walking around camp with my Crocs on, some thorny desert twig on the ground lo

I realize that, as I embark on this journey, many if you may not actually be all that familiar with this hike. Unlike the Appalachian Trail, the birthplace of thru-hiking culture, the most popular U.S. thru-hike, the Continental Divide Trail boasts a less conspicuous reputation. The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail complete the U.S. Triple Crown of thru-hikes. The former two are well-known and popular, but the CDT is the grungy blac