Continental Divide Trail

Continental Divide Trail
Length	3,100 miles (5,000 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	Grays Peak, Colorado 14,270 feet (4,350 m)
Lowest Point	Columbus, New Mexico `3,900 feet (1,200 m)
Trail Difficulty	Moderate to Strenuous
Months	April to October
Sights	Continental Divide
Hazards	Severe Weather Hypothermia Lightning Falls Avalanche Dehydration Bears Mountain lions

Continental Divide Trail logo

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. As of 2008, no equestrians have managed to ride the entire trail in a single year, although several "long riders" have tried^{[citation needed]}.

The Continental Divide Trail along with the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail form the Triple Crown of long distance hiking in the United States.

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.

New Mexico

The CDT in New Mexico is about 700 miles (1,100 km) 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.^[2][3] 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 (400 km) Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see Cavalcade).

Notable points on the CDT in New Mexico include:

• Cumbres Pass
• Carson National Forest
• Santa Fe National Forest
• San Pedro Parks Wilderness
• Cibola National Forest
• El Malpaís National Monument
• Pie Town
• Reserve
• Gila National Forest

Colorado

CDT in Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado

The CDT passes through many of the highest and wildest mountain regions of Colorado, such as the San Juan Mountains and the Sawatch Range. In most areas the trail is well marked. It is concurrent with the Colorado Trail for approximately 200 miles.

Wyoming

The CDT includes a large section of rangeland in the middle of the state, as well as the Wind River Range and Tetons in the northwest portion of Wyoming. The CDT traverses a large portion of the southern half of Yellowstone National Park.

Montana

The Montana portion of the CDT is almost entirely in the mountains.

See also

• Great Divide Mountain Bike Route - parallel, sometimes shared tread
• Colorado Trail - the two trails coincide for about 200 miles (320 km)
• Pacific Northwest Trail - Shares a common start/end point with the CDT in Glacier National Park.

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
• Google Map of CDT High Resolution Google Map of CDT
• A Quick & Dirty CDT Planning Guide- A general overview of the CDT for planning purposes

References